FAO Liaison Office with the European Union and Belgium

Presenting FAO’s State of Food and Agriculture Report (SOFA) 2021: Making Agrifood Systems more Resilient to Shocks and Stresses

15/12/2021

 The newly released State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) 2021 report, an annual flagship publication of FAO, was presented in Brussels at an Infopoint that was hosted by the European Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA)This year’s edition of the report focuses on Making agrifood systems more resilient to shocks and stresses and examines the vulnerabilities of food supply chains as they cope with risks and shocks. 

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of agrifood systems to shocks and stresses and led to increased global food insecurity and malnutrition. Action is needed to make agrifood systems more resilient, efficient, sustainable and inclusive.  

Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels Raschad Al-Khafaji opened the event and briefly outlined the context of this year’s report drawing attention to the potential impact of the pandemic on the achievement of the SDGs, given the interconnectedness of many aspects of agrifood systems to our society and livelihoods 

Willem Olthof, Deputy Head of Unit at DG INTPA’s Unit for Sustainable Agri-food Systems and Fisheries moderated the event and made a special mention to the wealth and depth of FAO’s publications, which are being used as a reference for the research work of the European Commission.  

This was followed by a presentation by FAO Senior Economist Andrea Cattaneo, leader of the team that produces SOFA. Cattaneo introduced the report and its key findings and presented country-level indicators of agrifood systems as well as other data that measure the robustness of primary food production,and the physical and economic access to food. He briefed participants on effective policies to enhance food supply chain resilience, support livelihoods and, in the face of disruption, ensure sustainable access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for all. 

Felix Rembold, Team Leader for Food Security at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, acknowledged the importance of the annual FAO publication, describing it as a key piece of evidence that will feed into the work of the European Union on improving the resilience of agrifood systems.  

These interventions were followed by a dynamic Q&A session with the audience. 

The State of Food and Agriculture is being published since 1947 and is one of the oldest reports in the United Nations system. Each year, it offers balanced, science-based assessments of important issues in the field of food and agricultureselecting a specific topic on an annual basis that is of major relevance to agricultural and rural development and global food security, and presenting it in a comprehensive, yet easily accessible style. You can read this year’s edition here and also watch the SOFA video.