Oru Fogar requests a change of status in the Committee on World Food Security

During the 54th session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS 54), held at FAO headquarters in Rome, the prefect of Manabí and coordinator of the Oru Fogar Working Group on Food Sovereignty, Leonardo Orlando, held a meeting with the Chair of the CFS, Anas A. Al-Nabulsi, at which he called for Oru Fogar to be able to move from Observer to Participant in the Committee. The prefect, who was accompanied by the Secretary General of Oru Fogar, Carles Llorens, put forward a request that would make it possible to obtain an active voice and direct negotiation of CFS texts.

The request seeks to move beyond mere passive attendance as observers in order to acquire a more significant role in global food governance. Becoming Participants would grant Oru Fogar the right to an active voice, the capacity for direct negotiation of normative texts and a presence in the Advisory Group. At present, this participant status is already held by UN agencies and multilateral bodies (such as FAO, IFAD and WFP), civil society and

Indigenous peoples (CSIPM), the private sector (PSM), financial and research institutions (such as the World Bank and CGIAR), as well as philanthropic foundations (PFM). Leonardo Orlando argued for the relevance of the request on the grounds that competences related to food and agriculture usually lie with the regions. Carles Llorens based the change of status on a track record grounded in Oru Fogar’s agreement with FAO dating back to 2008 and in having organized 5 ‘Zero Hunger’ summits of regions. The Chair of the CFS, Anas A. Al-Nabulsi, showed the best disposition towards Oru Fogar’s request, and it was agreed to initiate the procedure that should allow the voice of the regions to be more audible in the global debate on food security.

This meeting formed part of a work agenda carried out by the delegation in Rome between 19 and 23 October 2026. Among the other meetings held, notable ones include the meeting with Corinna Hawkes, Director of the Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division of FAO; the session with Gabriel Ferrero, adviser to the World Bank and former Chair of the CFS (2021-2023); and the talks with Oliver Oliveros, Executive Coordinator of the Agroecology Coalition.

Likewise, the delegation met with Jeremie Mbairamadji, coordinator of FAO’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), at which they analyzed how the process could be accelerated with regard to certain candidacies put forward by regions of Spain, Côte d’Ivoire or Cameroon. Also with Adriano Campolina, coordinator of the Services and Empowerment unit, and his team, an area that brings together topics to which Oru Fogar devotesgreat attention, such as rural development or the inclusion of women and young people. The meeting made it possible to learn about courses and resources of this FAO unit that can be very useful to the regions. It was equally interesting to learn about all the programmes and capacities of FAO’s Food and Nutrition Division, headed by Dr. Lynnette Neufeld.