Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Q1. 

Addressing socio-economic inequality and working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a complex and ongoing challenge that requires collaborative efforts from various stakeholders, including international organizations like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). To regain momentum and effectively work together to "leave no one behind," they can consider the following strategies:

Enhance Collaboration and Partnerships:

FAO can actively engage with CSOs by forming partnerships and collaborations to leverage their local knowledge, grassroots networks, and community-level insights.

Establish joint committees or working groups to facilitate regular communication, coordination, and information sharing between FAO and CSOs.

Capacity Building:

FAO can provide training and capacity-building programs to empower CSOs with the necessary skills and knowledge to contribute effectively to SDGs related to agriculture, food security, and rural development.

CSOs can also provide FAO with valuable on-the-ground insights and feedback on the impact of FAO's programs, helping to make them more responsive and relevant.

Data Collection and Analysis:

Collaborate on data collection efforts to better understand the specific challenges faced by marginalized and vulnerable communities in different regions.

Jointly analyze data to identify trends and disparities, allowing for targeted interventions.

Advocacy and Awareness:

CSOs can serve as advocates for marginalized communities, using their voices and networks to raise awareness about the importance of addressing inequality and leaving no one behind.

FAO can support CSOs in advocacy efforts by providing data, research, and technical expertise.

Community Engagement:

Involve CSOs in the design, implementation, and evaluation of FAO projects and programs to ensure they are tailored to local needs and priorities.

Conduct community consultations and involve CSOs in decision-making processes to promote inclusivity.

Innovation and Technology Transfer:

FAO can facilitate the transfer of appropriate agricultural technologies and innovations to marginalized communities through CSOs, ensuring they have access to the tools and knowledge needed to improve their livelihoods.

Collaborate on pilot projects that test innovative approaches to addressing inequality in agriculture and food systems.

Resource Mobilization:

Collaborate on fundraising efforts to secure resources for projects and initiatives aimed at reducing socio-economic inequality.

FAO can assist CSOs in accessing funding opportunities and grants.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

Establish joint monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to assess the impact of collaborative efforts in reducing inequality and achieving SDGs.

Use the results of these evaluations to make evidence-based adjustments to programs and projects.

Policy Advocacy:

Work together to advocate for policies at the national and international levels that promote equity, social justice, and inclusive development.

CSOs can play a crucial role in bringing the voices of marginalized communities to policy discussions.

By fostering a strong partnership between FAO and CSOs, both organizations can contribute their unique strengths and resources to accelerate progress towards SDGs and ensure that no one is left behind in the pursuit of a more equitable and sustainable future.

Q2. 

Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) can play a crucial role in accelerating the transformation of agrifood systems to make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. Here are some concrete actions that CSOs can take to boost their impact on the ground in alignment with the FAO's 2023 agenda:

Advocacy and Policy Influence:

Lobby for policy changes at local, national, and international levels that support sustainable agrifood systems.

Advocate for the inclusion of small-scale farmers, women, and marginalized communities in decision-making processes related to agriculture and food systems.

Capacity Building and Education:

Provide training and education to farmers on sustainable and resilient farming practices.

Raise awareness among communities about the importance of biodiversity, climate-smart agriculture, and sustainable food production.

Promote Sustainable Practices:

Encourage and support the adoption of sustainable farming techniques, such as organic farming, agroforestry, and permaculture.

Promote the use of drought-resistant crops and climate-smart agricultural technologies.

Community-Led Initiatives:

Facilitate the establishment of community-based organizations and cooperatives to empower small-scale farmers and enhance their access to resources and markets.

Support community-led initiatives for food security, including community gardens and seed banks.

Research and Data Collection:

Conduct research on local agrifood systems to better understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Collect data on agricultural practices, food security, and nutrition to inform evidence-based decision-making.

Promote Inclusivity:

Advocate for gender equality and women's empowerment in agrifood systems.

Ensure that marginalized groups have access to resources, credit, and markets.

Collaboration and Partnerships:

Collaborate with governments, international organizations, and other stakeholders to implement sustainable agrifood system initiatives.

Build partnerships with the private sector to support small-scale farmers and promote sustainable supply chains.

Advocate for Sustainable Consumption:

Educate consumers about the impact of their food choices on agrifood systems and the environment.

Promote sustainable and local food consumption.

Climate Resilience and Disaster Preparedness:

Assist communities in developing climate-resilient farming practices and disaster preparedness plans.

Advocate for policies and resources to address the impact of climate change on agrifood systems.

Monitoring and Evaluation:

Establish mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the impact of CSO interventions on agrifood systems.

Use data and feedback to continually refine and improve strategies.

Media and Communication:

Utilize media campaigns and social platforms to raise awareness about agrifood system issues.

Mobilize public opinion in support of sustainable practices and policies.

Capacity for Negotiation and Dialogue:

Build the capacity of CSOs to engage in meaningful dialogues with governments, businesses, and other stakeholders to influence decision-making processes positively.

By taking these concrete actions, CSOs can contribute significantly to the transformation of agrifood systems, making them more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable in line with the FAO's 2023 agenda. Collaboration and adaptability will be key to achieving lasting impact on the ground.

FAO as one of the leading UN development agencies can create a platform to enable regular interation with CSOs under different themes / SDGs  of interest. This will enable regular (deliberate) sharing of ideas with CSOs. CSOs are at the frontline of development, but increasingly under spaces that are reducing.



FAO as a Partner ought to speak out in this negative trend, pointing out the implications of this on achievements made on different fronts including SDGs

FAO also needs to promote and share technology that can offset climate change, unsustainable practices like forest degradation. For example, FAO is well placed to highlight these practices to other areas of need and support technology transfer to make this happen

1. How can FAO and CSOs work together to regain the momentum lost and work jointly to "leave no one behind”?

Failed and successful cases should be analyzed to enhance successful actions and expand accurate strategies. This analysis should look for the factors that block relations between FAO and CSOs and experts could be consulted on how to break these blockages.

2. How can CSOs contribute to such transformation and intensify the effects on the ground? Please suggest concrete actions.

A mediator may be needed to facilitate the task. The data from the Eurobarometer say that scientists are the main source of reliability that European citizens consider when they face a global problem. Scientific institutions (research groups, specialized scientific teams from universities, and research centers) can be that link that facilitates relationships. In each of the topics, there are experts who carry out scientific research analyzing specific problems and specific cases. They offer reliable information supported by evidence. They are the key to increasing trust and supporting FAO's actions. In these scientific teams, whatever their type, social scientists should not be missing, as they are experts in the relationships between agents and analyze the keys to governance and power. Concrete action: create groups of scientists to act as mediators in FAO-CSO relations depending on the profile of the CSO in question and in relation to the topic that we want to discuss with these CSOs.

I appreciate firstly this initiative to request the proposition of the CSOs to provide their contribution. I contribute as an indigenous people's member. In ending poverty and hunger in the indigenous peoples' community, it is crucial to identify together with FAO the issues, bottlenecks, and risks that constitute the elements of the first step for to elaborate the action plan on which we will underline the strategies and the interventions for indigenous peoples. 

At first time, it is better to build a partnership between indigenous peoples with FAO in order to think together about how to make the organization of the preliminary action. After that, we can make the mobilization of resources to build capacity building for the technical and operationalization of indigenous people organizations to engage with the FAO in the context of ending poverty and hunger as well as to conserve the resilience of indigenous peoples face the chocks of climate change. It is also better to recruit one international and other national consultants who will get the role of following up on the implementation of the activities. 

Nous avons le défit né de l'insécurité. Or, les capacités financières des OSC ne leur permettent pas d'accompagner efficacement les personnes déplacées internes.La FAO étant une organisation de taille pourraient accompagner les OSC partenaires afin que ces OSC dans leurs localités appuient les populations sur le plan alimentaire. La FAO dans le cas du possible Pourrait accompagner les OSC dans la production alimentaire de saisons sèches. Les basfonds existent et ont besoin d'exploitation. La FAO dans ses plans d'action devrait Accompagner les OSC

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION

We face the challenge of insecurity. However, financial capacities of CSOs do not allow them to provide effective support to internally displaced people, and FAO, as a major organization, could support partner CSOs in their localities to provide food aid to the population. FAO, if possible, could support CSOs in dry-season food production. The lowlands exist and need to be exploited. FAO action plans should support CSOs.

1. If FAO were serious about reducing socio-economic inequalities and leaving no one behind, it would consult meaningfully with civil society in the formation of policy advice and studies that it proffers to states. Rather, FAO in our region (NENA) has produced studies and policy advice on support for small-scale family farming (but not farmers), agricultural water investment (toward privatization of water) and, more generally, the State of Land and Water that are rich in data, but poor in analysis. They clearly favor the dominant corporatist approach to food and related natural resources. FAORNE has actively ignored and dismissed the advice of civil society, even in the biennial regional consultations.

FAO should respect and collaborate with CSOs in the country sphere. However, FAO’s CSO engagement by design has been episodic in the form of (disingenuous) biennial regional consultations and channeled through the regional office only.

2. In NENA, for example, CSOs already made clear and negotiated a medium-term plan with FAORNE on how to contribute to such transformation through agroecology and practical application of the VGGT in specific countries. However, FAO dropped that collaborative program at thew same time as the new Director General and new Regional Director came into office. Years of effort have been lost in the process, and FAO’s engagement in both the headquarters and in the region have deteriorated with the manifestly uncooperative behavior of FAO leadership in those offices. An enduring example was the meeting with the Director General on 4 June 2023.

3. As mentioned, the promotion and development of agroecology has been the main field of collective action to both mitigate and adapt to climate change. Responsible water management is another area where current development patterns and state behavior are exacerbating the crisis. FAO could revive and greatly improve the cooperation with CSOs, if it had the political will to do so. However, that is becoming increasingly elusive.

4. We used to raise FAO as an example to other UN agencies of how civic engagement should look, especially for those—e.g., UN Habitat—new to the status of a full-fledged agency with a stakeholder-engagement mandate. Since FAO has made liars out of us in that case, we can no longer refer to that model. Instead, certain experiences such as the UNDRR mechanism for civic engagement and advice have emerged as worthy of emulation. Perhaps that example is working well because of a sense of urgency and commensurate political will to solve problems, without the pressure of corporate and corporatist interests (yet) that seek to capture or destroy meaningful CSO engagement for private gain.

Q1. How can FAO and CSOs work together to regain the momentum lost and work jointly to "leave no one behind”?

Soften the country-level approach and action to be 

- producer-focussed in the grassroots

- driven by community specifics such as culture and religion

- aware of digitalization process level

- highly considerate of communities abilities, aptitudes and attitudes

- realistically concerned about information dissemination and level of awareness about the SDGs.

Also FAO et al to encourage farmer groups to develop leadership structures from the bottom-up and ensure participatory-producer project appraisal and planning at the different leadership structures i.e. community, ward, local government, district, state and region. It is a herculean task to achieve in Africa, my region in particular, but then it is either this approach or let it be "business as usual" on the control of the central power corridor and forget the SDGs progress, nothing else. After all no time, considering the Question 1 context and needed direction.

Based on my experience with CSO and FAO partnership i worked in Andhra Pradesh Farmer managed groundwater Systems project. 

some important aspects for success are :

• local participation enabled by local leadership in the form of Groundwater management committees GMC at village level.
• gender participation from right day one & high technical input at every level 
• more field level activities and less official meetings
• regular monitoring by people themselves topped with technical team. 
• equal respect and responsibility between FAO & Partner CSO. for more details check APFAMGS in land & water division of www.fao.org 

challenges : 

• CSO need technical backup through vigorous trainings to update their staff. 
• exposure to best sustainable examples rather magnified or hyped examples 
• any model which sustained for more than 5 to 7 years both economically and ecologically should be studied well and generate learning materials based on their experience. 

www.ddsindia.com , 

thank you

Q 2. What and how can CSOs contribute to such transformation to boost impact on the ground? 

CSOs can play role as last mile connectivity of agri-food transformation through creating awareness at ground level. For ex.  CSOs can create local clusters who could be facilitated by CSOs for demonstration of efficient and sustainable solutions for agrifood transformation viz. integrated farming systems and crop diversifications suiting to local conditions which will also provide resilience.

Inclusiveness of local people through CSOs in public dialogues, making action plans for implementation and helping them connect the govt and policy makers will not only facilitate smooth implementation of transformation towards achieving developmental goals but also create perceptible impact at the ground level.