South Centre and FAO sign agreement to promote food security and South-South cooperation
A new agreement between the South Centre and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was signed with the aim to strengthen their efforts in promoting South-South Cooperation and to improve food security, boost rural development, and address climate change in the Global South.
Building upon years of collaboration, a new framework of cooperation was signed on 11 November 2016 between the South Centre, the intergovernmental organization of developing countries, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
With the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) the two leading organizations have agreed to strengthen ties and to establish a framework for co-operation based on their accumulated experience in policy research and analysis, technical cooperation and capacity building activities to support developing countries in their efforts to eliminate hunger and malnutrition, reduce poverty, address climate change and achieve sustainable rural development under the framework of South-South cooperation, adding to global efforts to the achievement of the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development.
The five-year cooperation agreement was signed by Ms. Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General for Natural Resources, and Mr. Vicente Paolo Yu, Deputy Executive Director of the South Centre, on the sidelines of the 22nd Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) taking place in Marrakech from 7 to 18 November 2016.
FAO and the South Centre share a common global interest in supporting developing countries in their efforts to overcome major development challenges such as eradication of poverty, promotion of food and nutrition security, climate change, and the achievement of sustainable development.
This partnership comes at a good time when cooperation among developing countries are gaining a new momentum and looking ahead at the commemorations of the 40th anniversary of the first UN Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries held in Buenos Aires in 1978, a landmark event for South-South Cooperation and for the role of UN agencies and other international organizations in boosting such format of cooperation. A series of celebrations will take place in 2018.
“We look forward to moving expeditiously in the implementation of our cooperation agreement in order to help developing countries enhance South-South cooperation in pursuing sustainable development, food security, and enhancing climate change actions,” said the Deputy Executive Director during the ceremony of signature in Marrakech.
The agreement is a landmark in enhancing the institutional cooperation between FAO and the South Centre to address the development challenges particularly facing developing countries arising from acute and chronic food insecurity and malnutrition, natural resource degradation and climate change which will support actions that would contribute to better access and exchange of information and expertise in the field of food security and agriculture production in the context of trade and investment agreements; the promotion of sustainable agriculture including organic and agro-ecology farming; biodiversity and genetic resources benefit sharing for developing countries; and climate change and agriculture.
It includes also cooperation programmes, for capacity development through sharing expertise, technologies and know-how via a wide range of exchange modalities including short-term and medium- to long-term expertise; policy dialogue; learning routes, study tours and training; in-kind and technical solution exchange. Both organizations also agreed to develop and implement joint capacity building activities for policy makers in developing countries and assist developing countries in their implementation of actions pursuant to the outcomes of major international conferences under the United Nations.
The South Centre is an intergovernmental organization of developing countries established in 1995. It currently has 53 Member States and its main objective is to promote South-South cooperation and sustainable development through policy research, analysis, advice and capacity building in developing countries.
FAO is a Specialized Agency of the United Nations system, established in 1945 to raise levels of nutrition and standards of living for all people in FAO Member Nations; to secure improvements in the efficiency of production and distribution of food and agriculture; to contribute toward expanding world economy and ensure humanity’s freedom from hunger and malnutrition in an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable manner.
Source: FAO and the South Centre Secretariats.
Related information:
The South Centre and FAO step up cooperation to intensify South-South activities: http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/451757/icode/
South Centre website: https://www.southcentre.int
FAO website: http://www.fao.org
