FAO will attend the fourth Annual Strategic Consultation with the Government of Japan on Tuesday 21 January 2020, in Tokyo, Japan. The objective is to review the progress of their partnership and discuss common priorities and new humanitarian and development projects for the year ahead.

One of the key thematic areas of discussion will focus on digital and innovative technologies.  FAO and Japan recognize that digital innovation is revolutionizing the food, agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors, enabling smart farming practices, creating employment opportunities in rural areas, and contributing to sustainable natural resources management. FAO seeks to collaborate with Japan in this area to support developing countries in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Other important thematic priority areas to be discussed include FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which promotes partnerships on the ground to yield greater impacts, as well as FAO-Japan collaboration towards the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth (N4G) Summit 2020, and in the follow up to TICAD7.

Daniel Gustafson, FAO Deputy Director-General (Programmes) will be leading the mission, while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will represent the Japanese delegation.

Last year was of particular importance for the FAO-Japan partnership. Japan hosted multiple critical events including the G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting and the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7), which underscored some key tenets of the longstanding collaboration between FAO and Japan. To kick-start the year 2020, this annual consultation has been organized to further explore common priorities for cooperation as well as expanding innovative partnerships, including with non-state actors.

The latest FAO + Japan report

The latest FAO + Japan report the will be presented during the Annual Strategic Consultation. The report details the outstanding progress achieved in relation to food security, nutrition, resilience and the sustainable use of natural resources, between 2018 and 2019, made possible by the collaboration of Japan and FAO.

The report shares key metrics, such as the distribution of Japan’s assessed and voluntary contributions (USD 165 million in total) over FAO’s key geographic and thematic areas of work in the last two years. Japan’s support covered FAO’s strategic framework across mainly the Asian, Near East and African regions. The majority of japans contribution were directed towards nutrition, resilience building and crisis response, and sustainable production of agriculture and fisheries.

Furthermore, the report reveals how the FAO and Japan initiatives are:

-          Contributing to the development and promotion of international standards, guidelines and codes of conduct around the production and trade of food, particularly through the codex alimentarius (Codex), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).

-          Building the capacity of governments and communities seekingGlobally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), for promoting sustainable and efficient use of natural resources.

-          Helping countries to deliver on both climate change goals and achieve food security by raising awareness and enhancing countries’ capacities to combat climate change and its impacts - making the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors more productive and sustainable.

About the series:

The FAO + Partnership Report Series highlights the concrete results achieved through the continued support of key resource partners. These reports detail contributions, initiatives, innovations, impacts, outcomes and human-centred stories from the field. In turn, they show how deepening our engagement with resource partners and fostering new alliances is vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

More from this series:

FAO + Switzerland
FAO + France
FAO + Republic of Korea
FAO + Netherlands
FAO + China

For more information

FAO + Japan partnership report

FAO and Japan working together

FAO Liaison office

Japan Country Profile