FAO, Partners Mark World Food Day 2020 and 75th anniversary of the establishment of FAO
Grow, Nourish, Sustain. Together. Our Actions are our Future.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) and her sister Agency the World Food Programme (WFP) with the Government of Ghana have celebrated the 40th edition of the World Food Day on 16 October 2020 in Accra which also marked the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the FAO with a resolve to work harder to ensure sustainable food systems in Ghana.
In the 75 years since the founding of FAO, the world has made great progress in the fight against poverty, hunger, and malnutrition. Agricultural productivity and food systems have come a long way.
A Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture Hon. Dr. Sagre Bambangi who represented the Minister at a flag-raising ceremony in Accra on Friday,16 October 2020, reiterated the Government of Ghana's commitment to ensuring food safety and food security.
He said as a strategic response to safeguarding Ghana’s food security status, the government has put in place measures to ensure a robust food production system. These according to him includes the promotion of value addition and agro-processing, expanded storage facilities, innovative marketing of farm produce, and mainstreaming of appropriate and improved technology to remove the drudgery of farming.
The Resident Coordinator of the United Nations system in Ghana, Charles Paul Iheanacho Abani said, The United Nations, through its various agencies, funds, and programmes, is working with the people and Government of Ghana to further the Government’s commitment to making Ghana resilient towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals which includes the goal of ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition.
”As we observe World Food Day, we recognize our food system workers or #FoodHeroes who have continued to produce, plant, harvest, fish, or transport our food, despite these difficult times, helping to grow, nourish and sustain our world”, He added.
According to the WFP Representative and Country Director, Ms. Rukia Yacoub, the world produces enough food for everyone so it’s not entirely a problem of scarcity but of access to nutritious and affordable food for everyone.
She said, smallholder farmers in developing nations need support to grow crops in a more sustainable way, then store and transport their produce to markets, and ultimately, improve their own livelihoods. When food moves from the farm, along the supply chain, and onto people’s plates in a fair and efficient way with minimal food losses and waste, everyone benefits. She called on all sector players to build dynamic food systems that contribute to community-based agricultural growth and strengthen national economies.
More than 2 billion people do not have regular access to enough safe, nutritious food according to the FAO. The COVID-19 pandemic has added to this challenge, threatening to reverse important gains in food security, nutrition, and livelihoods. Now is the time to address the persistent inequalities and inefficiencies that have continued to plague our food systems, economies, and social support
The FAO Deputy Regional Representative for Africa and Country Representative to Ghana, Jocelyn Brown Hall praised the partnership between the FAO and the people and Government of Ghana since 1978, through technical cooperation in the areas of food and agriculture, nutrition, and natural resource management, and hoped it would drive progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by the global deadline of 2030. “There must be great urgency in this task”, She added.