Concept Note (draft)
Regional Meeting of Chairs of the Committees on Food and Agriculture of National Parliaments
of the ECA region.
Simultaneous translation into ENG, ALB and RUS will be provided.
Dates – 22-23 October 2024
Location – Tirana, Albania
Background
Agrifood systems touch every aspect of human existence and are intricately connected to human and animal
health, land, water, climate, biodiversity, and the economy. The multiple crises affecting the European and
Central Asia Region, along with global challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and
environmental pollution, significantly impact agrifood systems transformation. A stock-taking exercise of
the agrifood systems in the region shows that the systems are failing at multiple levels. Achieving the food
security, nutrition and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 requires a coordinated set of actions
on a number of fronts: coherent policies and programmes, an increase of finance and investments in line
with national priorities and requirements and greater collaboration across different sectors and stakeholders.
Rationale
To address challenges and facilitate agrifood systems transformation and promote a holistic approach to
agri-food systems transformation a multi-stakeholder engagement is required comprising of governments,
UN agencies, civil society and the private sector. While the executive institutions of governments have a
key role to play in facilitating the implementation, parliamentarians, through their institutions and networks,
are strategically positioned to ensure that a sustainable transformation of agrifood system is a priority in
national political agendas. This includes supporting policy adoption, establishing appropriate legislative
and regulatory frameworks, raising awareness, promoting dialogue between relevant stakeholders,
allocating resources for the implementation of policies and programmes, and fostering policy coordination
and coherence across sectors and agencies. Parliaments and parliamentarians are challenged to contribute
more effectively to the governance of food systems, including to enhance the food and environmental
security, the regulation of the different stakeholders, institutions and processes involved along the food
supply chain, and the promotion of equitable access to healthy and sustainable diets.
As a follow-up to the
Second Global Parliamentary Summit against Hunger and Malnutrition
held in Chile
in June 2023, where the first ever Global Parliamentary Pact against Hunger and Malnutrition was
adopted, and REU preparatory meeting of 5 Chairs of Georgia, Ukraine in October 2023, increasing
networking of the Parliamentarians in the will be a key in supporting the transformation of the agrifood
systems and creating an enabling environment for a holistic and cross-sectoral approach It will be key to
structure a substantial and coherent contribution of parliamentarians from the region in the Third Global
Parliamentary Summit, to take place in Africa in 2026 (country yet to be defined).
Objectives of the Meeting
•
Exchange of views
and knowledge on the status of the agri-food systems and the role of the
Parliament and more specifically the role of the Agrarian Committees in addressing and responding
to crises and challenges affecting or able to drive food systems transformation, to include
innovative approaches and responses to enhance sustainability and;
Facilitate linkages
amongst Parliamentarians/ Parliamentary bodies and FAO REU (regional and
national level) through first-ever region wide exchange and networking;
•