PSM Committees
Looking ahead to 2025, PSM committees will follow negotiations and key meetings at FAO. We have rolled over the membership of these committees from previous years. If you wish to be a member of any of these committees, or, if you are a member and wish to be removed from the distribution lists, please contact francesca@emergingag.com:
- Strengthening Urban and Peri-Urban Food Systems
- Building Resilient Food Systems
- Reducing Inequalities Committee
- Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment +4
- Nutrition
- Climate
- World Food Forum (includes Science and Innovation Committee which sometimes meets separately)
- Responsible Agriculture Investment (activated when required)
- Digital Agriculture (activated when required)
PSM AGM – Save the Date!
Mark your calendars!
The PSM Annual General Meeting will be held on 2 July at the Capo d'Africa in Rome. Please register here and stay tuned for more details!
FAO Strategy for Private Sector Engagement (2021–2025) Update
Your input matters!
The Partnerships and UN Collaboration Division at FAO is updating the FAO Strategy for Private Sector Engagement (2021–2025) and seeking feedback from the Private Sector to help shape the revised strategy. To contribute, PSM members are invited to provide input through the survey available here. The feedback collected will help identify areas for improvement and explore new opportunities for collaboration under the renewed strategy.
CFS 53 Call for Side Events – Applications are Open!
Got an idea for a side event at CFS53?
The Call for Side Events for CFS53, scheduled for October 20-24 at FAO headquarters in Rome, has been opened. PSM normally proposes four side events working in a collaborative model. If you have a suggestion for a topic, please contact bibi@emergingag.com by March 30.
Side events aim to enrich plenary discussions by showcasing CFS policy products, cross-cutting food security issues, and multi-stakeholder engagement. Interested stakeholders must submit applications no later than 16 May 2025. For submission guidelines, review the CFS 53 Side Event Application Form or contact CFS-Side-Events@fao.org.
Food Systems Summit – Regional Meetings & Youth Engagement
In preparation for the 2nd Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4), scheduled to be held July 28 - 30 in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
There will be regional preparatory meetings which will enable regional perspectives to shape the wider discussions. The outcomes of the regional meetings will be synthesized into regional key messages to be considered at the Stocktaking moment.
Additionally, a Preparatory Youth Conference is scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand from 15 - 16 May. This conference aims to amplify youth voices, strengthen global partnerships, and inspire the next wave of food systems changemakers. Interested stakeholders may pre-register here.
The Regional Preparatory Meetings will be held as follows:
Urban - Peri Urban Macro Committee
On 20 February, the PSM macro-committee discussed the Zero Draft of the Policy Recommendations. Comments provided include the need to address invasive species e.g., fruit fly, in peri-urban environments, the need for assured water supply and for clear zoning laws and a regulatory environment which both enables the sector and provides the basis for provision of infrastructure, health care & other services. These comments will be incorporated in the OEWG meeting on March 7th in Rome (Hybrid) together with perspectives already included in the PSM Position Paper. Further comments on the Zero Draft are welcomed by the Macro-Committee and should be sent to brian@emergingag.com.
Climate Macro Committee – Key Updates
COP30 Update: Brazil plans to move up the COP30 Leaders' Meeting to 5-8 November to ease congestion in Belém ahead of the main conference from 10-21 November 2025. This adjustment aims to reduce attendees from 50,000 to 30,000, addressing accommodation challenges. An official lodging platform launches in March to support accommodation management.
UNFCCC SCF Forum (8-9 September 2025): A first provisional draft programme (see Annex II) for the UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) Forum on accelerating climate action and resilience through financing for sustainable food systems and agriculture was discussed at the last SCF meeting. The forum co-facilitators (Australia and Honduras) will further develop the draft for review at the next SCF meeting in Bonn from 11-13 June.
Bonn Session: Registration for the 62nd Session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) (SB62) in Bonn (16-26 June) is now open via the UNFCCC ORS system. The deadline for nominating delegates is 12 March, after which the UNFCCC Secretariat will assign delegation quotas. Within the assigned quota, organizations can confirm participants until 15 June.
The application period window for side events at the Bonn session will be 11-14 March. Further details are available on the UNFCCC side events webpage.
HLPE-FSN Steering Committee Renewal – Call for Experts!
Passionate about food security and nutrition?
The High-Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE-FSN) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) is seeking experts to join its Steering Committee for a two-year term starting in October 2025. The call for experts is open until 10 March 2025. The HLPE-FSN Steering Committee provides independent, evidence-based analysis to support CFS policy processes on food security and nutrition. To apply or learn more, visit HLPE-FSN Steering Committee Call for Experts.
FARM
The FARM program is an IFAD, French, EU funded program supporting smallholder farmers on four key value chains: maize and soybeans in Rwanda, cassava in Sierra Leone, sorghum in Zimbabwe, and dry cereals in Senegal. FARM emphasized the importance of private sector engagement in development, noting that collaboration with businesses has improved cost-effectiveness and sustainability of development programming. Findings on private sector engagement may also be integrated into country reports for the Food Systems Summit (FSS).
Gender Transformative Change for Climate Action
A new technical study from the Joint Programme on Gender Transformative Approaches (JP GTA) examines the role of gender dynamics in climate resilience in agrifood systems. Download the "Gender Transformative Change for Climate Action" here. For more information, contact jp-gta@fao.org or visit the JP GTA website.
Call for Sponsors & Partners: 2025 Startup Innovation Awards (SIA)
Exciting opportunities ahead!
The World Food Forum (WFF), powered by Extreme Tech Challenge, is seeking sponsors for the 2025 Startup Innovation Awards (SIA). The competition highlights game-changing agrifood tech solutions, covering themes like food loss prevention and women's empowerment in food systems. Sponsorship starts at $5,000. Check out the SIA Sponsorship Package for details!
Reminder: Call for Submissions - Use and Application of the CFS-FFA
The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has launched a Call for Submissions on the Use and Application of the CFS Framework for Action for Food Security and Nutrition in Protracted Crises (CFS-FFA).
Interested in participating? Download the submission template and send completed forms to CFS@fao.org by 15 April 2025. For further details, visit the FSN Forum website or contact fsn-moderator@fao.org.
Upcoming Events
PSM Events
- 26 March: PSM Quarterly call
- 2 July: PSM AGM – Rome
- 1 October: PSM Quarterly Call
- 10 December: PSM Quarterly Call
FAO Events
- 7 March: Open-Ended Working Group on Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems – FAO HQ
- 7-11 April: 177th FAO Council – FAO HQ
- 2-6 June: Negotiations on Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems (1st round) – FAO HQ
- 28 June-4 July: 44th FAO Conference – FAO HQ
- 7 July: 178th FAO Council – FAO HQ
- 8-11 July: Negotiations on Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems (2nd round) – FAO HQ
- 21 July: Negotiations on Strengthening urban and peri-urban food systems (2nd round) – FAO HQ
- 28-30 July: 2nd United Nations Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+4) – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- 8-9 September: UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance (SCF) Forum – FAO HQ
- 29 September - 1 October: Global Conference on Sustainable Livestock Transformation – FAO HQ
- 13-17 October: World Food Forum – FAO HQ
- 16 October: World Food Day – FAO HQ
- 20-24 October: CFS 53 – FAO HQ
- 1-5 December: 179th FAO Council – FAO HQ
Stay engaged and mark your calendars for these key moments in 2025!
Disclaimer
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