Opening of the High-Level Session of the 2021 FAO-EU Strategic Dialogue - Speech by FAO Director-General Dr QU Dongyu

Speech by

FAO Director-General Dr QU Dongyu

Opening of the High-Level Session of the 2021 FAO-EU Strategic Dialogue 

6 May 2021

As prepared

 

Dear Commissioners, Dear Colleagues

1. You and I began our mandates in 2019, energized by a common vision – a world free of hunger and a better life for all.

2. Soon after we took office, humanity was confronted with an enormous challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

3. Today, more than a year after the start of this pandemic, we are here to underscore our continued determination to, defeat hunger and poverty and to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  

4. The spread of COVID-19 has brought about a crisis of unprecedented magnitude and revealed the fragility of our agri-food systems. 

5. Women, youth, the most vulnerable people and the extreme poor are bearing the greatest burden.

6. The pandemic has emphasized the importance of protecting nature, while putting humans at the core of our actions to end hunger and poverty.

7. We can be proud of what we, the EU and FAO, have achieved so far. 

8. We have built resilience and leveraged the potential of the humanitarian-development nexus supporting peace, through the Global Network against Food Crises.

9. We have promoted policies and investments in agri-food systems to reduce hunger through the Food and Nutrition Security Impact, Resilience, Sustainability and Transformation Programme (FIRST).

10. We have supported sustainable natural resources management, climate change adaptation and sustainable agricultural value chains through important joint programs, such as:

• the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme (SWM); and
• the programme for Unlocking the Potential of Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (FISH4ACP).

11. Together, we drive forward international standards and frameworks through the Codex Alimentarius, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and other bodies. 

12. These and many other achievements are reflected in the new EU-FAO Partnership Report, released today.

13. FAO is grateful to the European Union for the contributions totaling USD 635 million for the period 2018-2020. 

14. This contributed substantially to FAO’s ability to provide critical support around the world, every day.

Dear colleagues and friends,

15. Through this Strategic Dialogue, we are entering into a new chapter of our relationship marked by the urgency to act in a coordinated manner in support of the much needed agri-food systems transformation. 

16. Our Dialogue is well framed by five strategic priority areas shaping our future collaboration: 

(1) Agri-food systems and One Health; 

(2) Climate change, biodiversity and natural resources; 

(3) Food crises, food security and resilient livelihoods; 

(4) Sustainable value chains, investments and policies; and 

(5) Agri-food system transformation through digitalization. 

17. A few high-level comments on each of these areas:

18. First, transforming our Agri-Food Systems and the One Health approach, are at the forefront of our common agenda in these challenging times.

19. The health of humans, animals, plants and our ecosystems is interlinked.

20. Within the Tripartite of FAO, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and in collaboration with other Partners, we advance the One Health system by combating Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and preventing the spread of zoonotic diseases. 

21. We cooperate with the OIE on the Global Framework for the progressive control of Transboundary Animal Diseases. 

22. The joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission, the global body for standard setting in food safety, is key in promoting the highest food safety standards worldwide.  

23. Reducing the application of pesticides through innovative approaches is a joint ambition of FAO and the European Commission. 

24. Secondly, the multiple challenges of climate change and biodiversity will be discussed.

25. Transforming agri-food systems entails addressing the loss of biodiversity, conserving, preserving and restoring the planet’s ecosystems and mitigating climate change. 

26. We need to support Members in mainstreaming climate and biodiversity into their policies, targeting deforestation and ocean governance and ensuring sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. 

27. These are all shared commitments reflected in our core policy frameworks and in this Strategic Dialogue. 

28. FAO promotes a wide range of solutions to achieve sustainable agri-food systems, including climate-smart agriculture, sustainable bioenergy, circular bio-economy, agro-ecology, agroforestry, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, blue transformation, sustainable land and forest management as well as food loss and waste reduction. 

29. At FAO I have established a new Office for Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment to lead on this work.

30 Collaboration with the private sector to accelerate transformation is crucial. 

31. FAO’s new Strategy for Private Sector Engagement promotes collaborative work on bio-innovations, and the circularity of agricultural plastics. 

Dear colleagues and friends,

32. Thirdly, we also have to address food crises.

33. Launched just yesterday, the 2021 edition of the Global Report on Food Crises provided further evidence of the steady increase in acute food insecurity – reaching 155 million people in 2020 compared with already record levels of 135 million people in 2019.

34. While humanitarian assistance remains critical, coordinated efforts are essential to address the root causes of food crises. 

35. To this end the Global Network against Food Crises launched by FAO, the EU and other partners, plays a pivotal role in understanding food crises, leveraging food security investments and promoting partnerships at all levels and beyond food. 

36. Fourth, sustainable value chains, investments and policies need to remain a priority on our agenda.

37. Investments in agri-food systems play a key role in transforming the economy and ending extreme poverty. 

38. Territorial development approaches can help provide rural populations, particularly family farmers, women, youth and indigenous groups with better access to markets, innovation, land, natural resources, rural services and credit.

39. In rural areas, less than 20 percent of landholders worldwide are women. Hence, Gender Transformative Approaches can help to improve gender equality. 

40. The 2021 International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour is an excellent opportunity for stepping up efforts to address child labour in small-scale production, including in local and regional value chains.

41. Responsible, sustainable and green investments are needed to support the pandemic recovery efforts, in line with the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems, and other international guidelines.

42. They can also promote innovative solutions from digital technologies to blended finance. 

43. Fifth and final topic for our Dialogue: Digital tools and big data can help governments, regional and global actors to improve the knowledge, data and policy interface available for agri-food system transformation.

44. FAO’s work on the International Platform for Digital Food and Agriculture is key for ensuring inclusive, safe and trustworthy digital technologies in food and agriculture, in order to bridge the digital divide, promote better digital infrastructure and increase digital literacy. 

45. Our Hand-in-Hand Initiative, and our geospatial platform, aim at providing direct support and investments to the people and regions most in need. 

46. Our collaboration with the EU Joint Research Center, Copernicus and the European Space Agency are crucial to achieve these objectives. 

Dear Colleagues,

47. At this critical moment in time, we have a solid joint vision accompanied by an ambitious action plan. 

48. This will allow us to bring real change on the ground. 

49. Our Strategic Dialogue aims to recalibrate the EU-FAO joint priorities, and strengthen the capacity to bring effective responses to global challenges.

50. Following the deepest transformative action at FAO since its creation, we now have an agile, inclusive and transparent modern Organization that is focused on better serving its Members.

51. A modular and flexible structure that allows for optimal cross-sectoral collaboration was established. 

52. We are ready to carry our partnership further – to expand and amplify it. 

53. We have a historic chance to succeed together, so let us use it and embark on this important journey together. 

54. Thank you.