FAO appoints Dr Joyce Boye as a Special Ambassador for the International Year of Pulses 2016 (IYP)

FAO appoints Dr Joyce Boye as a Special Ambassador for the International Year of Pulses 2016 (IYP)

Remarks by Ms. Carla Mucavi Director of the FAO Liaison Office to the United Nations, June 23, 2016, New York 

 

Dr. Joyce Boye, FAO  Special Ambassador for the International Year of Pulses
Mr. Ajay Markanday , Director of the FAO Laison Office in Washington
Distinguished Participants
Ladies And Gentleman

Let me start by thanking all of you for the  kind participation in today's wonderful  event.
We have had a very lived discussion celebrating  the International Year of Pulses.

 

In particular, I want  to congratulate Dr. Joyce Boye for her nomination as FAO Special Ambassador for the International Year of Pulses for North America and wish her success in this important and distinguished responsibility.

As we heard from our panelists, in today's discussion,  to whom I extend our appreciation, pulses are a superfood. They are an important source of energy that we need as human beings and therefore  contribute to food security at all levels. 

They also have diverse benefits for the environment , helping address climate change due to their  low carbon footprint and nitrogen- fixing properties that improve soil fertility. 
Above all they offer great potential to lift farmers out of rural poverty in developing countries , specially woman who  are a significant work force in agriculture. 

So, celebrating the international Year of Pulses aims to heighten public awareness of the nutritional benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production  aimed towards food security and nutrition.
I can therefore say that all of us are convinced of the benefits of pulses.

One of the challenges of the International Year of Pulses is to convince others, putting pulses at the reach of a wider public through different networks, reach different people, helping them improve their diet in a sustainable way.
This includes connecting pulses with different processes and activities. For instance, the General Assembly approved earlier this year the United Nations Decade of Action on Nutrition. 
This also includes researching and sharing updated information on pulses, incorporating pulses into nutrition guidelines, and advocating their benefits. 

FAO Office in New York will give its small contribution to this effort. We hope to have the opportunity to invite Dr. Boye to join us for an event on the International Year of Pulses at the United Nations in the second semester. 
And as the stomach is one path to people’s hearts and minds, we believe that preparing dishes based on pulses is part of the effort to convince people that pulses are not only nutritious but delicious. 
In this regard, we plan to welcome to the United Nations Chef Ron Pickarsi, from Boulder, Colorado. He is one of the chefs that contributed a recipe to the publication on pulses that was presented here today. 
We are also working with the UN Food Garden, a volunteer association of UN staff members, and the UN food catering firm to bring to UN cafeterias nutritious and delicious recipes included in the pulses cookbook.

 
Ladies and gentlemen, 
I would like to end by thanking once more the commitment of Dr. Boye with the International Year of Pulses, the presence all of you today, and the efforts of those that made today’s event possible, especially my colleague Ajay Markanday and his team at the FAO Office in Washington, DC.
I look forward to welcoming all of you to New York.
Thank you and a good afternoon to all.