FAO puts food and agriculture at the centre of the sustainable development dialogue
©FAO/Namig Karimov
07/04/2022
Food and agriculture lie at the heart of the 2030 Agenda. This week at the Regional Forum for Sustainable Development, three FAO events shed light on the strong role agriculture and food systems play in realizing the global sustainability goals.
Sustainable food systems in Europe and Central Asia
The first UN Food Systems Summit will have a long-lasting impact on a global scale, despite the other historic events of 2021.
This echoes across Europe and Central Asia, giving an impulse to a side event at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development on the role of sustainable food systems in building back better in Europe and Central Asia and carrying forward the momentum of the Food Systems Summit held on 6 April. The side event was convened by the Issue-based Coalition on Sustainable Food Systems in collaboration with Chatham House.
Member States of Europe and Central Asia had the opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience on the implementation of the Summit national pathways.
"The concrete heritage of the UN Food Systems Summit, which seeks to leverage the most powerful opportunities and solutions to the most pressing interconnected global food system challenges, will depend on national governments turning promises into policies and concrete actions in the months ahead, particularly in our region. This is why our side event was crucial now," commented Mary Kenny, FAO food safety and consumer protection officer.
In particular, attendees could learn about the findings of a regional Food Systems Summit stock-taking exercise outlining recurring priority issues, food systems challenges, ongoing initiatives, and workable solutions. The event also contributed to the dialogue on opportunities, challenges, and appropriate policy actions for sustainable transformation of food systems in Europe and Central Asia in support of countries implementing the Summit national pathways.
©FAO/Karen Minasyan; ©FAO/Nozim Kalandarov
Working with farmers through farmer field schools
Accomplishing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the agriculture sector is especially challenging due to the remote location of farmers. This side event raised awareness about the importance of grassroots work with farmers as a pre-condition to achieving global goals by 2030, and how farmer field schools are used as a means to execute this grassroots work. Panelists presented local experience with farmer field schools from across the globe and engaged in discussion on the practicality and feasibility of this approach in the region under the current social and geopolitical circumstances.
Developed by FAO, farmer field schools live up to the famous quote: “Tell me and I forget; teach me and I may remember; involve me and I learn.” These schools offer specific groups of livestock farmers non-formal education through regular, facilitated meetings with the ultimate goal of improving husbandry practices and profitability of their production.
Nevertheless, concerns have been raised on how to transfer and scale up local successes for a larger impact on the sector as a whole. This FAO event also provided a forum to discuss these and other issues.
Empowering rural women
FAO and Schola Campesina Aps brought the grassroots perspectives of rural women from Europe and Central Asia to the Regional Forum’s agenda. This side event reviewed approaches that facilitate rural women’s access to land and other productive resources, and presented promising practices and lessons learned in addressing gender inequalities in rural areas.
Actors from various fields and spheres shared their experience of the role of women in developing sustainable food systems at local level and opportunities for promoting rural women’s empowerment as part of the COVID-19 recovery process, as well as discussed existing and emerging challenges.
©FAO/Didor Sadulloev
“Without gender equality today, a sustainable future and equally inclusive future remain beyond reach. [But w]e need more effort, more participation, more accountability, and shared responsibility,” said Gulbakhor Makhkamova, founder of the National Association of Business Women of Tajikistan – a key non-profit organization uniting more than 3 500 women entrepreneurs. “The agriculture sector is underperforming in many countries of the region; this is one reason hampering women’s equal access to the resources and opportunities enabling income-generation and a better life.”
During the side event, promising practices from Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Republic of Moldova, Romania, and Tajikistan were presented that can facilitate rural women’s access to climate finance, participation, and decent jobs. Additionally, panelists exchanged views on the gendered impacts of the Ukraine crisis and discussed how women-led initiatives can support those fleeing the war.
“I wish that the enormous works of female farmers will be recognized and valued by our community, society, and state,” noted Ludmila Manuilova, a Georgian farmer producing grain with low-till farming, including a maize demonstration plot supported by FAO and the European Union’s ENPARD programme. “It is a must to identify priority needs and challenges of female farmers and develop inclusive strategies and policies.”
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