Chapter 6


allow the state itself to re-establish national production potential, recovering the path to
economic development and social progress.

Commitment number six consists in: "Promoting optimal allocation and use of public and
private investments to foster human resources, sustainable food, agriculture, fisheries
and forestry systems, and rural development, in high and low potential areas". The idea
is to reverse the neglect that agriculture and rural development have experienced lately,
through the development of a policy framework that will encourage public and private
investments. In fostering food security, the international community has a main role to play
in supporting the adoption of appropriate national policies and in providing technical and
financial assistance to developing countries and countries with economies in transition in
fostering food security.

Commitment number seven states that: "We will implement, monitor, and follow-up this
Plan of Action at all levels in cooperation with the international community". The
objective of this commitment is to ensure the actual implementation of the World Food
Summit Plan of Action. According to the latter, sub-regional, regional, and international
cooperation efforts, will be improved. With the assistance of the international agencies of the
United Nations, as well as of the international finance and trade institutions, poverty
eradication strategies will be formulated and enforced, and individual national plans of action
including targets, goals and timetables for achieving food security will be developed. The
monitoring of the actual implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action, will be
conducted through the FAO Committee on World Food Security (CFS), that will review the
performance reports of the individual governments, the "reports on UN agency follow-up
and inter-agency coordination and any other relevant information from other international
institutions". Also, it is requested that by the year 2006, a progress evaluation take place
and in the year 2015, "a mid-term review of achieving the target of reducing the number of
undernourished people to half their present level" be conducted. "This progress evaluation
and review should be in the context of a special forum of a regular session of the CFS and
should involve active participation from governments, relevant international organizations
and actors of civil society".

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has been advocating
food security as the main component to achieve development and it is upon this principle that
the agenda of the World Food Summit was based. Food security depends on the
implementation and performance of actions that are far beyond the agricultural sector. Due to
its political, social and economic implications, ensuring food security engages heads of state
and government and entails commitments and activities on the part of the whole spectrum of
government ministries, international institutions and civil societies. Clearly, the main
objective of the seven commitments of the World Food Summit is to set the targets and the
conditions necessary to achieve food security, by investing in agricultural infrastructure,
research and training, supporting sustainable agricultural and rural development and
improving access to food, especially among the disadvantaged groups.


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