Day 1 Feb 24 Morning Session

The FAO Civil Society Regional Consultation on Food Security in Asia and the Pacific Region convenes this morning, February 24 at the Richmonde Hotel, with  a total of 35 representatives  from 25 regional formations of rural sectors – namely, farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples, women, youth, cooperative, NGOs, and INGOs, in attendance.

FAO Representative in the Philippines Mr. Kazuyuki Tsurumi  expressed, in his opening remarks, that the consultation – which is devoted to enhancing FAO’s  collaboration in Asia and the Pacific Region with the wide range of civil society – is being held “at an historic, but tragic, moment.” 

“For the very first time, one billion people in the world are hungry and malnourished, the majority of whom are in Asia, 642 million  mostly in rural areas and many the very people that produce most of our food: farmers, fishers, women, indigenous peoples,” Mr. Tsurumi observed.

The morning session (Session I) set the context of the discussions through:  (1)  A brief sharing and leveling-off of expectations by each of the organizations participation in the forum; and (2) A presentation of the overall and specific objectives and of their institutional and policy context by Mr. Thomas Price, OCEP Senior Program Officer.

The morning concluded with a mapping exercise (Session II) consisting of breakout sessions followed by a plenary presentation of the patterns, trends, and commonalities experienced by the region in terms of CSO engagement with FAO. The participants elaborated on their experiences of engagement with FAO processes and projects in terms of strengths, weaknesses, gains, and specific recommendations for more meaningful processes and partnerships in the future.anez

Read more...

Day 1 Feb 24 Afternoon Session

The afternoon of Day 1 (February 24) commenced with Session III, which involved the mapping of CSO mechanisms on food security.  Workshop discussions by the indigenous peoples, farmers, rural women, youth, and multisectoral groups convened for an hour to identify:

1. Existing global and regional mechanisms, 
2. Links to national mechanisms; and 
3. Plans for years 2010 to 2011. 

The plenary that followed each group report discussed the various concerns related to simplifying, integrating and/or making coherent  the various mechanisms and initiatives at the regional level,  strengthening and consolidating the links within and across sectors  and finding specific platforms where the various mechanisms intersect, making significant and meaningful the space available for the sectors, building and sharing knowledge about what works on the ground in terms of ending hunger, and ensuring that the various global and regional mechanisms translate initiatives into outputs that are actually and significantly felt by the sectors.

The day’s last segment, Session IV, dealt with existing processes for CSO participation in FAO and other IGOs. Mr.  Chris  Morris, Head of NGO and Civil Society Center Regional and Sustainable Development  Department of the ADB discussed how the ADB is mainstreaming CSO participation in its various operations, and elaborated on the NGO Civil Society Center as a structural window specifically designed for ADB’s interaction with civil society. Mr. Thomas Price, Senior Program Officer of FAO’s OCEP, and Mr. Diderik de Vieeshauwer, FAO-Rap Information Officer, discussed openings for CSO participation in FAO’s overall governing structures and processes, especially the recent reform actions to level up CSO participation in committee (particularly CFS or Committee on World Food Security) meetings.

Read more...