​The Food Security and Nutrition Strategy (ESAN) from the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) was approved in 2011 by the Heads of State. The Strategy should be implemented by all CPLP member countries (Angola, Brasil, Cabo Verde, Guiné Equatorial, Guiné-Bissau, Moçambique, Timor-Leste, Portugal e São Tomé e Principe. ESAN – CPLP promotes the Human Right to Adequate Food and its objective is to actively contribute for hunger and poverty eradication in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries.

The most innovative aspect of ESAN – CPLP is its institutional governance mechanism. The Food Security and Nutrition Council (CONSAN), is a long lasting multi-stakeholders platform (Ministerial level) aiming to contribute for increased coordination and policy convergence on food security issues amongst governments and other relevant stakeholders. Members are therefore representatives from Government, Civil Society, Private Sector and Universities. Decisions and recommendations from CONSAN-CPLP are presented to the CPLP´s Heads of States.
 
The Mechanism for the Facilitation of the Participation from Civil Society in the activities of CONSAN-CPLP (MSC CONSAN), is autonomous and it was structured based on specific Guidelines that were approved by Member states.

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Organizational Struture of MSC CONSAN-CPLP
Membership
Civil Society Networks and Organizations working in food and nutrition and related areas (agriculture, environment, gender, children, youth and others) in or with the CPLP member countries can be members of the Mechanism. Participation in the Mechanism will always be conditioned to the following principals: i) priority to Organizations that directly or indirectly represent most vulnerable groups to food and nutritional insecurity; ii) Priority to an equitable participation in terms of social and geographic representation.

Coordination Committee
The Mechanism’s Coordinating Committee is responsible for ensuring that functions are efficiently performed according to principles expressed in the respective guidelines. The Coordinating Committee is currently composed of 15 organizations, working in 8 CPLP countries: 7 organizations representing family farmers,; 8 organizations representing national Civil Society networks involving consumers, fishermen, poor urban people and agro-food workers and indigenous people, working on Food and Nutrition areas in CPLP member countries indicated by the Regional Civil Society Network for Food Security and Nutrition in CPLP (REDSAN-CPLP). MSC CONSAN involves around 500 Civil Society Organizations and more than 15 million farmers from CPLP member countries.  

​Secretariat
The Mechanism disposes of a Secretariat responsible for administrative, technical organizational, financial and communicational support. The Secretariat is presently ensured by ACTUAR- Association for the Cooperation and Development (Portugal). 

The 2nd Forum on Family Farming and Food and Nutritional Security (FAFSAN II) in the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) took place in Lisbon between the 26th and the 30th of September. FAFSAN II provided an opportunity for discussion, capacity building, sharing and dialogue empowerment with other actors involved in implementation of the Strategy of Food Security and Nutrition (ESAN) of CPLP.