Eighth Session of the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development (CFSSD-8) and the Africa Regional Implementation Meeting (Africa-RIM) in preparation for the Twentieth Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-20)

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), within the context of reform of its intergovernmental machinery, created the Committee on Food Security and Sustainable Development (CFSSD)1, by Resolution 853 (XL) in April 2007. The CFSSD is both a technical and a legislative organ and is composed of high-level experts from governments, academia, Research and Development (R&D) institutions, the private sector and civil society of ECA member States. It meets on a biennial basis and serves as a forum for the promotion of cooperation, exchange of information and sharing of experiences in the areas of food security, agriculture, environment, land, climate change and broader sustainable development issues.

The main objectives of the CFSSD-8 are:

- To provide a platform for the Africa RIM for CSD-20 which will deliberate on the main outcomes of Rio+20 and adopt an outcome document to serve as Africa's collective input to CSD-20; and

- To review progress in the implementation of the 2012/2013 work programme of ECA Subprogramme on Food Security and Sustainable Development (FSSDD), and provide guidance on further work during 2013. The CFSSD-8 will also provide guidance on priorities for the 2014/2015 workprogramme