V WORKING GROUP 2025
PROGRESS REPORT
MARCH 2010-APRIL 2011
Juan Carlos García Cebolla
Coordinator
GCP/RLA/169/SPA
V Meeting of the Working Group (GT2025)
Hunger Free Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative 2025.
Lima (Peru), 5 and 6 May 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. HUNGER FREE LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN INITIATIVE 2025
BACKGROUND .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.WORK OF THE FAO REGIONAL OFFICE IN SUPPORT OF THE INITIATIVE
........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.PROGRESS AND RESULTS............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.1 Legal and institutional framework ......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.2 Mobilization and awareness-building .... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3 Training activities .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.4 Implementation of policies, programmes and projects, and capacitybuilding .......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.5 South-South Cooperation....................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.6 Monitoring and evaluation..................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.7 XXXVI Plenary Session of the Committee on World Food Security.
........................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.8 Focal points ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
1
HUNGER FREE LATIN AMERICA AND THE
CARIBBEAN INITIATIVE 2025. BACKGROUND
1
The Hunger Free Latin America and the Caribbean (HFLAC) Initiative, with strong
support from FAO, stems from the commitment of various countries and organizations
in the Region to eradicate hunger and guarantee food security and nutrition for all,
pursuant to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
The concept was introduced and discussed at the Latin American Conference on
Chronic Hunger, held in Guatemala in September 2005. The subsequent Declaration of
Presidents of Central America and Brazil, of 13 September 2005, established the general
orientation of the Initiative, which was supported by Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and Brazil. Not long thereafter, at the Special Summit of
Heads of State held on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly, the Vice
President of Guatemala, Eduardo Stein, included the HFLAC Initiative in his official
address, highlighting Guatemala’s support for the Initiative.
In 2006 the Initiative received letters of support from the presidents of Brazil and
Guatemala – on 3 April and 30 March, respectively, of that year – endorsing the goals
involved and requesting FAO’s support and assistance in implementing the Initiative.
Through its Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Spain expressed support for
the Initiative. In the same year, the United Nations’ Latin American and the Caribbean
Group (GRULAC) also lent its formal support.
In response to these requests, a project was formulated to support the Initiative. This
effort received financial backing from the Kingdom of Spain, through the Spain-FAO
Trust Fund. The project (GCP/RLA/160/SPA) began operation on 3 October 2006.
There have subsequently been numerous statements of acknowledgement and
support for the Initiative by governments, heads of state and parliamentarians,
examples of which include:
(i) the Final Declaration of the Heads of State and Government at the XVI IberoAmerican Summit held in Uruguay on 4 and 5 November 2006;
2
(ii) the Final Declaration of the XXXIV Meeting of MERCOSUR on 16 and 17 December
2007;
iii) the Declaration of Lima at the Fifth Latin America and Caribbean-European Union
Summit in May 2008;
(iv) the Final Declaration of the Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean on
Integration and Development, held in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, in December 2008;
(V) the Declaration of the Unity Summit, consisting of the XXI Rio Group Summit and
the II Summit of Latin America and the Caribbean on Integration and Development
(CALC), held in Cancún, Mexico, in February 2010, noting the intention to “strengthen
integration processes in the food sector and combine efforts in support of the HungerFree Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative2025”.
References to the Initiative can also be found in various declarations from bilateral
meetings of heads of state in the Region. Lastly, it should be noted that the 31st FAO
Regional Conference, held in Panama City, Panama, from 26 to 30 April 2010, reaffirmed
the support that the previous Conference had given to the Initiative, and recognized its
contribution to advancing the agenda to combat hunger in the Region. It also
recommended that the HFLAC Initiative become the preferred mechanism for liaison
with the Committee on World Food Security.
(*)See
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/wsfs/Summit/Docs/Final_Declaration/K6050S_
WSFS_OEWG_06.pdf
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WORK OF THE FAO REGINAL OFFICE IN
SUPPORT OF THE INITIATIVE
2
The FAO Regional Office adopted the Hunger Free Latin America and the Caribbean
(HFLAC) Initiative as a reference for its activities and for its regional food security
strategy, whose conceptual framework is shaped by the “twin-track approach”
proposed by FAO. This includes the Right to Food as a vital element in actions designed
to provide immediate assistance to the hungry; and capacity-building to operate in a
synergistic and coherent manner, allowing all people to achieve autonomous food
security – ensuring the sustainability of these achievements through a rights-based
approach to development. The various projects and activities of the regular
programme of the Regional Office are designed to support the country-driven
Initiative, and are addressed within the framework of the twin-track approach.
The GCP/RLA/160/SPA project, which supports the work of the Initiative’s Secretariat,
has been supplemented by other efforts explicitly aimed at supporting the Initiative’s
objective. Such efforts include the:
• GCP/RLA/169/SPA Regional Programme to strengthen the impact of public policies
designed to eradicate hunger and chronic undernourisment
• GCP/RLA/180/BRA Project to strengthen the School Feeding Program in the context
of the Hunger Free Latin America and Caribbean 2025 Initiative
• Hunger Free Latin America and the Caribbean 2025 Initiative (HFLAC 2025) –
Contribution of the Federal Republic of Brazil (GCP/RLA/160/BRA) designed to support
emergency response efforts
• GCP/RLA/183/SPA Program to support small scale farming in Peru, Bolivia and
Ecuador in order to improve the availability, access and use of high-quality seeds in the
high Andes
• GCP/RLA/182/SPA, aimed at strengthening policies for producing basic grain seeds to
support peasant agriculture as a means of ensuring food security in CAC member
countries.
These projects have strengthened various elements of the Initiative that could not be
effectively addressed through the GCP/RLA/160/SPA project, such as support for
implementation of policies and programmes, South-South cooperation and emergency
4
actions – elements identified as priorities in previous meetings of the 2025 Working
Group and the FAO Regional Conferences.
From the start, an attempt has also been made to seek coordination and
complementarity with activities of other projects. This includes:
• The coordination component of the Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) in
Central America, GCP/RLA/136/SPA
• Strengthening of Civil Society in the Areas of Small Scale Farming and Access to
Renewable Natural Resources, GCP/RLA/173/BRA
• Coherent Food Security Responses: Incorporating Right to Food into Global and
Regional Food Security Initiatives, GCP/GLO/297/SPA
• Integrating the Right to Adequate Food and Good Governance in National Policies,
Legislation and Institutions, GCP/GLO/324/NOR
The work carried out through the regular programme also attempts to support the
Initiative. Since the beginning of the project, the RLC Policy Unit has guided the
Secretariat’s work, as well as carrying out actions under its own mandate to support
the Initiative by providing monitoring and technical assistance for policies and
programmes. The Regional Office, under the coordination of the Policy Unit, has
prepared three reports (2008, 2009 and 2010) on the food security and nutrition
situation in the Region (Overview of Food Security and Nutrition). These reports
appeared in the framework of the Initiative and have been incorporated into the
Office’s regular programme of annual publications. In March 2011, a quarterly
newsletter was launched.
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3
PROGRESS AND RESULTS
3.1 Legal and institutional framework
Since the conclusion of the 31st FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the
Caribbean (April 2010) there have been new developments in legislation. Thus, while
Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Venezuela already had laws on
food security and nutrition, or on food sovereignty, Honduras also joined the group in
March 2011, when its Congress passed the country’s Food Security Act. Another nine of
the Region’s countries now have legislative bills relating to the Right to Food, Food
and Nutritional Security and / or Food Sovereignty.
With regard to recognition of the Right to Food at the constitutional level, in April 2011
Mexico approved a constitutional amendment on the issue. Thus, five countries have
now explicitly recognized, in their constitutions, the Right to Adequate Food.
Moreover, production issues are also receiving considerable attention. One notable
example is that of Bolivia, where the government is preparing a law on production for
Food Sovereignty.
The practice of establishing national documents with long-term goals – some emerging
from a political and social convergence allowing the formulation of policies, plans and
strategies – already has a decade-long history in some countries. These documents
represent a coordinated effort to address national goals. Their value resides in placing
food and nutritional security as a relevant issue in government programmes. In some
countries, technical components are added, making it possible to assess outcomes.
This practice has continued to expand and deepen. Thus, national policy or strategy
documents or plans have been developed in Argentina (2003), Bolivia (2008), Brazil
(2007), Colombia (2008), Costa Rica (2006), El Salvador (2006, and a new draft food
security and nutrition – or FSN -- policy and plan), Guatemala (2007), Honduras (2004,
2010), Nicaragua (2000, 2007), Panama (2000), Paraguay (2009), Peru (2004) and
Venezuela (2004). Haiti is currently engaged in drafting and debating a National Food
Security Plan. Of note in the past year are: the participatory process of drafting FSN
policy in El Salvador; the adoption of Decree 7272/2010, which develops and provides
regulations for Brazil’s Organic Law on Food Security and Nutrition, establishing
guidelines for the National FSN Policy and the National FSN System; approval in
6
October 2010 of the CARICOM Regional Policy for Food and Nutrition Security;
adoption of an FSN Strategy in Honduras; and, in Costa Rica, discussions regarding a
food security and nutrition policy, a policy on the agro-food sector and rural
development, all for the period 2010-2021.
In addition, there has been increased participation and commitment by national and
subnational governments (regions, states, provinces, cantons, municipalities,
communes). In the legislative arena, 15 state laws can be identified, in addition to the
law currently in force in the Federal District of Brasilia, Brazil, regarding food security
and nutrition; the Food Security and Nutrition Law of the Federal District of Mexico
(2009); the Neuquén Comprehensive Food Security System bill in Argentina (2009),
and the Draft Law to combat hunger and reduce poverty in the State of Miranda, in
Venezuela (2009). Along the same lines are the territorial plans for food security that
have been established for 19 of Colombia’s 32 departments, the regional FSN plans
currently being developed in the Dominican Republic, and the commitment adopted by
nine Regional Governments in Peru in February 2011, setting targets for reducing child
undernourishment and anaemia by 2014.
To address the intersectoral coordination that food security requires, inter-ministerial
bodies have been created over the past two decades, and in some cases even earlier,
with various designations (boards, commissions, committees). Initially confined to
government itself, the membership of these entities has gradually expanded, in many
cases involving other actors and representatives of civil society concerned with food
security. This has occurred either directly or through the creation of entities designed
to provide the opportunity for dialogue on these issues.
In most cases, interagency coordination of food security and nutrition falls under the
social umbrella. This is the case in Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El
Salvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay. In some cases, the Office of
the President or Vice President acts as the principal coordinating body, as in the case of
Brazil, Bolivia, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic. There is also
a move toward greater institutionalization in this area, as evidenced by the
establishment of an FSN Interagency Technical Committee in Honduras (September
2010, March 2011) and a bill on Articulated Interventions to Combat Poverty and Child
Undernourishment in Peru.
Institutional follow-up on the Right to Food is being conducted by ombudsmen,
attorneys and human rights commissioners. Of note is the work of Guatemala’s Human
Rights Ombudsman. This office has issued four reports on the Right to Food, the most
recent in March 2011. The Office of Human Rights in El Salvador issued a report in 2007
and is completing a second report. Colombia’s Ombudsman has developed a
methodology for monitoring the Right to Food and related policy. The Initiative’s
Secretariat is in the process of preparing a Letter of Understanding with that
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Colombian entity, with the expectation of incorporating its objectives in an initial
report.
During the past year, the project to support the HFLAC Initiative – in coordination with
other SPFS, GCP/RLA/169/SPA, the FAO Right to Food Unit, FAO’s Development Law
Service, FAO Country Offices and others -- has worked to develop and discuss existing
legislation in Honduras, proposed legislation in Bolivia, El Salvador and Peru, and FSN
policy or strategy documents in Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras. In the Dominican
Republic, this effort has assisted in the review of FSN policies and in the development
of FSN regional plans.
3.2 Mobilization and awareness-building
In this area, the most significant progress in efforts by the Initiative’s Secretariat
involves work with the Region’s parliamentarians. A major milestone in this regard is
the creation of the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger (PFH), which works to bring
together members of international, national and regional parliaments, congresses and
legislatures to make the eradication of hunger a priority on Latin American and
Caribbean national agendas and to institute the necessary legal, institutional and
financial measures.
This process began in 2008, with a conference and several workshops with
parliamentarians from Central America and the Dominican Republic. In 2009, a special
working group was formed, and contacts were initiated with all of the Region’s
parliaments. Two preparatory meetings were held, resulting in a proposal that was
presented to the Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Right to Food Security, an
event organized in conjunction with the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO), in
which 67 parliamentarians from the Region participated. The conference adopted a
work schedule, and officially launched the PFH. On 4 and 5 March 2010, in São Paulo,
with the support of the Assembly of São Paulo and Brazil’s Parliamentary Front for FSN,
the first PFH forum was held, with the resulting creation of a Coordinating Committee.
The Coordinating Committee established a regular schedule of meetings through
teleconference calls, and since October 2010 has met on a monthly basis. At the end of
the year, the FOPREL executive secretary also became a member of the Committee.
National Parliamentary Fronts
There is a growing interest in these issues, as reflected in initiatives by parliamentarians
such as:
Argentina. National Congress. Public hearing on food sovereignty: Urgent reflections
on constructing a new development model, held in October 2010. As a result of the
hearing, five workshops were organized with parliamentarians and civil society
8
organizations, and two sessions have already been held. Their conclusions can be
reviewed at: en http://www.hacialasoberanialimentaria.blogspot.com/.
Colombia. National Congress. On 11 November 2010 (pursuant to legislative act no.
081), an International Forum –The Right to be Free from Hunger: A National Challenge –
was held. Details of the programme are given at:
http://www.rlc.fao.org/iniciativa/pdf/forocol.pdf.
Peru. Congress of the Republic. On 1 December 2010, there was a public hearing on The
Right to Food in Peru.
Close collaboration has been maintained with parliamentarians from Argentina and
Colombia, who are promoting these activities, as well as with their counterparts in
Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico and Uruguay. As a result, Fronts were established in
Argentina in March 2011 and in Ecuador in April 2011. The process of creating Fronts in
Uruguay and Colombia has also begun, with their official launches expected to take
place on 16 May and 6 June 2011, respectively. Additionally, the process of formation of
the Honduran Front was initiated in this period.
While no parliamentary front has yet been established in Mexico, there has been a
strong movement for adoption of a constitutional amendment on the Right to Food.
The Initiative’s Secretariat supported this effort, and the process culminated in
adoption of the amendment on 29 April 2011.
Work with supranational parliamentary forums:
FORREL. The Forum of Presidents of Legislative Powers of Central America and the
Caribbean held a meeting on 28 and 29 October 2010 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, entitled
“Central America without Hunger: Food and Nutritional Security, a common goal for
Central America and the Caribbean”. This resulted in the Declaration of Tegucigalpa,
which the attending parliamentarians signed as an indication of their resolve to
continue fighting hunger in the Region. The statement incorporates new and important
issues, such as a “commitment to place priority on promoting discussion and obtaining
budget approval for greater resources to combat hunger and undernourishment”, and
“promoting legislative harmonization at the national level to strengthen the regional
governance of food and nutritional security”, as well as “to establish Parliamentary
Fronts Against Hunger in the FOPREL member countries”. The initial process of
formation of the Honduran Front is a first outcome of the above.
http://honduras.nutrinet.org/noticias/1/227-poderes-legislativos-declaran-centroamerica-y-el-caribe-sin-hambre
PARLATINO
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There has been ongoing work to support the PARLATINO commissions, with
participation throughout 2010 and in the first quarter of 2011, through three meetings
of the Agriculture Commission and one meeting of the Health Commission, along with
presentations related to School Feeding Programmes.
In addition, close contact has been maintained with PARLATINO parliamentarians in
efforts to support the formation of national fronts in Ecuador, Mexico and Uruguay.
PARLASUR
The MERCOSUR Parliament (PARLASUR) expressed support for the Initiative and
commitment to the Parliamentary Front Against Hunger. At its 25th plenary session (13
September 2010), it adopted agreements on the subject, which are contained in
Declaration 19-2010.
Andean Parliament
The Andean Parliament offered to host and co-organize the Second Forum of the PFH,
to be held in Bogotá, Colombia on 5 and 6 May 2011.
EUROLAT
The Initiative’s Secretariat has been invited to the fifth plenary session of the EUROLAT
Assembly, which is to be held from 16 to 19 May in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Right to Food
In 2010, the Initiative’s Secretariat received a request from several universities in
Colombia, led by the University of Medellín, to form a Right to Food Observatory. A
process of collaboration was initiated to define the scope and objectives of the entity
and deal with its creation at the regional level. Consultations were undertaken with law
schools and legal research institutes at universities, in various countries, concerned
with research and teaching related to the Right to Food, and a number of
commitments and guidelines were established jointly for the creation of the
Observatory.
On 17 and 18 February 2011, Bogotá was the site of the First Regional Workshop, at
which 18 universities (http://www.rlc.fao.org/iniciativa/pdf/faculob.pdf) based in
Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela discussed the operational
mechanisms, objectives and work plan for the Observatory. A Cuban university that
was unable to attend the meeting also joined the effort. An academic secretariat was
formed, to be responsible for managing a call for competitive bids and selecting
research projects to be funded by the participating universities, by FAO (through the
10
Initiative’s Secretariat) and by other partners. In order to launch this process, a letter of
understanding was signed, providing US$20,000 to co-finance 10 research projects,
along with a budget for independent evaluators who are to assist in selecting research
projects. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
participated in the workshop and is supporting the process.
There was also agreement on holding a second meeting during the first half of 2012 in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, and on beginning a process of consultation in order to draw
participation from universities outside the countries currently represented into the
effort. The Secretariat of the HFLAC Initiative has been given responsibility for
establishing a website for the Observatory.
The purpose of the Right to Food Observatory for Latin America and the Caribbean is
to create an information and research centre on regional realities relating to the Right
to Food, and to encourage academic debate on the issue. It addresses the need for
further discussion on rights-based approaches, their force in national legislation and
their impact on the effective protection of the Right to Food. The observatory’s
principal activities will be the regular publication of academic papers and research, the
co-founding, in conjunction with academic institutions, of research by its members, and
the creation of a virtual library of documents containing its own work and other
materials relating to the Right to Food.
On 9 and 10 June 2011, Bogotá will be the site of a regional consultation to be held by
the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. The Initiative’s Secretariat has helped in
identifying regional experts, and has worked with the organizers to promote the
coordination of dates to facilitate participation by parliamentarians attending the PFH
forum (7 and 8 June).
Communication and Awareness-building campaigns
Of note in the communication campaigns is the conclusion of the series of recipes from
“Chefs Against Hunger”, which are devoted to dishes made using the Region’s basic
foods. October 2010 saw the publication of the third cookbook, focusing on corn – in
addition to the previous publications, which dealt with potatoes and beans. This marks
the beginning of a new stage, one in which the countries adopt the Chefs’ campaign as
a means of promoting their own products. The first effort in this regard has been
collaboration with Chile's Undersecretary of Fisheries to develop a set of seafood
recipes to promote the consumption of seafood. The effort has been adopted by the
“Choose to Live Healthy” campaign, which promotes healthy habits.
There have been efforts to coordinate communication with other FAO food security
projects in the Region, as well as with SFPS and the Seeds for Development
Programme. The result has been the launching of the “Sembrar la Vida” campaign,
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which is designed to emphasize the valuable role of small producers, highlighting their
importance and the difficulties they face. An album of songs about farmers and their
livelihoods has been produced for the purpose, and an initial concert will be held in
Nicaragua on 6 May 2011.
During 2010, the Initiative also contributed to the dissemination of the “One Billion
Hungry” campaign.
3.3 Training activities
Training activity has largely taken the form of online courses, in collaboration with the
Centre for Policy Training at FAO’s Regional Office.
In collaboration with Argentina’s “White Helmets” (Cascos Blancos) and the Centre for
Policy Training at FAO’s Regional Office, an online course was developed, entitled “Risk
Management and Food Security: Disaster Risk Management Applied to Food Security in
Crisis Situations”. In 2010, the second and third rounds of the course were held,
involving 71 and 65 students, respectively, from 17 countries. In all, 86 students
successfully completed the course.
The seventh round of the Food Security and Nutrition course was held (see
http://www.rlc.fao.org/nucleo/cursos/SAN201011.htm), and was organized into two
groups, which took the course simultaneously, including 120 people from 21 countries,
with 81 participants (67% of those enrolled) completing the course successfully.
Along with El Salvador’s Ministry of Social Inclusion, the Henry Dunant Foundation
Latin America, SPFS and Action Against Hunger, the Secretariat created a programme
called International Diploma in the Right to Food, Food Security and Public Policy in
Central America (San Salvador). The programme was conducted in San Salvador, with
43 students from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua participating.
The Initiative has also collaborated in two courses organized by the Henry Dunant
Foundation Latin America, with instruction on food security policies and the Right to
Food. These courses, which were a combination of in-person and distance learning,
consisted of the following:
• International Diploma in Human Rights, Climate Change and Public Policy, in which 19
students
from
Chile,
Guatemala
and
Mexico
participated.
• International Diploma in Social Rights, Public Policy and Humanitarian Management
for Globalization. Twenty-nine students from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica
and Ecuador participated.
Work has also been carried out in the field of distance learning and in disseminating
findings and experiences from various countries. In collaboration with the Training
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Centre and GCP/RLA/169/SPA, the Initiative has worked with a number of Colombian
institutions to adapt the content generated by the PROSEAN project, and convert it to
a format suitable for a distance learning course, dealing with monitoring and evaluation
in FSN programmes and projects, and based on the experience of Colombia’s Social
Action Network and FAO. There are plans to train 40 monitors from SENA, in Colombia,
and to create a version for mass distance learning in Colombia through the agency
responsible for professional training, along with a version for dissemination in other
countries in the Region, through the Training Centre, with support from HFLAC. The
course is already designed and is under final review.
3.4 Implementation of Policies, Programmes and Projects, and Capacity-building
At both of the most recent FAO Regional Conferences, as well as at the third and fourth
meetings of the 2025 Working Group, countries indicated special interest in
strengthening the Initiative’s framework for formulating and implementing policies and
programmes.
In this respect, the work of the Regional Office is unfolding through the field
programme, for which the HFLAC Initiative serves as the strategic frame of reference
concerning Food Security. Within the field programme, there are several projects of a
regional or subregional nature explicitly designed to support the Initiative in this line of
work. Similarly, the decentralization and results-based planning process provides
overall assistance in refining and enhancing the FAO field programme in the Region.
Also of note is the January 2011 signing of a memorandum of understanding between
FAO and the World Food Programme to strengthen joint work related to school
feeding programmes and the use of their purchasing power to bolster local economies
and small scale agriculture.
With regard to technical assistance in this area, it is worth noting the role of the Policy
Unit at the Regional Office, which conducts monitoring and analysis. This includes an
extensive programme providing policy assistance concerning finance, labour markets,
and market- and land-related processes. It also assists a variety of processes, including
(in the period examined here) FSN policy formulation in El Salvador, and development
of the Plan for the Eradication of Extreme Poverty, currently being prepared by the
Government of Brazil.
Project GCP/RLA/160/SPA, which supports the work of the Regional Office in its
capacity as the Initiative’s Secretariat, is conducting two types of activities in this area:
support for other units within FAO, in order to incorporate the Region’s different
experiences in assisting specific countries, and to promote opportunities for dialogue
and exchange of experiences.
The former type of activity includes: supporting formulation and discussion of FSN
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policy in El Salvador; participating in a mission requested by the Government of Brazil
related to its Plan for the Eradication of Extreme Poverty; supporting regional FSN
plans and providing consultation on best practices in connection with food and
nutrition programmes, pursuant to a request by the Government of the Dominican
Republic; and providing FSN support for the Honduras FSN strategy.
In efforts to support implementation of the CARICOM Regional FSN policy, plans are
underway to provide collaboration through a consultant based at the Caribbean
SubRegional Office, and to provide an Agriculture and FSN officer for the CARICOM
Secretariat.
With regard to conducting discussions on programmes and exchanging experiences,
the following activities have taken place since the last meeting of the 2025 Working
Group:
On 10 and 11 June 2010, Santiago, Chile was the site of a Regional Forum, entitled Food
Security, Safety and Quality: Successful Cases of Integration. This was organized in
conjunction with the Group on Food Safety and Quality at the FAO Regional Office.
Participants included representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Honduras,
as well as presenters from FAO and WHO. The forum was open to the professional
public, and more than 150 individuals from different organizations and institutions in
Chile attended. This served as an initial meeting to determine the activities being
carried out in this area by different countries, and to promote greater integration of
policies in the two areas of food safety and food quality, while attempting to adapt
policies in order to better meet the needs of the most vulnerable populations.
On 30 September and 1 October 2010, the Fifth Seminar on Conditional Transfers,
organized by the Initiative’s Secretariat with support from ECLAC, WFP and UNASUR,
was held. Representatives from 12 countries participated, and progress on the
respective programmes was detailed, with particular attention to two issues:
experience in the Region with evaluating such programmes, and their potential for
emergency response. The conclusions reached can be found at:
http://www.rlc.fao.org/iniciativa/pdf/transf5.pdf.
It was agreed that the Sixth Seminar on Conditional Transfers would address the
question of incorporating a rights-based approach in the programmes, with a proposal
that countries submit self-assessments of their programmes. For purposes of preparing
these assessments, a workshop of experts was organized in March 2011, as a joint
effort with ECLAC and UNHCR, as the result of which a reference document will be
prepared to assist countries in analyzing the degree to which elements of a rightsbased approach are being incorporated in conditional transfer programmes underway.
Experts are currently reviewing this document, with the expectation that it will be
available for use by the countries at the end of May 2010.
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In Puerto Varas, Chile, from 29 November to 1 December 2010, the Third Seminar on
School Feeding Programmes, organized by the Latin American School Feeding Network
(LA-RAE), was held. Representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Panama, Costa
Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic
participated. The project provided support for attendance by delegates from
Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. Also attending, at the Initiative’s invitation, was a
parliamentarian, Deputy Nazareno Fonteles, who explained the role of the
parliamentary front and described his experience in parliamentary work on issues of
food security and school feeding. The LA-RAE members agreed to organize a Fourth
School Feeding Seminar in August 2011 in Mexico City, and to strengthen the RAE as a
coordinating body for the PAE in the Region, while also requesting support from FAO
and WHO in strengthening these programmes on the continent and from the HFLAC
Initiative to support the LA-RAE, to work toward making the network a forum for
sharing experiences and fostering cooperation between the countries.
15
The 2025 Working Group, at its fourth meeting, requested the preparation of reports
on the following topics:
• Family agriculture – its institutional framework
• Indigenous and Afro-descendant agriculture – its nature and characteristics
• Sovereignty and food security – legal and policy implications
• Food Security and emergencies – best practices
• Reviving and maintaining the food and nutritional culture of the Region by
encouraging healthy eating habits
Taking into account the resources available, the project has commissioned a group of
consultants to examine the institutional framework of family agriculture. Together with
FAO’s Office of Nutrition, the consultants have begun to conduct an inventory and
analysis of best practices in the areas of information, communications and food and
nutritional education. A preliminary report is being presented at the V Meeting of the
2025 Working Group. The proposal by the Secretariat is to organize several regional
meetings to discuss and validate the results and, perhaps, to establish regular expert
meetings on these issues.
3.5 South-South Cooperation
Pursuant to the recommendations of the IV Meeting of the 2025 Working Group, the
Secretariat will present a model tool for information exchange for cooperation
between countries.
3.6 Monitoring and Evaluation
In the first operational stage of the project to support the Initiative, efforts were aimed
at promoting the establishment of a Regional Observatory as part of the network of
national observatories. As of 2009, the Regional Office observatory was consolidated
as part of its regular programme, and now provides technical assistance to national
observatories, also as part of its regular programme.
The project has assisted in the preparatory efforts to establish the observatory of the
UNASUR Social Development Council, one of whose strategic concerns is that of food
security. To this end, a workshop was financed and held in November 2011 in Quito,
Ecuador, drawing on the participation of ECLAC and other regional institutions with
experience in developing observatories. As a result of the workshop, and of the work
of the Technical Secretariat of the UNASUR Social Development Council, a proposal
was presented to the member countries for their consideration.
3.7 XXXVI Plenary Session of the Committee on World Food Security
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The Chairperson of the Food Security Committee extended an invitation to participate
in the 36th plenary session of the Committee on World Food Security, in the framework
of the panel concerned with Regional Initiatives, including eight other initiatives. The
Committee recognized that regional initiatives strengthen national efforts to promote
food security and combat undernourishment, acknowledging their importance in
sharing experiences and best practices, and in promoting South-South cooperation.
The Committee decided to maintain contacts and links with regional initiatives in the
periods between sessions, and in this connection welcomed the HFLAC Initiative
proposals.
The FAO Regional Representative for LAC, after receiving the final report of the 36th
Plenary Session, sent a letter to the Committee’s chairperson reiterating the HFLAC
Initiative Secretariat’s commitment to support the CSA-CFS in consultations related to
the work of the Committee, identify regional experts for the tasks undertaken by the
High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE), South-South cooperation, and the exchange of
experiences at the inter-regional level. It also recommended the establishment of a
focal point for communications with the Committee.
One task to be undertaken by the Committee is that of “mapping” FSN initiatives,
projects and activities, so as to promote application of the Rome principles and to
enhance the effectiveness of efforts to combat hunger. The “mapping” process is in a
pilot phase; no country in the Region is, as yet, involved in this process. The Secretariat,
in consultation with the Committee, highlighted a number of interesting experiences in
the Region in order to contribute to the debate on this issue, proposing that they be
discussed at a workshop to be held from 23 to 25 May 2011 in Rome, Italy. In order to
encourage the Region’s participation in this debate, it will finance attendance by three
regional experts.
3.8 Focal points
The Secretariat has received notification of the appointment of focal points for the
HFLAC Initiative in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Paraguay,
Peru, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
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