Ad Hoc Group has been invited mid-december to the meeting in Budapest, together with other representatives of the CSM/ONG constituency and staff officers, in order to prepare the FAO regional constultation in April 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

FAO regional group priorities (the agenda of the Conference), modalities of intervention of the CS representatives, as well as the items of interest in the EU-Central Asia region were examined. The current FAO discussions on regionalization of CFS reform and elements for the multi-stakeholder meeting with governments and private sector were also discussed taking into account that it is New that CS meeting will be part of the FAO regional meeting in Baku where also a meeting of the European commission on Agriculture (ECA) and a ministerial conference for the final decision on FAO work plan and budget will be made.

AHG will consider all organizations' presence and participation at the Regional Conferences, reports to present and suggestions at the next meeting on February 2nd.

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October 18 ~ Green Room
 Policy Roundtable - Gender, Food Security and Nutrition


October 19 ~ Side Event
 World Bank - Gender Equality...

On June 30, 2011 the AdhocGroup of INGOs at FAO in Rome promoted successfully the side event on 'Women in Agriculture'. The Representative to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) for BPW International and Ad Hoc Group Coordinator, Cristina Gorajski in her presentation declared their intention of contributing to the main theme of the FAO Conference "The Vital Role of Women in Agriculture and Rural Development" with statements on microcredit, land tenure and cooperation. The Moderator, Thomas Price of the FAO OCER department also gathered messages from other NGOs partners in this event.
The SOFA 2011 report "Women in agriculture: Closing the gender gap for development" was presented by Marcela Villarreal, Director of the FAO's Gender, Equity and Rural Employment Division, not only moved the audience, but also supported what many have thought all along: "We need more women in Agriculture". The findings on "Women in Agriculture: Closing the gender gap for Development" demonstrated that proper access to resources and a major improvement in the policies and laws to cover the gender gap, will have a long lasting impact on economic growth. Closing the gender gap in development will reduce the number of hungry people in the world by 12 to 17 percent which will translate into 100 to 150 million people lifted out of poverty. This hard work which aligns with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will require great collaboration among governments, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and agricultural sectors.
The Ad Hoc Group which included members from the IFBPW, Rotary International, Soroptimist International, Lions Clubs International, International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage, International Catholic Rural Association, Federation Internationale des Femmes des Carri�res Jurisdiques, ActionAid, International Federation for Home Economics and CIDSE (16 Catholic development organizations from Europe and North America) all agreed with the SOFA report. The participants shared their messages, comments, projects, developing activities and suggested possible solutions.
The message to spread was clear: closing the gender gap in development means social and economic well being of the society not only today but, more importantly, in the future.

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 PRESS RELEASE

      IFHE - NL September 2011       Soroptimist International       BPW

30th June 2011 - 13:00/14:30 Philippines Room C277-281 Side Event Programme ---     • Presentation     • Words from FAO     • Reports from International NGOs:        • Rotary International        • Soroptimist International        • Lions Clubs International        • International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage        • International Catholic Rural Association     • Statements from the floor        • Federation Internationale des Femmes des carrières juridiques        • Action Aid        • Wocan        • International Federation For Home Economics        • CIDSE        • International Alliance of Women        • WILPF

FAO, IFAD and WFP - International Women’s Day Agriculture: closing the gender gap The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-11 Tuesday March 8 2011 - 9:30/12:30 Green Room, FAO Headquarters Program ---     • INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN     • IFHE - CONFRONTING FAMILY POVERTY AND SOCIAL EXCLUSION     • WILPF - WOMEN, RIGHT TO FOOD, FOOD SECURITY     • SOROPTIMIST AND INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY AT FAO     • INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION FOR HOME ECONOMICS

The Committee for World Food Security (CFS) was established as a result of the food crisis of the 1970s, upon recommendation from the 1974 World Food Conference.

It is the United Nations’ forum for reviewing and following up on policies concerning world food security. It also examines issues which affect the world food situation.In the 35th Session the members of CFS have agreed on a reform that aims to make CFS the international and intergovernmental platform dealing with food security and nutrition and to be a central component in the evolving Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition.

The CFS reform is designed to focus the Committee’s vision and role on the global coordination of efforts to eliminate hunger and ensure food security for all. This includes supporting national anti-hunger plans and initiatives; ensuring that all relevant voices are heard in the policy debate on food and agriculture; strengthening linkages at regional, national and local levels; and basing decisions on scientific evidence.

Representatives of the non-governmental organizations and civil society were invited as members of CFS Contact Group, which discussed proposals for the reform during the summer of 2009. The Ad-Hoc Group of the International NGOs in Rome was represented in the Contact Group by three members. The group is now considering its representation in the reformed CFS.

http://www.fao.org/cfs/en/
http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/36446/icode