Thirty percent of the world’s population suffers from food insecurity. At the same time, agrifood systems account for more than thirty percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to environmental and ecosystem degradation. The pursuit of environmental protection and the transformation to sustainable agrifood systems to feed the world now and in the future are both legitimate and urgent national and international goals.   

At the international level, ‘customary law’ has been defined as a set of: ‘customs that are accepted as legal requirements or obligatory rules of conduct; practices and beliefs that are so vital and intrinsic a part of a social and economic system that they are treated as if they were laws’.

Georgetown, Guyana 11-14/04/2023  The Development Law Service (LEGN) of the Legal Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Sustainable Wildlife Programme, has been...

Kampala, Uganda 18/04/2023  19/04/2023 The Second National Conference on the Right to Adequate Food in Uganda will be held in Kampala, Uganda, from 18 to 19 April 2023. The Conference is organized by...

While women farmers produce between 60  and 80 percent of all food in developing countries, legal and customary laws and practices have historically limited their ability to fully access and...

The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic recently adopted a Law on Organic Production. This represents a major achievement in supporting transformative and sustainable agri-food systems.  This Law is the result of...

Source: Parliamentary alliances website FAO engages with African member states as they look to improve gender equality in agrifood systems On 13 March 2023, FAO’s Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, Regional...

Rome, 13 March 2023 For the first time, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) featured among the international institutions visited by the Nippon Foundation Fellows, as part...

On 7 March 2023, the Executive Director of the National Institute of Student Welfare (INABIE) of the Dominican Republic, Mr Victor Castro, accompanied by a delegation from the Food and...

At a time of accelerating change and increasing pressures on rural livelihoods, achieving substantive equality between women and men has never been so imperative. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination...

Source: FAO Liaison Office in Brussels website Blaise you are Chief of the Development Law service at FAO. But I suspect you don’t really do typical lawyer work. Can you tell us...

The Codex Alimentarius defines antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as “the ability of a microorganism to multiply or persist in the presence of an increased level of an antimicrobial agent relative to the susceptible counterpart of the same species” (Codex Alimentarius Commission, 2011, p. 4). AMR refers to microorganisms – bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites – that have acquired resistance to antimicrobial (AM) substances (FAO, 2016).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly OIE) have worked together for decades to address risks at the human–animal–environment interface. Since the adoption of the Manhattan principles in 2004 and the Berlin principles in 2019, the approach used has become known as “One Health”.  

In 2020, at the initiative of the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger of Ecuador, with the support of the Youth Parliamentary Front Against Hunger of Ecuador, and with FAO’s technical assistance,...

Source: Brussels in Brief - January 2023 / Issue #56 Legislative frameworks play a crucial role in fostering transformative change towards sustainable agrifood systems. This was the main message delivered by FAO’s...

Rome, Italy The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focused...

December 13, 2022 The Development Law Service took part in a hybrid modality dialogue on “Gaps and Opportunities for a Model Law on Agrifood Cooperatives”, to discuss the drafting of a...

On the day of commemoration of the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948, celebrated annually as Human Rights Day on 10 December, LEGN showcases its contribution...

Cape Town, 23 November 2022 The Development Law Service (LEGN) and the Equitable Livelihoods team (NFIFL) of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division jointly launched SSF-LEX at the 4th World Small-Scale Fisheries...

Saly, Senegal, 21-25 November 2022 FAO held a national workshop in Senegal to develop a National Strategy and Roadmap for effective implementation of the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures...