Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting Panel on “The Food Crisis and the Threat of Global Destabilization” Opening Remarks

Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting

Panel on “The Food Crisis and the Threat of Global Destabilization”

Opening Remarks

By

Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General

As prepared 

20 September 2022

 

President Clinton,

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

1. Thank you for this opportunity to address you today.

 

2. President Clinton continues to be a visionary leader who has designed and implemented significant policy reforms.

 

3. Today, he has gathered us here to re-think and re-envision the future of our world.

 

4. Conflict and destabilization, global and national economic shocks, and weather extremes are affecting the way we produce, supply, and consume our foods.

 

5. Our agrifood systems are fragile, and our supply chains are under pressure.

 

6. The war in Ukraine, and other ongoing conflicts, add further unpredictable challenges.

 

7. Energy, fertilizer and food prices have risen, and hunger levels are unacceptably high, and have increased to 150 million more chronically undernourished people in the last two years.

 

8. And the climate crisis is affecting every corner of this small planet.

 

9. The magnitude and severity of acute food insecurity is daunting.

 

10. We are at risk of facing a food access crisis now, and a food availability and affordability crisis in the coming months.

 

11. We need to act together to tackle these global challenges.

 

12. As a scientist, and the son of a farmer, I have witnessed how agriculture can be a vehicle of transformation, and a fundamental part of the solution.

 

13. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations must do more and better with your support,

 

14. Leading international efforts to assist Members for a world free from hunger.

 

15. Our focus is on transforming agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable,

 

16. For better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.

 

17. The FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 prioritizes this transformation across all our work, in support of Members on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

18. Allow me to touch on the Commitments to Action that have brought us here today.

 

19. First: the climate crisis knows no boundaries.

 

20. The agriculture sector has been impacted the most by climate-related disasters.

 

21. FAO is focused on investing data-based solutions in resilience, by helping farmers to anticipate, be prepared and equipped before disaster strikes, and be resilient when they have to face it.

 

22. We know that investing in agriculture and rural livelihoods is 7 to 10 times more cost-effective and sustainable than direct food assistance.

 

23. Yet, only 8% of all global food security funding in emergencies goes to assist agricultural production.

 

24. Displacement due to natural disasters and the climate crisis is not a choice.

 

25. People are forced to migrate to try to escape poverty, threats to their livelihoods, and disasters.

 

26. This global crisis is pushing over 100 million people, who are displaced, to the brink.

 

27. We need to invest in long-term solutions that provide the most vulnerable with hope, opportunities, tools, resources and accessibility to feed themselves and their families.

 

28. FAO does this through people-centred approaches that build resilient livelihoods and enable self-sufficiency.

 

29. The second is health equity - from a food perspective.

 

30. There is a critical link between the quality of our diets and food security.

 

31. Currently, more than 3 billion people in the world cannot afford a healthy diet, both in developing and developed countries.

 

32. There are many actions we can address this as an integral part of our work on agrifood systems.

 

33. We need to make nutritious and safe foods affordable and accessible to all.

 

34. Governments need to allocate and re-allocate public budgets in a cost-effective and efficient way.

 

35. Our global trade system should be kept open and effective. International markets of agrifood products should not be interrupted nor distorted.

 

36. We need to expand the supply of nutritious foods, and then shift consumption towards them.

 

37. The third Commitment to Action is inclusive economic recovery and growth.

 

38. The COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts have increased global income inequality, and have affected economic growth, food security and nutrition, gender equality, decent employment and environmental ambitions.

 

39. To ensure recovery from crises, and to prevent more people from falling into poverty, we need to be inclusive and stay committed to our collective pledge to leave no one behind.

 

40. We need to implement policies that address structural inequalities and that target rural poverty.

 

41. The FAO Food Price Index this year reported record high numbers.

 

42. For every additional 1% increase in food prices, nearly 10 million more people could be living in extreme poverty.

 

43. Social protection is critical for poverty reduction, inclusive growth and greater resilience, and it must be a priority for national governments and key partners.

 

44. FAO, together with partners, continues to advocate for the expansion of social protection programmes to reach everyone, everywhere.

 

Dear Friends,

 

45. We are all here today because we need solutions to address this global crisis.

 

46. We must transform our agrifood systems now.

 

47. To accelerate this transformation, we need proper policies, we need to increase investment on agro-infrastructure, and to harness science, innovation and technology.

 

48. Partnerships with the private sector are fundamental as they can provide the innovative tools, marketing channels, resources and technologies needed.

 

49. Despite these challenges and difficulties, I remain optimistic about the contributions that we can make to accelerate change.

 

50. We need renewed emphasis and renewed investments in agrifood systems and farmers globally.

 

51. We only have SEVEN agricultural seasons left to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

52. Let’s show solidarity and passion for humanity.

 

53. Let’s be efficient, innovative, and effective; let’s stay committed to creating changes for a better world, together.

 

54. I thank you.