“Attaining the SDGs by 2030: Business and the UN, New Partnership Models” - jointly organized by the SDG-Fund and UNITAR

 

“Attaining the SDGs by 2030: Business and the UN, New Partnership Models”

- jointly organized by the SDG-Fund and UNITAR -

Thursday, September 2016 

United Nations Headquarters, New York

Conference Room 11

 

At the outset, I would like to congratulate UNITAR’s Ambassador Marco A. Suazoand Ms. Paloma Duran, Director SDG Fund for organising this timely conference on the critical role UN-private sector partnerships can have in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.

I would also like to extend my appreciation  for inviting FAO to speak on this topic of partnerships in the field of food security and nutrition. 

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals is a turning point in the global community’s approach to development.

Its 17 Sustainable Development Goals are ambitious objectives and bring a renewed energy to our collective efforts to end poverty and hunger and ensure prosperity for all, while protecting the planet.

Food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture have been placed at the very heart of the international commitments – and rightly so.

FAO is very much a part of these efforts. We share the 2030 vision of a world free of hunger and malnutrition.

Fulfilling SDG-2 is key for achieving sustainable development. At the same time, achieving the 2030 Agenda will also contribute to ensuring a food secure world.

That is why,  work of FAO is relevant not only to SDG-2, but it can impact all the 17 goals and contribute to the attainment of the SDGs.

It is also very clear to us that no single country or organization can attain the 2030 Agenda by working in isolation.

FAO firmly believes that the only way forward is by partnering with different actors, including the UN System civil society, academia and the private sector.

The SDGs present an unparalleled opportunity for the private sector to lead by example and help advance sustainable development, both by minimizing negative effects and by maximizing positive impacts on people and the planet.

At FAO, we consider the private sector to be a key ally.

And, in the spirit of SDG-17, FAO has revitalized results-based partnerships to overcome the challenges we face today.

These efforts are guided by strategies to engage with the private sector and civil society organizations that have been approved by our Member States.

The private sector strategy identifies the following main areas of engagement:

• Development and implementation of technical programmes;
• Policy dialogue;
• Norms and standard setting,
• Advocacy and communication;
• Knowledge management and dissemination; and,
• Resource mobilization. 

 

I want to emphasize that while resource mobilization is important, it is only one area of engagement. Partnerships must go beyond that.

In this regard, our partnerships with the private sector includes areas such as:

• Promoting responsible investments
• Supporting the adoption of sustainable practices
• Ensuring access to markets and financial services
• Monitoring of natural resources; and,
• Creating and strengthening more inclusive and efficient agri-food systems.

I would like to take the opportunity of today´s event to share with you some examples of innovative and successful FAO-private sector partnerships. I believe they will help illustrate their potential in assisting us in our quest to meet the SDGs.

 

FAO and Ikea are preparing a diagnostic study to advance forest certification and sustainable forest management in Viet Nam. The certified wood will then be used by Ikea, opening up a new market for smallholder farmers.

 

FAO and MasterCard are partnering to develop inclusive payment systems to support small-scale farmers and poor families. Through a cash and voucher program, credit and money are provided to households in Kenya for the purchase of basic goods and farming inputs on local markets, strengthening social protection networks.

 

In several countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, Grameen Foundation’s expertise in mobile technology complements FAO’s country programmes by strengthening smallholder farmers’ access to agricultural information and financial services.

 

A partnership between FAO and the Boulder Institute of Microfinance is facilitating capacity development, knowledge management and advocacy on inclusive rural financing systems, in support of smallholder families in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The joint activities give particular attention to the financial inclusion and social protection of the rural poor, with a focus on women and youth.

 

Smallholders’ access to credit in Tanzania, Ethiopia and Kenya is being improved through a combination of Rabobank Foundation’s financial know-how and FAO’s technical expertise and local networks. Building on the progress achieved so far, this collaboration will expand to additional African countries in the near future. 

 

A partnership with the Autogrill chain of motorway and airport restaurants is giving family farmers access to global markets, significantly increasing their income.

 

Within the framework of the Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste, FAO and the Rockefeller Foundation will provide technical guidance and strategic support to African countries to implement the agricultural goals set in the Malabo Declaration on Agriculture and Postharvest Losses.

 

In the same area of work, FAO and UNEP and Messe Dusseldorf spearhead the Think Eat Save campaign that supports the Zero Hunger Challenge and involves dozens of partners in a very simple effort: share ideas and concrete examples on how to minimize food waste.

 

In the framework of the G-20´s Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), FAO and the Gates Foundation arehelping reduce excessive food price volatility in Bangladesh, India and Nigeria by training national stakeholders to produce updated market information and analysis and to design and implement efficient and inclusive market and trade strategies.

 

FAO and Google have joined efforts to make high-resolution satellite data an everyday tool in managing the world's natural resources.  The method offers a quantum leap towards improved abilities to assess a landscape's carbon storage capacity or plan a nation's approach to greenhouse gas emissions. FAO's Locust Control Unit is also using the Google Earth Engine to improve forecasts and control of desert locust outbreaks.

 

Finally, the efforts to build the future we want require a shared commitment and shared values that are made effective through different instruments.

 

The Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security and the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems are examples of such instruments.  

 

They are tools that can help us capitalise on the positive and avoid the negative impacts of investments in the area of food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture.

 

Companies such as Cargill, Nestlé, Pepsi-co, and Coca Cola have committed to supporting the implementation of the VGGTs. 

 

FAO is working with these and other companies as well as with many governments to implement these sets of internationally agreed guidance.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

The SDGs bring new challenges and responsibilities to governments, FAO and the UN System, the private sector, civil society, academia and other actors.

Let’s embrace them together.

Thank you for your attention.