CFS Policy Convergence Products Database

Collect information and data to improve knowledge regarding the impacts of climate change on fish harvesting and farming, and monitor the impact of climate change on fisheries resources.

Promote the implementation of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) 'Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries' to increase the contribution of fisheries to food security.

Mainstream and integrate climate change adaptation in fisheries and aquaculture policies, and include fisheries and aquaculture considerations in policies on climate change, as appropriate.

Strengthen international statistics and support research to improve knowledge on the impact of the production and consumption of fish on nutrition.

Promote sustainable fisheries and aquaculture policies and management and design climate change adaptation strategies for food security and nutrition

Recognize the knowledge of local and indigenous fishing communities and promote its use regarding food security and nutrition.

Seize the opportunities and address the challenges of aquaculture development

Note farmers' and breeders' contribution to conserving and developing plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Promote smallholders'- particularly women farmers'- ability to access, breed, produce, conserve, purchase, exchange, sell and use the seeds they need, including local, indigenous and modern varieties. Strengthen information and knowledge sharing related to practical on farm implementation and foster local innovation. Support in situ and ex situ conservation and development of agricultural biodiversity by smallholders together with research and extension systems, in line with sustainable agricultural development and good practices, including through agro-ecological approaches and sustainable intensification. All the above-mentioned measures of this paragraph have to be in accordance with applicable national and international law.

Strongly promote responsible governance of land and natural resources with emphasis on securing access and tenure for smallholders, particularly women, in accordance with the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security as well as other country-led measures with similar objectives. Solutions need to be country and context specific and consistent with existing obligations under national and international law. A related need is to strengthen local institutions dealing with regulation of such access and use of natural resources, particularly by smallholders and women.

Strengthen participatory research, extension and farming service systems, particularly those that respond to the specific needs of smallholders and women farmers, to increase their productivity, diversify their production, and enhance its nutritional value and build their resilience, including with respect to climate change, according to the tenets of sustainable development. The approach is ideally that of combining farmers' and indigenous people's traditional knowledge with the findings of scientific research, as appropriate.

Prioritize public investment and encourage private investment, specifically in support of smallholders' own investments, in, among others; water management, sustainable management of genetic resources for food and agriculture, soil conservation, forests, transport and infrastructure such as feeder roads, energy, post- harvest handling infrastructure, rural electrification and telecommunication grids.

Build inclusive participatory processes that engage smallholders, women, youth, private sector, and other relevant organizations. Promote legal recognition and respect of the rights of smallholder farmers - including the right to organize democratically and to have voice in policy debates, with gender and age-balanced representation - and the need for farmers' organizations to be strengthened to achieve this.

Provide gender-sensitive public investment, and encourage private investments, in health-care, child care, nutrition, education and capacity development, social protection, water and sanitation, to enhance food security and nutrition, and reduce smallholder poverty.

Improve information management (the collection, transparency, communication and access to data, including sex-disaggregated data). Step-up evidence-based analyses to document the state of smallholder agriculture; its diverse typologies, its incentives and constraints, its evolution and its contributions to various outcomes in particular to food security and nutrition.

Promote access to assets, public goods, social services, research and extension and technology Access to assets

Access to public goods, social services, research, extension and technology

encourage farmers in adopting good practices, including, inter alia, farming and grazing practices to prevent land degradation and loss of soil carbon, increasing the efficiency of nitrogen use, improving livestock productivity and the use of manure, improving water management, and increasing the use of agro-forestry

increase international cooperation and public and private investment for research, on climate change adaptation and mitigation in order to favour alignment with sustainable development and food security and nutrition including the adaptation needs of small scale producers;

provide multistakeholder country-led assessments and research for agricultural development strategies to face the adverse effects of climate change, taking into account differences between agricultural systems, farming practices, and regional, national and local conditions

take into account gender-sensitive and participatory approaches that enable both men and women to gain equitable access to land use, information, and resources when addressing food security in the context of climate change

develop agricultural strategies that take into account: the need to respond to climate change and to safeguard food security; the diversity of agricultural conditions and systems; and the countries' and regions' specific levels of development, needs, contexts and priorities

facilitate, as appropriate, participation of all stakeholders in food security policies and programmes to address climate change recognizing the contribution of all farmers and food producers, especially small-scale producers, to food security, by:

promote efficiencies in the food chain and the reduction of post-harvest losses and food waste in a sustainable manner (Member States in partnership with private sector and civil society).

foster exchanges of information among research programs on climate change and food security (Member States, International Organizations );

enhance research, including farmer-led research, and improve information collection and sharing

Ensure that public policies and investment play a catalytic role in the formation of partnerships among agricultural investors, including private public, farmer co-operative private and private-private partnerships, to ensure that the interests of smallholders are being served and preserved by those partnerships, and recognize that, in many cases, the State has a crucial role to play in facilitating access of smallholders to credit, technical and extension services, insurance, and markets;

Ensure that agricultural policies and public investment give priority to food production and nutrition and increase the resilience of local and traditional food systems and biodiversity, with a focus on strengthening sustainable smallholder food production, reducing post harvest losses, increasing post harvest value addition, and on fostering smallholder-inclusive local, national and regional food markets including transportation, storage and processing;

Ensure that public investment, services, and policies for agriculture give due priority to enabling, supporting and complementing smallholders' own investment with particular attention to women food producers who face specific difficulties and need specific policies and support;

social protection programmes for food security and nutrition should be guided by human rights norms and standards and should be complemented as appropriate by policies, guidelines, including legislation as appropriate, to support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, and social security, as well as gender equality and empowerment

consider the adoption of integrated and mutually-supportive social protection and food security and nutrition strategies and policies, based on human rights standards and principles, including non-discrimination and equality (including gender), meaningful participation, transparency and accountability

social protection systems should be designed in such a way that they can respond quickly to shocks such as droughts, floods and food price spikes.

ground social protection in national institutional frameworks and legislation, where appropriate, establishing targets, benchmarks, indicators and institutional responsibilities

consider flexible mechanisms to monitor and adjust design features and modalities as appropriate;

consider provisions recommended by the International Labour Conference on the Social Protection Floors

The Committee urged Member States to develop a policy and legal framework with appropriate compliance-monitoring to ensure women's and men's equal access to productive resources including land ownership and inheritance, access to financial services, agricultural technology and information, business registration and operation, and employment opportunities, and to enact and enforce laws that protect women from all kinds of violence. Where appropriate, Member States should audit all existing laws for discrimination and amend discriminatory laws.

The Committee recalled the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, and in particular its recommendations for advancing women's food security under the strategic objectives on macroeconomic and development policies (A1), vocational training and continuing education (B3), health (C1), access to resources, employment, markets and trade (F2) and sustainable development (K2).

Member States, international organizations, and other stakeholders, to include improvement of women's, adolescent girls', infants' and child's nutritional status, including hidden hunger or micronutrient deficiencies and obesity as a new manifestation of malnutrition, as an explicit goal and expected outcome of agriculture, food security and nutrition-related programmes, emergency responses, strategies and policies, from design to implementation.

Develop risk management instruments, including for mitigating the impact of price shocks, and recommend their mainstreaming into national food security strategies focused on mitigating risk for the most vulnerable against food price volatility. Attention should also be given to the inclusion of best practices and lessons learned for vulnerable small-scale food producers;

the Bureau to encourage and engage as appropriate with UN Women in the development of specific indicators, targets and time tables to measure progress made towards advancing women's food security, and to invite UN Women to report on progress at the 39th session of CFS.

Ensure women's meaningful participation in all decision-making processes related to achieving women's progressive realization of the right to food in the context of national food security, and nutrition;

Ensure that women have equal access to health, education, land, water and other natural resources, including by enacting gender-sensitive legislation.

Member States to involve women in the decision-making process with regards to national and international responses to global challenges to food security and nutrition.

Member States to actively promote women's leadership and to strengthen women's capacity for collective organizing, especially in the rural sector.

States have the primary responsibility for achieving food security and nutrition, fulfilling their obligations under international instruments relevant to the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security; and respecting, protecting and fulfilling the human rights of all individuals. States should set out clearly the expectation that investors domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations. States should ensure, to the extent possible, that actions related to responsible investment in [...]

Responsible investment in agriculture and food systems should abide by national legislation and public policies, and incorporate inclusive and transparent governance structures, processes, decision-making, and grievance mechanisms, accessible to all, through: i) Respecting the rule and application of law, free of corruption; ii) Sharing of information relevant to the investment, in accordance with applicable law, in an inclusive, equitable, accessible, and transparent manner at all stages of the investment cycle; iii) Engaging with and seeking the support of those who could be directly [...]

Responsible investment in agriculture and food systems conserves, and sustainably manages natural resources, increases resilience, and reduces disaster risks by: i) Preventing, minimising, and remedying, as appropriate, negative impacts on air, land, soil, water, forests, and biodiversity; ii) Supporting and conserving biodiversity and genetic resources, including local genetic resources, and contributing to the restoration of ecosystem functions and services, and in this regard, recognizing the role played by indigenous peoples and local communities; iii) Reducing waste and losses in [...]

Responsible investment in agriculture and food systems respects cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, and supports diversity, including genetic diversity, and innovation by: i) Respecting cultural heritage sites and systems, including traditional knowledge, skills, and practices; and recognizing the role of indigenous peoples and local communities in agriculture and food systems; ii) Recognizing the contributions of farmers, especially smallholders in all regions of the world, articularly those in centres of origin and diversity, in conserving, improving, and making available [...]

Responsible investment in agriculture and food systems promotes safety and health through: i) Promoting the safety, quality, and nutritional value of food and agricultural products; ii) Supporting animal health and welfare, and plant health, to sustainably increase productivity, product quality, and safety; iii) Improving the management of agricultural inputs and outputs, to enhance the efficiency of production and minimize potential threats to the environment and to plant, animal, and human health, including occupational hazards; iv) Managing and reducing risks to public health across [...]

All financing institutions and other funding entities are encouraged to apply the Principles when formulating their policies for loans and grants, in the articulation of country investment portfolios and in co-financing with other partners. They should take appropriate measures so that their support to investors does not lead to violations of human and legitimate tenure rights, and is in line with the Principles. The provision of finance allows these institutions a unique leveraging position where they can communicate with a broad range of stakeholders about their roles, [...]

Inter-governmental and regional organizations have a key role to play in promoting responsible investment in agriculture and food systems. In doing so, they are encouraged to integrate the Principles into their own policies, frameworks with member States, programmes, research, outreach activities, technical assistance, and capacity building. They should take appropriate measures so that their support to investors does not lead to violations of human and legitimate tenure rights. Intergovernmental and regional organizations are encouraged to support the CFS to serve as a platform for [...]

Responsible investment in agriculture and food systems includes mechanisms to assess and address economic, social, environmental, and cultural impacts, considering smallholders, gender, and age, among other factors, and respects human rights and promotes accountability of each actor to all relevant stakeholders, especially the most vulnerable, by: i) Applying mechanisms that provide for independent and transparent assessments of potential impacts involving all relevant stakeholder groups, in particular the most vulnerable; ii) Defining baseline data and indicators for monitoring and to [...]

Responsible investment in agriculture and food systems respects legitimate tenure rights to land, fisheries, and forests, as well as existing and potential water uses, in line with: i) The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries, and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, in particular, but not limited to, Chapter 12. ii) The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication.

States and other parties should regularly review and monitor policy, legal and organizational frameworks to maintain their effectiveness. Implementing agencies and judicial authorities should engage with civil society, user representatives and the broader public to improve services and endeavour to prevent corruption through transparent processes and decision-making. Information about changes and their anticipated impacts should be clearly stated and widely publicized in applicable languages.

States should recognize that policies and laws on tenure rights operate in the broader political, legal, social, cultural, religious, economic and environmental contexts. Where the broader contexts change, and where reforms to tenure are therefore required, States should seek to develop national consensus on proposed reforms.

States should ensure that implementing agencies and judicial authorities serve the entire population, delivering services to all, including those in remote locations. Services should be provided promptly and efficiently using locally suitable technology to increase efficiency and accessibility. Internal guidelines should be established so that staff can implement policies and laws in a reliable and consistent manner. Procedures should be simplified without threatening tenure security or quality of justice. Explanatory materials should be widely publicized in applicable languages and [...]

States should define and publicize opportunities for civil society, private sector and academia to contribute to developing and implementing policy, legal and organizational frameworks as appropriate.

States should establish policies and laws to promote the sharing, as appropriate, of spatial and other information on tenure rights for the effective use by the State and implementing agencies, indigenous peoples and other communities, civil society, the private sector, academia and the general public. National standards should be developed for the shared use of information, taking into account regional and international standards.

To the extent that resources permit, States should ensure that implementing agencies and judicial authorities have the human, physical, financial and other forms of capacity to implement policies and laws in a timely, effective and gender-sensitive manner. Staff at all organizational levels should receive continuous training, and be recruited with due regard to ensuring gender and social equality.

States should provide prompt, accessible and non-discriminatory services to protect tenure rights, to promote and facilitate the enjoyment of those rights, and to resolve disputes. States should eliminate unnecessary legal and procedural requirements and strive to overcome barriers related to tenure rights. States should review services of implementing agencies and judicial authorities, and introduce improvements where required.

States and other parties should consider additional measures to support vulnerable or marginalized groups who could not otherwise access administrative and judicial services. These measures should include legal support, such as affordable legal aid, and may also include the provision of services of paralegals or parasurveyors, and mobile services for remote communities and mobile indigenous peoples.