On the occasion of World Food Day 2019, the three Rome Based UN agencies (RBAs) in India - The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) came together to deliberate on the issue of food and nutrition security through the holistic lens of a food systems approach. This approach takes into consideration the cycle of production, access (or transformation) and absorption of food to ensure food and nutrition security in India and ties in with this year’s theme for World Food Day- “Our actions are our future, healthy diets for a #ZeroHunger world".

World Food Day is celebrated annually on 16 October. It marks a day dedicated to tackling global hunger. World Food Day 2019, aimed to raise awareness about the importance of healthy diets and to reiterate that SDG 2, Zero Hunger, was not only about addressing hunger, but also about nourishing people, while nurturing the planet. It highlighted the need for urgent action across sectors to make healthy and sustainable diets available and affordable for all and called on the general public to think about its food choices.

In the run up to World Food Day 2019, the RBAs in India, partnered with Health Education and Awareness League (HEAL) Foundation to share information and sensitize the media on food and nutrition security. This was dovetailed with the 7th annual Health Writers Convention held from 26th to 28th September 2019.

At the convention which saw the participation of more than 70 journalists, editors and writers from across the country, the RBAs hosted a session titled, “Farm to Fork- Holistic Reporting on Food and Nutrition Security” that focused on the role of sustainable agriculture and production in enabling food and nutrition security through the food systems approach. In this session, Mr. Tomio Shichiri, FAO Representative in India (FAOR) said that “The focus must not only be on increased food grain production, given the projected growth in population, but to also diversify and increase the production of targeted ‘Nutri-cereals’ (nutrition-rich crops) such as millets. Promotion of homestead gardens and diversification of sustainable agriculture production towards fruits, vegetables, livestock and aquaculture can contribute towards addressing malnutrition. Mr. Shichiri also spoke about the need for sustainable agriculture and a food systems approach in addressing issues related to land degradation, biodiversity loss, water resource and ecosystem resilience.