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The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UNOHRLLS) concluded a highly successful two-day Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the Operationalization of the Food Stockholding Mechanism (FSM) for Least Developed Countries. The meeting brought together LDC governments, development partners, UN agencies, international financial institutions, regional organizations, technical experts, and representatives of the private sector to advance the practical design of one of the flagship deliverables of the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA).

The Doha Programme of Action for LDCs for the Decade 2022-2031 (DPoA) mandated the Secretary General of the United Nations to explore the feasibility, effectiveness, and administrative modalities of a system of food stockholding for the LDCs. The subsequent Secretary-General’s reports (A/77/291 and A/79/540) reaffirmed the mechanism as a vital part of the solution to food insecurity in the LDCs. The operationalization of the mechanism was also called for in the July 2023 “Call to Action for Accelerated Food Systems Transformation” by the Secretary-General and it is part of the system-wide Food System Transformation agenda.

Over the course of two days, participants engaged in in depth discussions that moved the FSM concept decisively toward operational clarity, as highlighted by Under-Secretary-General, Rabab Fatima in her closing remarks. She praised the meeting’s “rich, rigorous, and forward-looking exchange,” which sharpened the collective understanding of food insecurity in LDCs and the requirements for an actionable mechanism.

A Timely and Urgent Initiative

Throughout the discussions, experts underlined that food insecurity in LDCs is structural, persistent, and exacerbated by overlapping crises, including climate shocks, conflict, displacement, price volatility, and limited fiscal space. As the LDC Chair, H.E. Lok Bahadur Thapa, noted, food imports represent about 17% of all merchandise imports in LDCs—more than twice the global average. These vulnerabilities have made recurrent food crises the norm rather than the exception.

Against this backdrop, all participants emphasized that the FSM is not optional; it is a vital instrument to strengthen emergency response capacity and safeguard development gains. USG Fatima stressed that delays in building such capacity translate directly into human development losses for nearly 480 million people in LDCs facing moderate or severe food insecurity.

Clear Purpose and Vision for the FSM

Across interventions, there was strong convergence on the FSM’s purpose: to reinforce—not replace—national systems, regional reserves, and global humanitarian action.

The mechanism aims to help LDCs respond faster, more predictably, and with greater control when food shocks occur. Participants highlighted the need for a flexible yet focused design, anchored in:

• National ownership and responsiveness to diverse country contexts
• Lean and inclusive governance with strong LDC ownership
• Integration with early warning systems and strong alignment with Rome-based agencies and IFIs.
• Predictable and diversified financing, including public funding, risk sharing tools, and private sector participation sharing tools, and private sector participation

The emerging vision is centered on a tripartite architecture comprising:

1. Public Sector Support Facility
2. Private Sector Support Facility
3. Technical Assistance, Analysis, and Training Unit

Together, these components would support emergency stockholding, shock-responsive social protection, timely commercial imports, and evidence-based decision-making. The participants also highlighted the urgency of action. Food insecurity in LDCs is not episodic; it is structural, exacerbated by heavy import dependence, unsustainable debt burdens, and compounding climatic and other shocks, and urgent action is required to strengthen LDCs' emergency response.

Strong Support from Qatar and Global Partners

The State of Qatar, host of the Fifth United Nations Conference on LDCs and a leading supporter of the DPoA, reaffirmed its commitment to advancing the FSM. In her remarks, H.E. Ambassador Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, Permanent Representative of Qatar, recalled the September 2025 agreement between the Qatar Fund for Development and UN OHRLLS to support the FSM as part of Qatar’s larger USD 60 million pledge toward key DPoA deliverables.

She emphasized the importance of:

• National ownership
• Regional integration
• Strong governance and sustainability
• Embedding FSM within a holistic food systems approach

Ambassador Thapa also extended warm appreciation to Qatar for its generous support, which has enabled the rapid transition from concept to detailed analytical work.

A Roadmap Toward the 2027 Midterm Review

Looking ahead, both the LDC Chair and the USG Fatima underscored that the 2027 Doha Midterm Review of the DPoA must serve as a moment not only of stocktaking, but of visible progress.

Priorities moving forward include:

• Refining the operational model and governance framework
• Initiating a pilot phase in selected LDCs to generate early evidence of impact
• Developing sustainable financing pathways with donors and IFIs
• Aligning the FSM with humanitarian pipelines, regional reserves, and national institutions
• Ensuring coherence with the DPoA’s Resilience Building Mechanism, currently being rolled out by OHRLLS

The results of the EGM will feed directly into the comprehensive feasibility study on the operationalization of the mechanism and the roadmap to be presented at the 80th session of the General Assembly.

Strengthening Resilience and Leaving No LDC Behind

In closing the EGM, USG Ms. Fatima highlighted the spirit of One UN delivery, which brought together multilateral, regional, national, private, and technical partners around a unified objective.

She called on all stakeholders to sustain the momentum generated in New York and work collectively toward launching the FSM at the 2027 Midterm Review in Doha.

“Let us translate this mandate into a mechanism that strengthens resilience, protects the most vulnerable, and brings us closer to a world free from hunger, where no LDC is left behind.” — USG Rabab Fatima

More details about the various sessions of the two-days event can be found here.