Last Updated on November 15, 2023, 3:32 AM AST by Anthony Morris
In Santiago, Chile, on November 13, 2023, Within the context of the CELAC FNS Plan, a technical meeting on social protection systems, food security, and nutrition was held by the regional office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for Latin America and the Caribbean. The discussion highlighted the obstacles associated with implementing these policies.
The Pro Tempore President of CELAC, Honduras’s Laura Elena Suazo Torres; the next Pro Tempore President of the organization, Esteban Valenzuela; the Minister of Agriculture of Chile, Mario Lubetkin, Assistant Director-General of FAO and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, and Saboto Caesar, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry and Labor of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, graced the opening of the meeting.
Officials from twenty of the region’s nations, representatives of academic institutions, the private sector, civil society, parliaments, financial institutions dedicated to development, and international organizations like the World Food Program, ALADI, WFP, and CARICOM were among the other attendees.
The session began with remarks made by Saboto Caesar, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry, and Labor of St. Vincent and the Grenadines: “We are here to represent the needs of the people, and we must remember at all times that the work we do is not for ourselves but for the populations of Latin America and the Caribbean and the world population.”
In the challenging global context of the COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on food supply chains and prices, the climate crisis, enduring inequality, and armed conflicts, “Latin America and the Caribbean have a fundamental role and remarkable capacities to advance in the process of transformation of its agri-food systems and contribute to food security and nutrition, reduction of inequalities and peace,” Mario Lubetkin said during the meeting.
As an international organization providing technical assistance, FAO has collaborated closely with the Pro-Tempore Presidency and the representatives of the 33 CELAC member nations, as well as ECLAC, IICA, and ALADI, to support the creation of evidence and suggestions for the application of policies and best practises about the prevention of hunger, food insecurity, poverty alleviation, and inequality.
Adding more the people who attended the meeting discussed the pillars and lines of action of the CELAC FNS Plan in social protection. The discussion included gender equality, rural development, economic inclusion, and climate change adaptation.
The conclusion of the meeting is going to be included in the upcoming new food plan which will be presented at upcoming CELAC Ministers of Agriculture meeting. The meeting has been set to take place in early 2024 at the office in Chile. It has been reported that at this meeting the ministers present the approve updated plan for Latin America and the Caribbean’s food security, nutrition, and eradication of hunger towards 2030 to the CELAC Presidential Summit.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
