RPCA39

1. PRAIA CABO VERDE
5-8 December 2023
Monitoring and
interpellation on food
and nutrition issues
39th
ANNUAL MEETING
© Shutterstock/PhotopankPL
www.food-security.net
Parliamentary monitoring of food and nutrition security policies: Experience of the
Parliamentary Front against Hunger and Malnutrition
Regional Coordinator FPH-LAC, Mrs. Sonia Rojas. Congresswoman of Costa Rica
FAO Technical Secretariat , Ms. Noëlle Salah, Specialist in alliances with parliaments and
academia

2. Food Security and Nutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean
43,2
million
(6,5%)
suffer from
hunger
In 2022…
The
prevalence
of food
insecurity
(37,5%) was
higher than
the global
percentage
(29,6%)
The region maintained a
decrease in food insecurity
between 2004-2014, when it
gradually began to increase.
The arrival of COVID-19 it
shot upwards
247,8
million
suffer for
moderate
food
insecurity
and 12,6%
severe food
insecurity
The prevalence of food
insecurity continues to
affect women more than
men
Source: FAO Regional Overview of Food security and Nutrition 2023

3. What is the Free-Hunger Initiative and the Parliamentary Front Against
Hunger?
The Hunger-Free
Initiative was born
in as a political
commitment for the
eradication of
hunger and
regional food
insecurity. LAC was
the first region in
committing to
eradicate hunger
by 2025.
The Parliamentary
Front Against
Hunger for LAC
was born, with the
support of the
FAO-Spain
Program, as a
plural network of
parliamentarians to
respond to the
commitment of the
Hunger-Free LAC
Initiative
X FORUM OF THE PARLIAMENTARY FRONT AGAINST HUNGER (2023)
SDGs that the Initiative addresses

4. History of the Free-hunger Latin America and the Caribbean
Initiative
• The Hunger-Free
LAC Initiative was
launched in
Guatemala
2005
• Spain-FAO Fund
for Latin America
and the Caribbean
is established and
the project to
support the
initiative is
launched.
2006
• MERCOSUR
endorse the
Initiative in their
XXXIV Meeting
held in
Montevideo,
Uruguay.
2007
• Call for the
formation of a
regional
Parliamentary
Front against
Hunger, on a
serious regional
food crisis
2008 • The Parliamentary
Front Against
Hunger in LAC is
born. 65
parliamentarians
signed.
2009
Conformation of the FPH-ALC, Panamá 2009

5. Parliamentary Front Against Hunger for LAC
The PFH-LAC is a plural and institutional network, which has
mobilized willingness and broad political commitments in
parliaments for more that 10 years, it comprises more than 400
parliamentarians of different political wings, present in 21
countries of the region and 5 regional parliaments (PARLATINO,
PARLANDINO, PARLASUR, PARLAMERICAS, FOPREL).
Since its creation in 2009, the PFH.LAC has promoted the approval
of more than 100 national and regional laws and policies in close
collaboration with other actors, as civil society and primarily with the
academia throughout the “Right to food Observatory for Latin
America and the Caribbean” a network of 100 universities that
work around the SDG2.

6. Governing bodies of PFH-LAC
• Executive Coordinating Commission
• Extended Coordinating Committee: formed by
the coordinators of each national front.
• Technical Secretariat: Through FAO, support is
provided to the governing bodies for their proper
functioning.
Every 2 years, the fronts gather in a Regional
Forum for decision-making and sharing of
experiences. In 2023, the X PFH-LAC was held in
Santiago, Chile days before the II Global
Parliamentary Summit.
Recently elected Executive Coordinating Commission during the 2023 X FPH-LAC
Forum held in Santiago, Chile

7. Parliamentary Front Against Hunger for LAC
Frameworks for action of enacted laws by the FPH-LAC
Right to adequate food
Food Security with gender perspective
Reduction and prevention of food loss and waste
•Right to consumers information
School meals
Strengthening of sustainable family farming
Sustainable and resilient agriculture

8. Good practices and examples of laws promoted by FPH-ALC
GUATEMALA – School feeding Law, decree Nº16 (2017)
• Promoted by the National chapter of the PFH-Guatemala
and the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health in
Guatemala
• Promotes the consumption of local food produced by
family farming in school meals, considering cultural
relevance.
• Proposes improving the school’s infrastructure, including
adequate equipment for kitchens and dining rooms in
schools.
During 2023, more than 3.6 million students in preschool,
elementary and basic level were benefit from the
contribution of $3 billion from the budget of the School
Feeding Program.

9. Good practices and examples of laws promoted by FPH-ALC
SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES – Zero Hunger Trust Fund
(2016)
• The Fund collects a 2% levy of telecommunications, used to
promote the right to education, health and welfare, and enhance
opportunities for employment and social security.
• The fund finances the following programmes:
1. Adopt a class: Financing in uniform costs, materials and food.
Promotes healthy diets and generates synergy with family farming.
2. Sustainable livelihood: Propels self-sufficient people through youth
empowerment, skills training and apprenticeship.
3. Nutritional support for golden years: providing food boxes quarterly gift
certificates and a reloadable card system to elderly citizens aged 78
years and older who have limited resources or are in condition of
poverty.
By 2023, one of the five schools primaries has been benefit from “adopt a
class”, over 177 young people have been trained in different employability
skill sets, over 350 elderly citizens have been benefit from the program.

10. Good practices and examples of laws promoted by FPH-ALC
COLOMBIA – Law on public purchases from family farming (2020)
• Promoted by the National chapter of the PFH-Colombia.
• Small producers and organizartions of peasants, family and
community farming, may participate as food suppliers in the supply
chain.
• This contributes to the reduction of rural poverty, socioeconomic
inclusion of family farming and improvement of food security.
• Who is obliged to comply with the law?
1. Public entities
2. Mixed economy companies
3. Private entities that manage public resources
At least 30% of the total value of the budget resources allocate
for purchasing food, must be purchased from small-scale
producers.

11. Good practices and examples of laws promoted by FPH-ALC
PARLATINO- Model Law on Food los and waste prevention and
reduction (2022)
• This law was created under the consideration of the contributions of the
Voluntary Code of Conduct for the Reduction of food loss and waste,
agreed by FAO member states in 2021.
• It seeks to fight against climate change by reducing greenhouse
gas emissions. This is very relevant if we consider that food loss and
waste is responsible for 8% of global emissions, 25% of the use of
fresh water for agriculture and about 30% of world’s arable land.
• The executive branch of each country will designate an enforcement
authority to adopt:
1. National policy strategy on food loss and waste
2. Generating information and data
3. Designing and implement education campaigns
4. Encorauging food donations
5. Promoting fair production models to foster sustainable development.

12. The development of the fronts at the international level
2014
V PFH-LAC Forum counted
with parliamentarians from
Spain and the African region
2016/2018
FPH-LAC showed the experience in the
RCPA (2017) in Paris, PanAfrican
Parliament, European parliament, CSF
and the General Corts of Spain.
2016
The Parliamentary Alliance
for the Right to Food was
created in the European
parliament
2016
PanAfrican Parliamentary
Alliance for Food Security
and Nutrition (PAPA-FSN)
was launched in El Cairo.
2018
Celebration of the I Global
Parliamentarian Summit, held
in Madrid, Spain
2023
II Global Parliamentary Summit
held in Valparaíso, Chile and the
creation of the Ibero-American
Alliance for Food Security for All

13. References and publication FPH-ALC
The fronts have created more than 50 publications and resources for
decision-makers in Spanish/English. Some of them are:
• Legal guidance notes for parliamentarians of Latin America and the
Caribbean (topics addressed: Right to adequate food, responsible
investments in agriculture, strategies to improve nutrition, measures
aimed at eradicating rural poverty, rights of rural women, promotion of
family farming, prevent and reduce food losses and waste etc)
• Successes and lessons from the Parliaments in Latin America and the
Caribbean
• Lessons and good practices in the work of AECID with the
parliamentary fronts against hunger: results and learning from an
innovative commitment to the right to food
For more visit: http://parlamentarioscontraelhambre.org/biblioteca/

14. Partners

15. The importance of the Spanish Agency for International Development
Cooperation (AECID)
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation
(AECID) is the first development agency to support the active role
of the legislative branch as an element of international cooperation,
this makes AECID an international reference in the field.
• Spain-FAO Fund finances the Hunger-Free Initiative since 2005
• Promotes the Knowledge sharing through the support of the FAO's
public policy training hub, an online platform that provides
courses to thousands of technicians and policy makers in LAC.
• Through Plan Intercoonecta, and the AECID's training centers
have favored the holding of frontline planning meetings, training
courses for advisors and exchanges with the academic world, in
addition to the management of several publications on food and
nutrition security.
• Technical assistance through the Rural development, food
security and nutrition department, the multilateral cooperation
department and the communications department of AECID
AECID with the new Coordinating Executive Comission of PFH-LAC, 2023

16. www.food-security.net