Critical elements on impact assessment and accountability framework within the Committee on World Food Security

As food prices spiked on agricultural markets and political instability spread throughout the world in 2007-2008, food and nutrition security (FNS) has arisen again on the development agenda. It was through the issue of price volatility that food politics became a global issue and some countries and stakeholders pushed for the formalisation of a global governance of FNS. In this context, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), set up in 1974 under FAO to review and monitor food security policies, was reformed in 2009. Its revitalization led to new institutional arrangements with the inclusion of a wide range of stakeholders and the creation of a mechanism producing scientific and professional expertise on controversial issues in order to inform policy makers, the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE). This issue brief builds on the discussions held during an international workshop on global governance of FNS (July 2014), convened by IDDRI, CIHEAM-MAIM (Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Montpellier) and CIRAD (Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement), gathering 30 experts. It aims at making explicit what can be learnt from the CFS reform and contributing to the reflection on global FNS governance. One of its objectives is to provide supporting views on the CFS monitoring process. It will also address the specific issue of accountability within and outside the CFS framework, as one of the most critical issue for enhanced FNS governance. (Résumé d'auteur