ECLAC’s Natural Resources Division spoke at a High-Level Event of the Working Group for Food Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean

From the Food Systems Summit (FSS) that took place on September 23, 2021, two types of commitments emanated from the member countries: the Coalitions, voluntary mechanisms for collaboration among its members, to progress on certain issues related to agri-food systems, and the roadmaps, which are action mechanisms drawn up based on the national dialogues that took place in the months prior to the Summit.

So far, 16 LAC countries have joined 12 different Coalitions, and 14 countries have presented Roadmaps at the Summit. This year, the initial group of United Nations agencies (ECLAC, FAO, IFAD and WFP) together with UNEP and PAHO, was established to give continuity to the commitments adopted at the Summit, making effective compliance with the roadmaps that countries were mapped. To this end, a regional technical group was formed whose goal is to support the United Nations System through its Resident Coordinators and member countries in following up on the commitments agreed at the Summit, to be facilitators of efficient and effective communication , organize spaces for dialogue with national counterparts, and be an entity that coordinates efforts with the work carried out in Rome (Hub).

To analyze the results of the first year and the existing global situation, this high-level virtual event was held, with the aim of exposing how the current context of the increase in food and fertilizer prices as a result of the war in Ukraine, and the economic and fiscal panorama in the region, have impacted on the agri-food systems and what governance mechanisms will be necessary to implement the national roadmaps.

This high-level virtual event was proposed as a meeting space for government actors, United Nations agencies and different counterparts, to hold a discussion on the future of agri-food systems in this context of crisis and the challenges they must face. governments to carry out the commitments acquired to transform the region’s agri-food systems according to national realities. This is just the first of a series of webinars planned by the different agencies that make up the Regional Working Group.