The Swiss National FAO Committee (CNS-FAO) is an advisory body to the Federal Council. It was founded in 1947 following Switzerland's accession to the FAO.
The Committee usually meets four times a year. It is currently chaired by Martijn Sonnevelt, Executive Director of the World Food System Center at ETH Zurich. It is made up of 15 members from various sectors (civil society, private sector, research institutes, agricultural organisations, etc.), who are elected for a term of four years. The maximum period a member can serve on the committee is 12 years.
The CNS-FAO advises on ways and means to combat world hunger and its causes, on improving global food security, and on promoting the sustainable development of agriculture and food systems.
Main topics of the 2020–2023 legislative period
The CNS-FAOʼs tasks
Die aktuelle Legislaturperiode (2020–2023) konzentriert sich auf die folgenden Bereiche: die Jugend und die Arbeit, die Transformation der Ernährungssysteme, die Agrarökologie sowie den Klimawandel einschliesslich nachhaltiger Tierzucht. Die Arbeiten rund um diese Bereiche werden im Rahmen von Querschnittsthemen wie beispielsweise des Biodiversitätsverlusts oder der Digitalisierung stattfinden.
The CNS-FAO carries out its tasks in its capacity as:
- an advisory body to the Federal Council on issues concerning food security and sustainable agriculture
- acting as a body that launches initiatives and as a discussion forum
- acting as a source of information and as a body handling public relations, i.e. providing information and raising awareness in Switzerland
- acting as a communications organisation, e.g. organising its own activities in the form of seminars and symposia, etc.
Further information
Last modification 12.12.2022
Contact
Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG)International Affairs and Food Systems
Schwarzenburgstrasse 165
3003 Bern