Pan African Parliament to hold Consultation on the draft Model Law on Food Security and Nutrition in Africa

The Pan African Parliament (PAP) will on Tuesday November 17, 2020, hold a Webinar on the Draft Model Law on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) in Africa.

The web-based consultation/ workshop will have in attendance, parliamentarians, government officials and CSO representatives and other technical experts working in the areas of FNS in Central, North and West African countries with a view to gathering comments and build consensus on its contents. The inputs of the participants will be used to revise the draft before it is sent to the African Union Policy Organs for their further consideration and adoption.

African Parliamentary News recalls that PAP has been working towards the development of the capacity of its members and the provision of technical guidance to African countries in the area of food security and nutrition (FSN).

During the May 2018 session, PAP mandated the Permanent Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment to initiate a process towards the development of a model law on food and nutrition in Africa.

Subsequently in October 2018 during its plenary in Kigali, Rwanda, PAP sent out a resounding message that Food Security and Nutrition must be prioritized by governments and regional blocks in the continent.

PAP believed that “developing a model law on food security and nutrition would make a significant normative contribution to the cause and would complement other African Union and regional efforts to promote food security and nutrition”.

In developing the model law, PAP had the technical support of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), in collaboration with the New Partnership for Africa Development Agency (NEPAD), and the African Union (AU) Commission’s Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture (DREA). 

Consequently, the October 2019 session PAP approved the draft Model Law on FSN and authorized the conduct of regional consultations on it.

And in compliance with the PAP recommendation, the Permanent Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment and the Permanent Committee on Education, Culture, Tourism and Human Resources in March 2020, held joint sittings where the report of the first regional Consultative Workshop on the draft Model Law held in Kampala, Uganda, was presented. The joint sitting also had in attendance, parliamentarians and representatives from Eastern and Southern African countries as well as staff members of the AU Commission and the PAP.