The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) was established in 1974 and reformed in 2009 as the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for all stakeholders to work together to ensure food security and nutrition for all. Using a multi-stakeholder, inclusive approach, CFS develops and endorses policy recommendations and guidance on a wide range of food security and nutrition topics.  These are developed starting from scientific and evidence-based reports produced by the High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) and/or through work supported technically by The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Food Programme (WFP) and representatives of the CFS Advisory Group. CFS holds an annual Plenary session every October in FAO, Rome.

Promoting Youth Engagement and Employment in Agriculture and Food Systems

Ambassador Pio Wennubst, Permanent Representative of the Swiss Mission to the United Nations organisations in Rome has been nominated Rapporteur for the policy convergence process on Promoting Youth Engagement and Employment in Agriculture and Food Systems. His consists in facilitating a dialogue among CFS Members and Participants, towards a consensus on draft Policy Recommendations for presentation and adoption at CFS 50 in October 2022. In line with the CFS 2020-2023 MYPoW provisions, “the policy recommendations on youth are envisioned as a focused, action-oriented document that will encourage public policies to foster enabling environments capable of tapping into the energy and skills of youth to improve food systems”.

Ambassador Wennubst will work with the active support of the youth, of the CFS Secretariat, of Technical Focal Points that have been nominated by FAO, IFAD and WFP and of dedicated CFS members. The policy convergence process started at CFS 49 Plenary on 13 October. This session was based on the HLPE Report on Promoting Youth Engagement and Employment in Agriculture and Food Systems. The inclusive discussion highlighted the key role played by youth in building the food systems of the future.