42nd session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 42) (meeting report)

The 42nd session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 42) was convened from 12-15 October 2015, at the headquarters of the FAO in Rome, Italy. The Final Draft report and a Summary Report of the 42nd Session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 42), the later produced by International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Reporting Services provide more details of the event. 

Approximately 1060 participants attended the session, which addressed a series of agenda items related to: CFS and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) challenge; the 2015 report on the State of Food Insecurity in the World (SOFI); policy convergence, including recommendations on Water for Food Security and Nutrition, and the Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises; coordination and linkages between CFS and other food security and nutrition stakeholders at the global, regional and national levels; ongoing workstreams, including the Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition (GSF), the outcomes of the High-Level Forum (HLF) on Connecting Smallholders to Markets, the report on the findings of the CFS effectiveness survey, and the Multi-year Programme of Work (MYPoW) and priorities for 2016-2017; the role of CFS in advancing nutrition; and organizational issues.

Special events were held on youth for food security and nutrition and resilience building for sustainable food security and nutrition. Marking the culmination of some areas of work, CFS 42 endorsed the Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises and recommendations on Water for Food Security and Nutrition. The meeting also launched new areas of work, such as the role CFS will play in nutrition and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda), and adopted its MYPoW for the next biennium, including Openended Working Groups (OEWGs) on nutrition and on the SDGs. 

CFS 43 will take place on 17-22 October 2016. It will address items under its workstreams arising from its MYPoW, including, inter alia: nutrition and food systems; CFS engagement with the SDGs; connecting smallholder farmers to rural markets; urbanization, rural transformation and implications for food security and nutrition; and sustainable agricultural development for food security and nutrition, including the role of livestock.