SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) SOLUTIONS FORUM High Level Opening Session: “Digitalization and innovation for sustainable agriculture, food, nutrition, environment and health.”
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
30/08/2021
SMALL ISLAND DEVELOPING STATES (SIDS) SOLUTIONS FORUM
High Level Opening Session:
“Digitalization and innovation for sustainable agriculture, food, nutrition, environment and health.”
Opening Statement
by
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
As prepared
30 August 2021
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
1. I am very pleased to welcome you to this High-Level Opening Session.
2. We are living very uncertain and challenging times across the world.
3. And for SIDS, the impact of COVID-19 has intensified pre-existing challenges brought on by less development and the climate crisis, food insecurity, health and nutrition-related issues.
4. SIDS are also vulnerable to external shocks such as fluctuating food and oil prices, and imports and supply volatility.
5. Agri-food systems should be more functional in SIDS.
6. All efforts to provide the required healthy diets and to improve life quality for the people in the SIDS are needed to strengthen.
7. Today’s Forum provides an opportunity for SIDS to share experiences and exchange ideas on how increased innovation and digitalization can help to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SAMOA Pathway priorities.
8. FAO is committed to building a world free from hunger and malnutrition,
9. where no one is left behind regardless of land size, population and geographic location.
10. FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-2031 is to support the members to transform MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems for better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life for all – leaving no one behind!
11. FAO is proud of its consolidated partnership with the SIDS as our priority.
12. For this reason, I created the FAO Office of Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries and Landlocked Developing Countries, following with a number of actions (hand in hand initiative, 1,000 Digital villages etc.).
Ladies and Gentlemen,
13. Today’s solution forum is another concrete action of how innovation and digitalization brings opportunities in the face of challenges.
14. We must recognize and utilize these as driving forces for agricultural and rural development, and for the realization of the Four Betters.
15. A farmer in the Pacific can receive real-time technical guidance about plant production and protection from other famers and extension officers hundreds of miles away.
16. Vegetable farmers in Africa and Samoa are no longer losing time and money traveling to wholesalers to collect the proceeds of their supplies, thanks to digital payment platforms.
17. In this regard, the FAO "1,000 Digital Villages" initiative focuses on converting 1,000 villages across the world into digital hubs, with the aim of supporting the transformation of agri-food systems.
18. The Initiative incorporates three main elements: "e-Agriculture", "Digital Farmer Services" and digital services for "Rural transformation".
Dear Colleagues,
19. Partnerships are key.
20. This is the core sprit of FAO’s Hand in Hand initiative.
21. The country-led and country-owned initiative is a digital public good to create interactive data maps, analyze trends and identify real-time gaps and opportunities across the agri-food chain, and ensure impactful investments.
22. FAO's International Platform for Digital Food and Agriculture will provide a venue for dialogue, policy making, and strengthening of the linkages between agriculture and digital economy fora,
23. supporting governments to enhance the benefits of digital agriculture and leapfrog by learning from their peers, while addressing potential concerns.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
24. As SIDS, you understand your local development challenges and the solutions that have the potential to address them.
25. Speaking of potential, I note that many of the innovators, farmers and participants are women and young people.
26. Women and the youth are key to continue the cultural shift where gender equality and inclusivity is helping to create a better world for all of us.
27. Indigenous Peoples are also important contributors and should not be left behind.
Dear Colleagues,
28. Digital technologies offer promising opportunities to improve food production, trade and market access, especially to smallholder farmers.
29. Agriculture must go digital – it is the smart solution for the future of agriculture!
30. Innovation and ICT application imperative for agricultural and rural modernization.
31. FAO is committed to digital agricultural transformation and the use of innovation to end hunger and improve lives.
Dear Friends,
32. As the solutions and stories to be shared during this Forum are real, personal stories of farmers and entrepreneurs, and their journey to where they are today, I also wish to share my own personal story.
33. I was born the son of a rice grower in a Chinese village in early 1960s.
34. The feeling of hunger is engraved in my memory ever since I was a child.
35. When I was 12, I came to learn about Professor Yuan Longping’s hybrid rice for the first time.
36. It dawned on me that agricultural technology holds the magical power to produce more and better foods for all the people.
37. I therefore made up my mind that when I grew up I would devote myself to agriculture and innovation, working for farmers and rural development.
38. That young boy is speaking to you today,
39. still firmly believing that agricultural science and innovation through various practical technology and digitalization can help us tackle the challenges facing the world today – especially for Small Island Developing States. Location you can Not change but you can change your mind and change world by changing yourself first.
40. We need innovation on policy, technology, financing and business models for the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems.
41. Thank you.