CFS Policy Convergence Products Database

Access to markets. Support, in accordance with international commitments, the development of, and access to, markets, distribution and marketing systems and mechanisms that are remunerative for smallholders and rural economies. Recognize the importance of non-monetary exchanges of products and services, the importance of local food systems for smallholders including their potential for supplying school and institutional feeding programmes. Create appropriate linkages and engage smallholder farmers, men and women, along value-chains, especially in local, national and regional markets. Enable and stimulate cooperation between smallholders, for instance, via cooperatives or other approaches for market organization that benefit smallholders in accordance with international commitments.

Investing beyond the farm. Promote public investment and encourage private investment to develop a decentralised, rural, non-farm economy to support smallholders' access to alternative sources of income, thereby further consolidating the farming economy and contributing to improved food security and nutrition. This encompasses investment in capacity building and entrepreneurship development, where appropriate and particularly targeting young women and men, for employment in a modernized agriculture as well as in other related activities and labour markets. It also requires promoting investment for new business development.

Promote access to available technologies that help improve the quality of smallholders' production. Take into consideration the specific constraints of smallholders in relation to sanitary and phytosanitary regulations and enable their access to the programs and supplies needed for compliance.

Governments and other stakeholders are encouraged to implement policies and investments for the production of biofuels and food in accordance with national development strategies and multilateral agreements applicable to food security. Special attention should also be given to the situation of vulnerable groups and small scale food producers.

Enable investment, access to markets, productive services and resources

Governments, FAO, and all other relevant stakeholders are encouraged to promote and facilitate exchange of information and cooperation on biofuels and food security links. This includes analysis, assessments and projections as well as providing transparent information on assumptions, methods, tools and gender-disaggregated data.

Governments, FAO, Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), GBEP, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and other international organizations are encouraged to regularly share with CFS the results of their work on biofuels food security linkages.

design and put in place appropriate national assessments, including food security and nutrition and gender assessments, to ensure the inclusion of food and nutrition in security-sensitive targeting, effective registration methods, gender-sensitive programming, institutional arrangements, delivery mechanisms, robust monitoring, accountability and evaluation