UN FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT COORDINATION HUB - FAO Director-General’s Dialogue with National Food Systems Conveners - Opening Statement

UN FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT COORDINATION HUB 

FAO Director-General’s Dialogue with National Food Systems Conveners

Opening Statement

By

Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General 

12 January 2023

 

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

 

I am pleased to be participating in this interactive dialogue and I look forward to a fruitful exchange of ideas. One year has passed since the establishment of the UN Food Systems Summit follow-up Coordination Hub. The Hub is now fully functional, and I want to thank the Secretary-General for his support, as well as the other UN agencies for their contributions.

FAO is proud to host the Hub on behalf of the UN System, and together with the UN system and other key partners, we are pleased to be able to provide leadership for the work of the Hub. The focus of the Hub is to work with all of you providing technical support for your efforts in planning and implementing a sustainable agrifood systems transformation to achieve the SDGs.

To achieve the ambitious transformative changes required, we need to change policies, mind-sets, and business models, and each of you must take the lead in this.

The number of hungry people globally has risen following decades of progress: 3.1 billion People do not have access to minimum cost healthy diets; and our agrifood systems are not delivering effectively.

Conflicts, the climate crisis, the pandemic, and lately the war in Ukraine, have aggravated the situation, increasing the number of hungry people, intensifying inequalities and jeopardizing progress made in the past decades.

The historic task we are facing is clear: defining a holistic, coordinated approach to transform our agrifood systems. We can turn the tide through the transformation to more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems.

FAO, together with partners and all relevant stakeholders, is providing technical expertise and professional solutions to support these changes.

FAO is your Organization and continues to lead efforts to support your national transformation plans in a time of unprecedented challenges.

The SDGs call for crosscutting solutions, and the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 is designed to support countries in implementing the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, with integrated crosscutting approaches.

I also invite you to join FAO’s flagship initiatives designed to be important tools for achieving transformation.

The FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative now has 54 participating countries and brings together diverse actors to help the most vulnerable Members reduce poverty, end hunger and malnutrition, and reduce inequalities within and among countries.

The Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum, held in the context of the World Food Forum in October 2022, provided, for the first time, a platform for Members to present their investment opportunities to partners and stakeholders to support their country-led and country-driven investment plans for a total value of more than USD 3 billion.

The World Food Forum 2022 was very successful, and we expect the World Food Forum 2023 to further consolidate this success. The Forum is now an annual event and I warmly invite you to participate in this year’s edition in October, through its three pillars – Investment, Youth, and Science and Innovation - to further drive the transformation of agrifood systems.

Digitalization is key for the transformation of our agrifood systems.

The International Platform for Digital Food and Agriculture is an inclusive multi-stakeholder forum to promote dialogue on the digitalization of food. We must continue working together to fill data gaps to best support your decision-making process and business model, and FAO has a number of digital platforms combining Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to assist Members.

In addition, the FAO 1000 Digital Villages Initiative is a country-led, user-centered initiative that promotes the digital transformation of villages and small towns worldwide.

Better Production is critical, and the FAO One Country One Priority Product Initiative – One Product + One depending on the size of the country - has been launched in all regions globally and focuses on country priorities, needs and comparative advantages in promoting priority products, and supports farmers across the whole value chain.

We also need to act to reduce food loss and waste, which provides a triple-win opportunity, with immediate climate benefits and increased availability of nutritious food, while improving the overall sustainability of agrifood systems.

We need to look beyond rural environments and capitalize on the value that sustainable urban food systems and green cities can bring in our efforts to achieve the SDGs – the FAO Green Cities Initiatives provides the framework for these collective actions.

These are just some areas where FAO provides strong professional and technical expertise through our technical divisions and wide network of country offices globally.

In the first year of the Hub’s work, the focus was on listening to your needs and creating products and services to support you effectively, efficiently and coherently.

The Survey conducted by the Hub last year set out the priority areas of work.

The Food System Solution Dialogues and the Regional Touchpoints provided an important opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the efforts and work being carried out at national level, and highlighted the critical role that National Pathways can play in achieving the SDGs.

The Hub continues to be fully committed to country ownership, co-creation, and partnerships, for effective implementation.

Your work is invaluable, and your commitment and passion has enabled us to maintain the momentum effectively following the Summit. Your role is vital for the wellbeing of billions of people. Many of you have given us guidance on the challenges faced at national level, in particular the three C’s - COVID-19, climate change, and conflicts – which are increasing the challenges faced by national food producers, especially smallholder farmers, and the vulnerable who cannot access sufficient nutritious food.

In these challenging times, we continue to appreciate the work carried out by National Conveners with all stakeholders, and we need to continue sharing experiences and learning from each other. The Hub will continue to engage with you, and through the new Digital FAO, my colleagues can be in touch with you continuously to support your national efforts, in line with national priorities.

The Food Systems Stocktaking Moment in July 2023, and the regional preparatory meetings, will provide opportunities to intensify the momentum for transformation and to report on progress made at the national level since the Summit in 2021, and will pave the way towards the 2023 SDG Summit in September.

The Hub will provide countries with the support needed in preparation of the Stocktaking Moment, to ensure you are best prepared to share your experiences on how national ownership and action are the foundation for agrifood systems transformation.

I remain committed to responding to all your calls for support, and I will share your concerns with the Secretary-General and all relevant UN colleagues.

I want to leave you with three key messages to guide our discussions today:

• One: Transforming our agrifood systems is a unique opportunity to achieve results at scale, in line with national priorities, while addressing the impacts of the climate crisis and ensuring sustainability.
• Two: Leveraging finance for agrifood systems transformations is one of the most catalytic actions needed for achieving the SDGs - if we get it right, our agrifood systems can be profitable, equitable, sustainable, healthy, and more resilient to shocks. And,
• Three: We need to invest in science, innovation and technology. The new FAO Science and Innovation Strategy, together with the FAO Strategy on Climate Change, can support you in stepping up efforts to address the urgent, complex, and interlinked challenges facing our agrifood systems through science-based solutions and a sustainable approach.

Let us continue to work together to transform our global agrifood systems to achieve our common goal of the 4 Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.

I wish you fruitful discussions leading to tangible actions and recommendations to further help us to continue working together effectively and coherently to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Thank you.