In 2023, 25 philanthropies announced a collaboration to leverage investments, calling for a tenfold increase in funding to support agroecological and regenerative food systems. Such an ambitious goal is by no means an easy task. But besides intense coordination among themselves, how can philanthropies understand and agree upon what exactly falls under this type of investment?
One solution: the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). The CFS is a U.N. body that brings together governments, civil society, the private sector, and other actors to develop voluntary guidelines, policy recommendations, and frameworks aimed at ensuring sustainable and equitable food systems. It is regarded as the “foremost inclusive international platform” because of its innovative structure for participation which, beyond governments, enables self-organization of civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and the private sector. By facilitating organized, legitimate, and consistent participation through “mechanisms,” this governance structure addresses the long-standing challenge of ad hoc and opaque processes and sometimes contentious presence of ‘representatives’ in global meetings who often lack the endorsement of their peers.
On agroecology, for instance, the CFS had produced policy recommendations on agroecology and other innovative approaches. A CFS High Level Panel of Experts crafted a framework for agroecology based on thirteen principles, common ground which undergirds the multilateral Agroecology Coalition and which offers clear guidance for philanthropic investments seeking to scale agroecology up. By using internationally agreed upon language and processes, philanthropic foundations can align with a broad community of public and private funders and investors to accelerate the transition towards equitable and sustainable food systems.
This is just one example of how the CFS can strengthen philanthropic investments. Other policies of the CFS, developed over time, include: guidelines on land tenure that substantially influence land reform programs and sustainable land investment, and guidelines on nutrition, which consolidated years of debate on how to strengthen the nutrition dimension of food security by linking health and food and highlighting strategies for sustainable and healthy diets. The CFS has developed dozens of such technically-rich and globally endorsed policies—from gender empowerment, to humanitarian crisis response, to youth engagement, and on smallholder farming and market inclusion, among others. All these instruments are aligned with an explicit commitment to the progressive realization of the right to adequate food for all.
Those following global governance debates on food systems have consistently heard calls for stronger engagement of smallholder farmers, fisherfolk, Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities. This call has been repeated on loop, in particular in climate, biodiversity and land COPs, but also in the food system summit processes, and other global food policy processes. But ensuring the legitimate representation of these groups is far from simple. Through a robust and participatory mechanism for debate, the CFS’ Civil Society and Indigenous People Mechanism (CSIPM) offers space and representation for historically marginalized groups. For philanthropies working towards inclusive, equitable, food governance, the CFS is a critical space to support and engage in, as it allows them to demonstrate commitment to supporting frontline communities deeply affected by the food crisis and which hold solutions to food, climate, and nutrition crises.
A recent innovation at the CFS was the recognition of a Philanthropic Foundations Mechanism (PFM). In a similar fashion to the CSIPM and the Private Sector Mechanism – PSM, this coordination unit serves to autonomously organize philanthropic engagement at the Committee. Through this mechanism, philanthropic foundations can collaborate and engage in ongoing policy formulation for some of the most pressing issues of our time from food and nutrition security, inequality, land tenure, women’s rights, data, urban food systems amongst others. Indeed, food systems are increasingly visible in the COPs, and therefore CFS policies have a cascading effect on related fields.
We are far from the food and nutrition security, climate, and biodiversity goals we seek to achieve in 2030. Current food systems impede their fulfillment, producing unequal outcomes, and tremendously high socio and environmental costs. And it is no secret that multilateralism is going through difficult times, threatened by nationalism and corporate interests that inhibit global collaboration.
Now is the time to invest where inclusive and evidence-based collaboration can have a tremendous impact on food policy. By engaging with the CFS, philanthropies can play a pivotal role in reshaping food systems, driving equitable change, and supporting a collective response to the complex challenges we face.
Articles like the one you just read are made possible through the generosity of Food Tank members. Can we please count on you to be part of our growing movement? Become a member today by clicking here.
Photo courtesy of Tuan Anh Tran, Unsplash
