Addressing inequality to create efficient, inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems

Lauren Phillips, Deputy Director of the FAO Division for Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality, travelled to Brussels for a three-day mission. She met a number of stakeholders from the European Commission, the European Parliament, Belgian National Authorities and civil society.

At a meeting held at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) Phillips met representatives from a wide range of departments, covering issues from agrifood systems to gender equality and human rights.

During a visit to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI), she had talks with Margaret Bateson-Missen, Head of Unit of Social Sustainability, and her team.

Phillips also met representatives of Enabel, the development agency of Belgium’s Federal Government, as well as those of the Africa-Europe Diaspora Development Platform, and Foodbridge, a Brussels-based non-profit organization that highlights the potential of food as a tool for building bridges between people and across cultures. Member of the European Parliament and of the European Parliamentary Alliance against Hunger and Malnutrition Marlene Mortler received Phillips in the European Parliament.

During her mission, the Deputy Director’s discussions focused on issues of various social dimensions, including rural institutions, services, social protection, gender equality, decent rural employment, tenure rights and the right to food.

You can read more about FAO’s work on rural transformation and gender equality here.

You can read more about the Joint Programme on Gender Transformative Approaches for Food Security and Nutrition, funded by the European Union, here.