CFS 44 Draft Agenda and Timetable out and call for Side Event proposals

The 44th meeting of the Committee on World Food Security is from 9 – 13 October 2017.

GFAR Partner IAAS was founded in 1957 and started with only 8 member countries. In 60 years, it became an association with over 40 member countries and about 10.000 students as members!

But still, their vision stays the same: To promote the Exchange of Experience, Knowledge and Ideas and to improve the mutual Understanding between Students in the field of Agricultural and Related Sciences all over the World!

The European Commission and the High Representative/ Vice-President have set out the EU's political priorities and concrete proposals for a stronger strategic partnership with Africa. The Joint Communication will now be presented to the Council and the European Parliament.

International food insecurity rose from 2015 to 2016, according to the Food Security Information Network’s (FSIN) Global Report on Food Crises 2017 released in March.

Jordan is set to have its first-ever operational drought monitoring system as a result of collaboration between different organizations, including the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (

GFAR is working with FAO in the H2020 project "Big Data Europe: Integrating Big Data, Software & Communities for Addressing Europe's Societal Challenges" (BDE).

In order to make changes in public policy agendas, National Committees for Family Farming in the Philippines, Honduras, Burkina Faso and Senegal will receive technical and financial support. The creation of a new Committee in Chad will be supported as well.

One of the five point priority agenda of the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) is to build and strengthen farmers’ cooperatives and their enterprises that will give farmers a stronger involvement in value chains and increase their market power. Thus, AFA has established a Cooperative Development Program which aims to “build a strong and viable network of farmers’ cooperatives, owned and controlled by small scale family farmers, engaged in sustainable and growing business enterprises that leverage economies of scale.”