Hon. Sulayman Saho Champions PAP Model Laws at Second Congo Basin Convening

Hon. Sulayman Saho presented two Pan-African Parliament Model Laws at the Second Congo Basin Convening, advancing agroecology, food security, sustainable soil management and climate justice.

Hon. Sulayman Saho, Chairperson of the Pan-African Parliament’s Committee on Rural Economy, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, has called for stronger cooperation among governments, parliaments, civil society, farmers and other stakeholders to confront Africa’s interconnected challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, conflict and food insecurity.

Delivering remarks during the opening session of the Second Congo Basin Convening in Yaoundé, Cameroon, Hon. Saho warned that the scale and interconnected nature of these challenges require coordinated action across institutions, sectors and national borders.

He commended the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) for its sustained efforts to advance food sovereignty and promote agricultural systems that protect local communities, biodiversity and Africa’s natural resources.

Hon. Saho led the delegation of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to the three-day Convening, held from 25 to 27 August 2026. The delegation was supported by technical staff from the PAP Secretariat.

The meeting provided the continental Parliament with an important platform to promote two of its principal legislative instruments: the Model Law on Food and Nutrition Security in Africa and the Model Law on Sustainable Soil Management in Africa.

Congo Basin stakeholders unite around sustainable food systems

Organized by AFSA in collaboration with its partners, the Second Congo Basin Convening brought together governments, parliamentarians, farmers, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, civil society organizations, researchers, women and youth groups, traditional leaders and development partners.

The meeting was convened around the theme, “Agro-ecology for Inclusion, Sustainable Food Systems, Biodiversity, and Climate Justice in the Congo Basin.”

Participants were drawn from the six Congo Basin countries - Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. Delegates also came from neighbouring African countries, including Angola, Burundi, Chad, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The broad representation reflected an acknowledgement that the future of the Congo Basin cannot be addressed by environmental institutions alone. Agricultural policy, land governance, Indigenous knowledge, food security, climate finance, trade, biodiversity conservation and community rights are closely connected.

The Convening was officially opened by Cameroon’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, who underscored the need to intensify collective efforts to build sustainable and resilient agricultural and food systems throughout the region.

The Congo Basin is both a vital centre of global biodiversity and a source of food, livelihoods and cultural identity for millions of people. Its protection must consequently be pursued alongside measures that improve food security, strengthen rural economies and recognize the rights and knowledge of the communities that depend directly on its ecosystems.

PAP promotes Model Law on Food and Nutrition Security

A central component of the PAP delegation’s participation was the popularization of the Parliament’s Model Law on Food and Nutrition Security in Africa.

Hon. Saho delivered a dedicated presentation explaining the objectives and major provisions of the Model Law and how African countries can use it to strengthen their national and subnational legislation.

Adopted by the PAP Plenary in November 2022 and formally unveiled in 2024, the Model Law is intended to guide African Union Member States seeking to enact or improve legislation on the right to adequate food and food and nutrition security.

It provides a framework through which governments can translate continental commitments into enforceable national laws, policies, institutions and accountability mechanisms. It also recognizes that food security cannot be measured only by the volume of food produced. Accessibility, affordability, nutritional value, cultural suitability and the sustainability of production systems are equally important.

The Model Law is particularly relevant to the Congo Basin, where communities face the combined effects of poverty, conflict, displacement, climate change, ecosystem degradation and unequal access to productive resources.

By adapting the instrument to their national circumstances, Member States can strengthen legal protection for the right to food, improve coordination among public institutions and ensure greater participation by farmers, women, young people, Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

The PAP describes the instrument as a source of guidance for AU Member States developing framework laws, primary legislation or subsidiary legislation covering food and nutrition security.

Sustainable soil management placed at the heart of food security

Hon. Saho also presented the PAP Model Law on Sustainable Soil Management in Africa, emphasizing its potential to promote soil conservation, restoration, fertility, climate resilience and sustainable agricultural production.

The continental instrument provides a comprehensive framework to help Member States formulate or strengthen national laws and policies governing soil resources. Its objectives include combating soil degradation, improving soil fertility and supporting Africa’s progress towards Land Degradation Neutrality.

The Model Law recognizes soil as more than an agricultural input. Healthy soils store water, support biodiversity, sequester carbon, reduce vulnerability to drought and flooding and sustain the productivity on which rural livelihoods depend.

Its relevance is therefore particularly pronounced in the Congo Basin, where unsustainable land-use practices, deforestation, extractive activities, climate pressures and declining soil health can undermine both food systems and ecological resilience.

Among its approaches are public participation, the integration of Indigenous knowledge, soil-related data collection and management, accountability, sustainable land-use planning and the consideration of soil impacts before certain agricultural, industrial or infrastructural projects are approved.

The Pan-African Parliament adopted the Model Law in November 2025 as the continent’s first model legislation specifically dedicated to sustainable soil management.

Translating continental frameworks into national laws

Hon. Saho explained that the two Model Laws offer complementary legislative responses to the challenges confronting the Congo Basin.

While the Model Law on Food and Nutrition Security addresses the right to adequate food, institutional responsibilities and the resilience of food systems, the soil-management instrument deals with the natural foundation upon which agricultural production and ecological stability depend.

Together, they can assist national and regional authorities in developing coherent frameworks for agro-ecology, soil conservation, sustainable farming, climate adaptation and inclusive food governance.

However, model laws do not automatically become binding within AU Member States. Their effectiveness ultimately depends on domestication through national legislative processes, supported by adequate budgets, effective public institutions and parliamentary oversight.

National parliaments therefore have a decisive role to play. They can review existing laws, identify regulatory gaps, introduce legislation, scrutinize government policies and ensure that affected communities participate meaningfully in decisions concerning land, agriculture, forests and food systems.

PAP explores cooperation with AU phytosanitary body

On the sidelines of the Convening, the PAP delegation visited the Inter-African Phytosanitary Council of the African Union and held a bilateral meeting with the Council’s Coordinator.

The discussions explored opportunities for collaboration and possible joint activities relating to sustainable agriculture, resilient food systems and agricultural development.

Stronger cooperation with the AU’s phytosanitary institution could help connect the PAP’s legislative work with continental efforts to prevent and control plant pests and diseases. Plant-health systems are essential to food security because pest outbreaks can destroy crops, disrupt trade and deepen the vulnerability of farmers and rural communities.

Collaboration could also strengthen exchanges between technical institutions and parliamentarians, enabling lawmakers to develop legislation and conduct oversight based on reliable scientific and agricultural evidence.

PAP and AFSA move towards institutional partnership

The Yaoundé meeting also strengthened the relationship between the Pan-African Parliament and AFSA.

The two institutions envisage formalizing their cooperation through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding during a forthcoming Session of the Pan-African Parliament.

The proposed agreement could create a structured platform for cooperation on legislative development, policy dialogue, research, capacity-building and the popularization and domestication of PAP Model Laws.

PAP and AFSA also intend to collaborate on the development of a Model Law on African Food Policy. Such an instrument could help address fragmentation across agricultural, nutrition, environmental, health, trade and social-protection policies while promoting sustainable and sovereign African food systems.

The Convening concluded with the adoption of the Yaoundé Declaration 2026, a 24-point regional pact covering agro-ecology, biodiversity, food systems and climate justice. According to AFSA, the outcome followed three days of deliberations involving 187 delegates from 20 countries.

From dialogue to legislative action

The Pan-African Parliament’s participation demonstrated how continental model legislation can connect regional dialogue with practical action at the national level.

Through its engagement in Yaoundé, the PAP placed parliamentary action at the centre of efforts to protect the Congo Basin, transform Africa’s food systems and strengthen the resilience of communities facing environmental and economic pressures.

The next phase will require the Parliament, AFSA and other partners to move beyond popularization towards sustained engagement with national legislatures and governments.

As Hon. Saho’s intervention highlighted, achieving food sovereignty and climate justice in the Congo Basin will depend on cooperation but also on laws, institutions and accountability systems capable of converting continental commitments into tangible protection for Africa’s people, soils, biodiversity and food systems.