In a meeting on the margins of the 51st Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) held at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome on 23-27 October 2023, Gabriel Ferrero y de Loma-Osorio, Spain’s Ambassador at Large for Global Food Security and the current Chairperson of the CFS expressed his sincerest gratitude to Department of Agriculture (DA) Senior Undersecretary Panganiban for gracing his invitation to meet with him and for accepting the invitation to be a speaker in the panel discussion on monitoring CFS policy recommendations on social protection for food security and nutrition. The CFS Chair also expressed his appreciation for the Philippines’ unwavering support and contribution to the work of the CFS.
Senior Undersecretary Panganiban thanked the CFS Chair for the invitation and expressed appreciation for the CFS Chair’s able leadership, dedication, and hard work over the past two years for the CFS to deliver its mandate in helping address food security and nutrition in the world. Joining the Senior Undersecretary in this meeting were DA Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary Rex Estoperez and Agriculture Attaché and Deputy Permanent Representative to Rome-based UN Agencies on food and agriculture, Dr. Josyline C. Javelosa.
The CFS Chair recalled the leadership of former Philippine Agriculture Attaché and Agriculture Representative to the FAO, Mr. Noel de Luna, who became the first elected CFS Chair after the CFS Reform Process. Created in 1974, initially a technical committee of the FAO of the United Nations, the CFS was totally reformed in 2009 in order to open up to a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society, the private sector, and other organizations and integrate high-level scientific expertise through the high-level panel of experts which provides scientific support for policy recommendations.
The CFS Chair also recalled the Philippines’ leadership in proposing in 2011 that the year 2014 be formally declared the International Year of Family Farming, which was approved by the 66th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Ambassador Ferrero also commended the current Philippine Agriculture Attaché in Rome and Deputy Permanent Representative to Rome-based UN Agencies on food and agriculture, Dr. Josyline Javelosa, for being the face of the Philippines in CFS under his term, for being constructive while working towards consensus, particularly in the negotiations process of the three policy products recently endorsed by the CFS, especially the Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women and Girls’ Empowerment for Food Security and Nutrition. The other two policy products recently endorsed by the CFS are on youth engagement and on strengthening data use and analysis tools for food security and nutrition.
“Thank you for acknowledging the Philippines’ leadership and continued support for the CFS,” the Senior Undersecretary responded. “In these most crucial times, the world has to work together to address food security problems. Adopting appropriate technologies for improved productivity and incomes and investing further in research are needed to address sustainable food production, among other areas,” he added.
Both the DA Senior Undersecretary and CFS Chair jointly discussed and emphasized that the CFS should work towards putting people at the center of its work so that access to food and proper nutrition will be realized by everyone, especially the most marginalized sectors of society.
An example discussed is the continued implementation of the Decade of Family Farming 2019- 2028, launched in 2017, through carrying out a global action plan translated to national action plans that seek to place family farmers at the center of national public policies and investments. This provides an unprecedented possibility to achieve positive change throughout global food systems for sustainability, prosperity, inclusivity, and resilience.
In the Philippines, the coordinator for the implementation of the National Action Plan for the Implementation of the Decade of Family Farming is the Department of Agriculture through the Agricultural Training Institute.
The CFS Chair also called for the Philippines’ support for his successor, Ambassador of South Africa to FAO, Nosipho Nausca Jean Jezile.
‘You can count on the Philippines’ continued support for the work of CFS and the cooperation that we will extend to the incoming CFS Chair as we have extended to your Chairmanship, Amb. Ferrero,” Senior Undersecretary Panganiban replied.
In this 51st Session of the CFS, the Philippines’ reiterated the message that President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and concurrent Agriculture Secretary highlighted in his video message in last year’s CFS Session — that is to join the global commitment in relentlessly striving for more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agriculture and food systems so no Filipino will be left behind as we move forward. “It is my fervent hope that the discourse that transpires in CFS will be transformed into concrete steps that will alleviate the hardships of our people,” President Marcos emphasized in his message. ###
Photo caption: Senior Undersecretary Domingo F. Panganiban expresses appreciation to the CFS Chair, H.E. Gabriel Ferrero, for successfully leading the committee since 2021. Also in the photo are Assistant Secretary and Chief of Staff Rex Estoperez and Dr. Josyline C. Javelosa, Philippine Deputy Permanent Representative to Rome-based UN Food Agencies and Agriculture Attaché to Italy.
