UNGA 73: Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition

 

 

 

 

73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly 
Second Committee
Agenda item 26. Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition

Joint Statement by FAO, IFAD and WFP

 

 

Thank you, Chair.

I am pleased to deliver this statement on behalf of the RBAs, the Rome-based agencies FAO, IFAD and WFP.

The State of Food Security and Nutrition released last month by the RBAs, UNICEF and WHO confirms that hunger is on the rise and many delegations today referred to that. The absolute number of hungry stands today at 821 million, reversing 10 years of progress. Conflict, climate-related shocks and poverty are among the key drivers.

While hunger is increasing, other forms of malnutrition are emerging as global threats. Today, 1 in 9 persons in the world is hungry and 1 of 8 adults is obese. Obesity is growing alarmingly in developing countries, often coexisting with undernourishment in the same households.

Unhealthy diets are responsible for 6 out of 10 risk factors for Non-Communicable Diseases, impacting not only on wellbeing, but public budgets, and national economies.

This situation reflects the broken and unsustainable food systems prevailing in the world today. As highlighted in the Report of the Secretary General, to which the RBAs have substantially contributed, sustainable agriculture and food systems are key to ensuring a world without hunger and poverty, to revert overweight and obesity trends, to address NCDs, and to sustainably manage and use natural resources.

Another symptom of broken food systems is the predominance of hunger and extreme poverty in rural areas, where food is grown, and despite the rapid urban growth of recent decades. Family farmers, responsible for around 80 percent of the world’s food production, are often the ones most impacted by hunger and poverty.

And although rural actors are the main custodians of biodiversity and evidence shows that they are critical agents of change, they often have limited access to land, water, credit, and markets, and they are more affected by climate change and extreme climate events, especially droughts. Between 2006 and 2016, the agriculture sector alone absorbed 83 percent of total damage and losses caused by droughts in developing countries.  

 

Distinguished delegates

To meet the ambition of the 2030 Agenda, and to achieve in particular SDG 2, and all food and agriculture related targets across the 2030 Agenda, we must act now.

What can we do?

We must tackle food insecurity and inequality through social protection and pro-poor and gender sensitive growth programmes. We must empower rural actors.

We need a new rural-urban alliance, integrating territorial development approaches to stimulate entrepreneurship, create jobs for rural youth, and provide nutritious food for cities, while ensuring that the work of family farmers and other rural actors result in decent incomes. 

We need to put in place policies, mobilize domestic and international investments, scale up the adoption of context-specific agricultural innovation and technologies to unlock the potential of small-scale producers and family farmers, and create incentives for the paradigm shift from today’s broken to tomorrow’s sustainable, healthy and inclusive food systems. 

Finally, we need reliable, comprehensive and disaggregated data to implement and monitor evidence-based policies.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

RBAs will continue to do their part for a food secure and sustainable world.

We face challenges, but we also have successes to build on. Our actions will define our future. To end, I would like to take this opportunity to invite all of you the celebration of the International Day of Rural Women, this upcoming Monday, 15 October, at 1:30pm at the UN Food Garden, as well as World Food Day, on Tuesday, 16 October, at 1pm, in the Express bar, which will be followed by an evening reception and photo exhibit on the Faces of Conflict and Hunger, at the Vienna Café at 6pm.

Thank you for your attention.