Aluno: Margarida D'itaben Silva Salvado Costa
Resumo
Abstract
This internship report focuses on the topic of Food Security in the international,
institutional, and diplomatic context, with particular emphasis on the work of the Rome-Based
Agencies (RBAs) — FAO, WFP, and IFAD — and on Portugal’s foreign policy in this field.
The analysis begins with the evolution of the concept of Food Security, which is now
understood in a multidimensional way, grounded in the pillars of availability, access, utilization
and stability. The rights-based approach introduced by Amartya Sen was instrumental in
redefining hunger as a failure of access rather than a mere scarcity of food, significantly shaping
global thinking and policy.
The RBAs, as core entities of the United Nations (UN) system dedicated to food and
agriculture, perform complementary roles: FAO in policy formulation and technical
cooperation, WFP in immediate humanitarian response and IFAD in long-term financing for
rural development. Portugal plays an active role in these agencies, aligning its engagement with
the key pillars of its foreign policy — European integration, the lusophone space and
transatlantic relations — by promoting cooperation projects, multilateral initiatives and
strategies to fight hunger and poverty, support sustainable agriculture and nutrition, and
advance the Right to Adequate Food.
This report is based on the completion of an internship held from January to April 2025
at the Embassy of Portugal in Rome. The experience offered direct insight into multilateral
diplomacy and Portugal’s external action in the area of Food Security. The tasks undertaken
focused particularly on international cooperation and Portugal’s engagement with the RBAs,
allowing for the consolidation of knowledge acquired during the Master’s in Development and
International Cooperation and providing practical understanding of diplomacy as a tool for
promoting sustainable development and the UN’s 2030 Agenda.
Trabalho final de Mestrado