Cairo, Egypt - The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) celebrated today the World Food Day 2020, which was held this year under the slogan "Grow, nourish, sustain, together ... our actions are our future". This year's celebration calls for the importance of working on adopting a healthy food system, to advance faster and more ambitiously in all sectors, to achieve the second sustainable development goal.

The celebration was held under the auspices of His Excellency Mr. Elsayed Al Qusayr, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and in the presence of Mr. Richard Dictus, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Egypt; Nasreddin Hag ElAmin, FAO Representative in Egypt; Ibrahim Elafia, Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of Cooperation at the European Union, Egypt; Nauku Fukunaga, Deputy Country Director, World Food Program, Egypt; with the virtual participation of Ms. Dina Saleh, the Regional Director of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, for the Near East, North Africa and Europe.

Leaders and officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, FAO, United Nations organizations, as well as representatives of donors, civil society, academic institutions and media professionals participated in the celebration.

In his speech, Mr. Al-Qusayr, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, delivered on his behalf by Eng. Mustafa Al-Sayyad, Deputy Minister for Livestock, Fisheries and Poultry, said: “World Food Day is a call for global solidarity to help the poorest people and improve their living conditions.” Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic confirmed that the agricultural sector, being an economically productive sector, is considered to be flexible and resilient to shocks. He also stressed the importance of working on vertical and horizontal agricultural expansion and achieving a higher degree of food security, especially in light of the possibility of a halt in the import of food supplies due to the pandemic.

He pointed out that the agricultural sector in Egypt is one of the main pillars of the national economy, whether in terms of its contribution to providing food or job opportunities, providing raw materials for the national industry and its contribution to the GDP and total commodity exports, pointing out that the Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a strategy for sustainable agricultural development in Egypt, 2030. The strategy aims to achieve a number of goals, including: a higher degree of food security, especially for strategic food commodities, sustainable use of natural agricultural resources, improving the standard of living of rural people, reducing rural poverty rates, improving the climate for agricultural investment, strengthening the competitiveness of agricultural products in local and international markets, increasing agricultural productivity of land and water units, as well as the labor and capital units.

His excellency emphasized that the agricultural sector witnessed an unprecedented renaissance during the past six years, which Egypt had not witnessed for decades, as the Ministry of Agriculture managed during that period to implement 281 projects at a cost exceeding 26 billion EGP.

Mr. Richard Dictus, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Egypt, said: “The United Nations has been working side by side with the Egyptian government for 75 years, and recently, access to food for all has been prioritized in response and recovery plans from the COVID-19 pandemic, as all UN agencies in Egypt, have collectively intensified their efforts to ensure universal access to safe nutrition.

He added, “We are working with the government, development partners, the private sector and all development stakeholders to address the current problems of food security, obesity and malnutrition due to hunger. We are pleased to see that the “Sustainable Agricultural Development Plan” has been approved by the Egyptian government and we look forward to the approval of a “National Nutrition Strategy” which will accelerate action to end hunger in Egypt.

On his part, Nasredin Hag ElAmin said: “World Food Day this year confirms the messages mentioned in the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020 report, and calls for measures to be taken to make healthy food systems accessible and affordable for all.”

It is noteworthy that the World Food Day 2020 event is taking place in unprecedented circumstances, although it marks the 75th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, it comes in exceptional circumstances as countries around the world deal with the effects of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hag AlAmin added, "The crisis caused by COVID-19 has provided us with an opportunity to rethink our basic needs and to give more consideration to something that many people lack, i.e. food. So our future food systems must provide affordable and healthy food systems for everyone, and decent livelihoods for those working in the food system, while preserving natural resources and biodiversity and addressing the challenges of climate change.

He said, “Behind the food we get, there is always someone who produces, grows, reaps, hunts, or takes care of transporting the food. We take this opportunity on the occasion of World Food Day, to thank the Food Heroes, who, regardless of circumstances, continue to provide food to their communities.”

It is noteworthy that about 690 million people suffer from hunger in 2020, an increase of about ten million people since the beginning of 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic may have added between 83 and 132 million to this number, depending on the economic growth scenario.

Dina Saleh, IFAD's Regional Director, said: "Healthy and sustainable food systems are the basis of food security and are at the core of the priorities of IFAD and the United Nations in general. In partnership with the Egyptian government, we will do everything necessary to ensure both.”

In his turn, Ibrahim Al-Afia, Head of Cooperation at the European Union in Egypt said: “The European Union has established itself as a lead partner for the Food and Agriculture Organization between 2016 and 2019, contributing more than $ 932 million to the projects and programs implemented by FAO. One of the main projects implemented with FAO and the World Food Programme is a project via the European Union's Joint Rural Development Programme, to give children an opportunity to learn and combat child labor.

He added: "In Egypt, the partnership between the European Union and FAO was embodied via the Joint Rural Development Programme, through the implementation of a comprehensive project about good agricultural practices in three governorates, namely Matrouh, Minya and Fayoum, for which the European Union and its member states gave Egypt the equivalent of 600 million Egyptian."

In her speech, Naoko Fukunaga, Deputy Country Director of the World Food Program, Egypt, explained that despite the increasing needs around the world and despite the downturn in the global economy, the World Food Program remains dependent on the support of its government partners, donors, local partners and the private sector to expand its operations to assist about one million vulnerable people and families across Egypt this year. New partnerships have already been launched that allowed the program to provide support to schoolchildren, teachers, farmers, mothers and children, while limiting social interactions, gatherings and ensuring social distancing.

She emphasized that in light of the slogan of this year's World Food Day theme of ‘growth, nourishment, and sustainability’, there is an opportunity to raise awareness and invite everyone to work to improve nutritious food options by choosing healthy foods and maintaining sustainable habits, despite the current circumstances.

The World Food Day 2020 celebration included a presentation of joint efforts to combat the emerging Corona virus in rural communities through an awareness campaign that was prepared and implemented in cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture, FAO, the World Food Program and IFAD.

A number of media awareness spots about healthy nutrition were showcased as well as a song prepared by children about the need to follow healthy diets. The Deputy Minister of Agriculture then distributed certificates acknowledging the contributions to scientific research efforts that serve agricultural development. An exhibition of publications related to FAO, the European Union, IFAD and WFP took place as a side activity to the celebration.