Parliamentarians Can Contribute to Food Security Worldwide, FAO Official Tells Int’l Parliamentary Symposium

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Parliamentarians can contribute significantly to the achievement of food and nutrition security at the global, national and local levels, said, Thursday in Rabat, Coordinator for Parliamentary Alliances at FAO, Jean Leonard Touadi. Speaking at an international parliamentary symposium hosted by the House of Advisors under the theme “Sovereignty and Food Security between the Global Situational Challenges and the Strategic Security Challenges,” Touadi highlighted the key role of parliamentarians in the establishment of legal and institutional frameworks, the allocation of appropriate budgets and in monitoring government action on food security and nutrition. Speaking at the second session of the conference, which focused on “the role of parliaments in developing new legislation to promote food security,” the UN official said that food security and nutrition indicators tend to show significant improvement in the presence of a strong political will. According to the FAO official, several areas need to be addressed such as food safety and prevention of food waste and loss, as well as regulation of electronic food trade and the fight against food fraud. “Coordinated legislation facilitates access to adequate food for the most vulnerable households,” he added. For his part, the Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources in the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, praised the efforts made, under the enlightened guidance of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, for the development of the Kingdom and the guarantee of peace and security, including food. Food security is still a challenge for Africa where many men, women and children suffer from acute malnutrition, he said. For his part, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, Gennaro Migliore, noted that several countries in the world are currently facing challenges in food security due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this regard, he invited parliamentarians to deploy legislative measures to solve this urgent problem.