FAO Director-General addresses Partnering 4 Betters Forum in Rome

Rome- The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, delivered the keynote speech during an event dedicated to climate, science, and innovation at the International Agri-food Network's Partnering for Better Forum in Rome.

Qu emphasized the importance of the private sector in achieving the Four Betters (better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life), explaining that these represent the integrated economic, social, and environmental dimensions of the agrifood systems and how the world produces, processes, stores, distributes, and consumes food.

He also explained that these goals are integrated into the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 and they represent FAO's contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 2 (Zero hunger), and SDG 10 (Reduced inequalities).

The Director-General emphasized that partnerships with the private sector are the way to accelerate efforts to transform agrifood systems and make them more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

On that note, he mentioned some concrete opportunities for collaborations, including FAO's Hand-in-Hand Initiative, The Green Cities imitative and the World Food Forum's Science and Innovation Forum.

Other examples of successful collaborations and joint ventures include the Pathways to Dairy Net Zero initiative in partnership with the Global Dairy Platform, which seeks to establish a more environmentally sustainable and climate-friendly dairy industry, as well as the Women's Accelerator Programme in Africa, which provides support to agribusiness owners and is co-managed by the International Agri-Food Network and FAO. 

Private sector players such as smallholder farmers, family farmers, micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, large companies, and financial institutions are crucial development partners capable of providing innovative tools, successful business models, resources, knowledge, and technologies essential to increasing impact at scale, he noted.

Qu emphasized that the private sector could help close the financing gap by increasing investments that could generate measurable and transparent benefits. 

Finally, Qu said that he was confident that discussions at the Forum would spark new ideas and collaborations, and underscored that FAO looked forward to continuing to work with the private sector to achieve the Four Betters and the SDGs, including through the FAO network of country offices. 

The event was moderated by Michael Keller, Secretary General of the International Seed Federation, and had the participation of Margaret Munene, Co-Founder and CEO of Palmhouse Dairies, as well as Rick White, President and CEO of Canadian Canola Growers Association.

The International Agri-Food Network (IAFN) is a global network of private sector organizations, civil society organizations, and other stakeholders committed to promoting sustainable agriculture and food systems.

According to IAFN, the Partnering 4 Betters Forum was a space for key stakeholders to discuss advancing FAO’s strategy on science, innovation and climate change.