FAO statement on behalf of the RBAs at the 21st session of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation

21st session of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation
General Debate

Joint statement by FAO, IFAD and WFP

As delivered

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to address the 21st session of the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation and to be able to join you in-person in New York.

I will provide you an update on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) work on South-South Cooperation, but I am also here on behalf of the other two Rome-Based Agencies (RBAs) –the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme – to provide you with updates on our joint collaboration on South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC).

South-South and Triangular Cooperation is a driving force in global agricultural development and food system transformation, for which there is an increasing demand.

We are witnessing, in real-time, worsening food insecurity across the world, particularly in vulnerable countries.

According to the 2023 Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), it is estimated that over a quarter of a billion people were acutely food insecure and required urgent food assistance in 58 food-crisis countries and territories in 2022. This is the highest number recorded in the past seven years.

We are running out of time to reverse these negative trends to ensure the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.   

There is no doubt that we urgently need to mobilize all financial and technical resources to support the Global South.

Field-oriented and effective collaboration on SSTC is critical to support our member countries reverse negative trends and build forward better and stronger.

The Rome-Based Agencies of the UN for food and agriculture have been stepping up engagement; FAO is leading global efforts to build more sustainable agrifood systems, WFP is expanding its engagement in South-South and Triangular Cooperation with several new initiatives, and IFAD is adopting a new South-South and Triangular Cooperation Strategy.

Strong collaboration among UN agencies on strategic initiatives is important to support countries in endeavors to achieve sustainable agrifood systems transformation and global poverty reduction.

Through the 2018 joint roadmap on SSTC – currently being updated to align to the UN system-wide strategy for SSTC –, the Rome-based Agencies for food and agriculture have facilitated support to governments to enhance their agrifood systems.

We are helping to establish nutritious local food value chains and improve ways in which smallholder farmers and their cooperatives and associations may access national and/or local markets.

Furthermore, through the RBA’s joint initiative on Home-Grown School Feeding,  we are  connecting target countries with key southern partners to support the adoption of good practices and innovations that can improve their national Home-Grown School Feeding programmes. This initiative will leverage the vast array of experience and successes from the Global South, to improve the nutrition and education of school children across the world.

Home-grown school feeding is a global game changer.

While many countries have achieved significant progress in implementing these types of programmes, others still face challenges in effectively adopting the needed practices and innovations that can drastically reduce food insecurity among children.  

To transform ideas to action and continue implementing them on the ground, we need support from all our partners.

The RBAs look forward to scaling up impactful SSTC joint programmes.

Thank you for your kind attention.