Global Governance and Food Security as Global Public Good

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12raising levels of nutrition and standards of living of thepeoples under their respective jurisdictions; securingimprovements in the efficiency of the production anddistribution of all food and agricultural products;bettering the condition of rural populations; and thuscontributing towards an expanding world economy andensuring humanity’s freedom from hunger”.59. It is significant that the major players at the timeof FAO’s establishment were the governments. Itsdesign envisaged that most of its work would beconducted through statutory bodies or commissions,many operating under joint oversight with other UNagencies.60. Other stakeholders (i.e. NGOs, CSOs and the privatesector) 19that have become vocal defenders ofconsumer and producer rights and interests wereassociated as observers. There is an increasinginvolvement of non- governmental stakeholders, withsome establishing formal advisory or consultativemechanisms, including private sector companies.Fostered by the revolutionary progress in informationtechnology and global transport - and supportedby immense low-cost labor markets in manyformerly developing countries – global transnationalcorporations have also become relevant players withstandard setting and normative standard power tosupport their corporate goals.61. The number and types of associations, networksand partnerships that address food and agriculturesystems are on the rise. This is linked to calls for globalgovernance mechanisms and platforms related to foodsecurity, agriculture, natural resource managementand biodiversity. 2019. Examples include the Codex Alimentarius and FAO Committee on Commodity Problems,International Code of Conduct on the Distribution and Use of Pesticides, the RotterdamConvention and Advisory Committee on Paper and Wood Products. There are also other types ofexisting international commitments, such as the Voluntary Guidelines to support the ProgressiveRealization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security.20. Specific and recent examples include requests to create global governance structures thatrelate to FAO’s work such as: the request to the CFS to create an International Observatory onLand Tenure; the call by the G-20 to create a global agricultural marketing information system(AMIS); requests to focus on issues related to fisheries, aquaculture and oceans, through theGEF Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) project, or review the governance of UN Oceans;the agreement to establish an Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity andEcosystem Services (IPBES); the creation of a UN system-wide accountability framework ongender to focus on progress on calls for gender equality; development of Voluntary Guidelineson Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and other Natural Resources; development of thePrinciples for Responsible Agricultural Investment; International Guidelines for the Governanceof Tenure in Land, Fisheries and Forestry and the Voluntary Guidelines for Small-Scale Fisheries.62. Considerable work is underway in the field of researchand knowledge generation relating to food systemsand climate change, through scientific, transparentand open processes designed to include differentstakeholders. 21 At the same time, the human rightsbased approach to the “Right-for-Food” changedthe focus and is putting the individual at the centerof all development policies. Through it the rights ofindividuals for food are not only respected, protectedand fulfilled 22 but it will also become a dynamic driverfor policy and governance related to food securityissues.63. The modalities of governance are gradually shiftingtowards increasingly participatory and decentralizedprocesses with heightened focus on national priorities.At the same time, the nature of current globalchallenges is cross-cutting, transcending nationaland regional boundaries and increasingly requiresincreased multi-stakeholder and intergovernmentalplatforms to achieve global consensus. Consequently,national and international non-governmentalorganizations dedicated to food and hunger issuesclaim a prominent place in the public debate of allaspects of food security, often pushing nationalgovernments and intergovernmental mechanisms toaction. 2364. This trend profoundly impacts on the Rome-basedUN food agencies, which had to adjust from beingthe central actors in food security governance tohaving to share this role with other players in a multistakeholdersystem and required them to questionhow their specific comparative strength as neutralintergovernmental fora could be used to maximum21. There has been a progressive development of science and policy interfaces at nationaland international levels, most notably on environmental issues such as climate change (IPCC),ecosystems (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment) and also in agriculture (IAASTD), and now infood security with the creation of the High Level Panel of Experts for food security and nutrition.A growing commitment to evidence based analysis to underpin decision-making processes isalso reflected in regional and national development initiatives, such as the ComprehensiveAfrica Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). Another example is the Commission onGenetic Resources for Food and Agriculture which serves as intergovernmental forum dealingwith biodiversity for food and agriculture through the lens of food and nutrition security. Its workresulted in several global instruments, e.g. International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources forFood and Agricultural, harmonized with the Convention on Biological Diversity, and agreed onGlobal Plans of Actions on Genetic Resources.22. Translated into practical terms, this means safeguarding or improving vulnerable people’saccess to natural resources through fairer tenure systems, better knowledge and communication,and application of the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) in relation to resourcemanagement decisions.23. A good example is the current campaign by one international NGO against speculations infood commodity markets: www.oxfam.org/en/grow/pressroom/reactions/european-parliamentdraws-line-sand-financial-markets-must-not-play-foodNYUCICGlobal Governance and Food Security as Global Public Good
effect. This was the focus of the Independent ExternalEvaluation of FAO 24 , launched by its Members in 2008and which resulted in FAO’s fundamental restructuringand reorientation.65. The proliferation of stakeholders in food securityalso means that the FAO, IFAD and WFP (as the onlyintergovernmental bodies dedicated entirely to foodsecurity issues), may have to adapt and repositionthemselves to:• Increase collaboration and partnership with otherstakeholders (other UN agencies, civil society, privatesector, other DPs);• Support capacity development to increase countries’ability to lead, prepare, implement and evaluateeffective national policies, strategies and investmentplans and programs in relation to agriculture and foodsecurity at the outset;• Include key civil society stakeholders and producerorganizations to allow them to become effectivecollaborators in national strategy and program designand implementation;• Engage in the global processes and bring global insightsto bear on its country support and country work;• Support countries in establishing sound, inclusive andcoherent governance systems for agriculture and food/nutrition security from the local levels to the nationaland global levels;• Support national stakeholders in resource mobilizationefforts relating to agriculture and food/nutritionsecurity with development partners and from nationalbudgets;• Anticipate and accommodate calls for globalgovernance mechanisms involving a growing numberof stakeholders from a wider variety of sectors;• Support implementation and monitoring of globalgovernance mechanisms/guidelines, to prepare to scaleup capacity to understand its potential monitoring role.24. ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/meeting/012/k0827erev1.pdf.66. The new Strategic Framework of FAO 25 (2013) withits new focus on governance, creation of enablingenvironments and policy support in Membercountries is the direct outcome of this adaptation andrepositioning process.2. The UN within the context of changingdevelopment paradigms67. One of the central principles of sustainable developmentis national ownership of country strategies andprograms. A key achievement of the aid and developmenteffectiveness debate 26 has been their adoptionby development actors 27 as parameters for theirwork. Many development partners have decentralizeddecision-making processes and some budgetary authority,allowing their country offices much greaterautonomy in determining how to provide support andwith whom to engage.68. The UN system was designed as a collaborativeeffort by its Member States to deal with global andtransnational issues, and to facilitate and manageknowledge exchange. However, the world has changedfundamentally with the ongoing globalization processand the emergence of new powerful stakeholders.New implementation modalities and processes forfood security continue to emerge in this evolvingdevelopment context, characterized by (1) theincreasingly important role of UN Regional EconomicCommunities (RECs); (2) increasing need at nationallevel for institutional capacities in planning/policydesign and implementation; and (3) decentralizationby the development partners, including the UNdevelopment system agencies.25. www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/027/mg015e.pdf.26. Commitments in the HLFs have evolved from a focus on aid effectiveness to developmenteffectiveness which places responsibilities to a much greater extent at the country level. The2002 Rome Declaration focused on commitments by development partners to align to countryprograms. The Paris Declaration in 2005 broadened commitment to alignment and harmonizedsupport to country owned processes and put the emphasis on mutual accountability, betweencountries and development partners, thereby expanding responsibilities at the country level.The Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) in 2008 added the focus on partnerships at country level,including civil society, thereby broadening the national constituency that is explicitly consideredas stakeholders in the country-led agenda. Civil society was also represented at the Accra Forumfor the first time. The AAA further emphasized the need for capacity development to strengthencountries’ ability to manage their own future. The Busan Outcome Document (2011), advocates fora shift from aid to development effectiveness thereby further strengthening the role of nationalparties.27. Decisions of the four High Level Fora (HLF) on aid effectiveness in Rome (2002), Paris (2005),Accra (2008) and Busan (2011).Global Governance and Food Security as Global Public Good13NYUCIC
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Global Governance and Food Security as Global Public Good

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