Ibero-America and the Caribbean leaders unite to implement the #FoodFirst agenda throughout the region

Antigua, Guatemala – To jointly address critical challenges related to food and nutritional security and place this topic at the top of national and international priorities, the "Ibero-American Political-Academic Dialogue #FoodFirst" was held from April 24 to 26 in Guatemala.  

The event was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Spanish Cooperation (through AECID and FIIAPP), and the Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (AMEXCID).  

It also received the support of the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo de León, and the participation of delegations from the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean (FPH-ALC), the Spanish Parliamentary Alliance for the Right to Food, the Portuguese Parliamentary Alliance for Food Security and Gender Equality, the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB), and the Observatories of the Right to Food in Spain and Latin America and the Caribbean (ODAE and ODA-ALC, respectively).  

"From the parliaments must come the laws and the policy elements to guide the efforts countries make in the fight against hunger. Parliaments are spaces where agreements and consensus are forged between different political forces to tackle this scourge," said the President of the Republic of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo.  

The main goal of the meeting was to exchange lessons learned and best practices and define strategies to transform agri-food systems into more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable ones.  

"Ibero-American and Caribbean cooperation plays a key role in advancing efficiently, inclusively, and sustainably toward food and nutritional security; the sustainable management of natural resources and adaptation to climate change; and the reduction of rural inequalities and poverty, four priorities aimed at transforming agri-food systems agreed upon in the last FAO Regional Conference," said Mario Lubetkin, FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean.  

"The successful work of the Front motivates us to consolidate a great Ibero-American and Caribbean alliance for food security for all, involving both this network and the Spanish and Portuguese parliaments and the allies that strengthen it," added Spanish Senator Elena Diego.  

The program included plenary sessions and specific meetings such as the Working Meeting of the Executive Coordinating Commission of the FPH-ALC, the I International Congress, and XI Regional Academic Meeting of the ODA-ALC, the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Front, a Meeting of Parliamentary Advisors against Hunger, among others.  

"In Guatemala, today we reaffirmed our commitment to the Zero Hunger Goal of the 2030 Agenda, with a climate perspective, focusing on women and indigenous peoples," said the Coordinator of the FPH-ALC, Sonia Rojas.  

"We are convinced that it is possible to strengthen the links between parliaments and academia. Credibility, objectivity, and autonomy have facilitated our contribution to generating public policies to guarantee the Right to Information," complemented ODA-ALC academic Alejandra Girona.  

"At FIIAPP, we joined this dialogue by supporting cross-cutting public policies guaranteeing healthy food for all. We do so through projects such as EU4SUN funded by the European Union, whose goal is to connect public institutions to enforce this right," said FIIAPP Director Francisco Tierraseca.  

15 Years of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger  

In the context of the dialogue and on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the FPH-ALC, the Presidency of the Republic of Guatemala received the visit of the delegation of parliamentarians, academics, and collaborators at the Presidential House. There, the partners and allies of this plural Ibero-American and Caribbean network reviewed the progress and results achieved throughout the Fronts' trajectory, together with the country's President, Bernardo Arévalo.  

"The Parliamentary Fronts against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean have become a global reference in legislative work. Over 15 years, we have built alliances, strengthened dialogue, and made progress on commitments to this cause and the most vulnerable people without leaving no one behind," said the Executive Director of AMEXCID, Gloria Sandoval Salas.  

"Since the beginnings of the Parliamentary Front against Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean 15 years ago, we have financially and technically supported its work, which has led to impactful actions such as the generation of transformative laws on school feeding, family agriculture, rural women, among others," concluded the Head of Rural Development, Food Security, and Nutrition at AECID, Ana Regina Segura.  

Some of the results of the FPH-ALC include Model Laws promoted by the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament (Parlatino) on school feeding, family agriculture, small-scale fishing, water and sanitation, food loss, and waste, among others, which have been used as a reference for replication and adaptation to the different realities of the region's countries. Furthermore, thanks to the support of the Parliamentary Fronts, multiple laws have been enacted in food and nutritional security.