A year of Action: Transforming Agri-food Systems and advancing the 2030 Agenda

OpEd by Guangzhou QU, Director, FAO New York.

At a critical juncture when the world is striving to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 amid the haunting COVID-19 pandemic, I assumed my duty as Director of the FAO Liaison Office in New York. I took office on 1 January 2021, after serving as Deputy Directeur de Cabinet in the Office of the FAO Director-General.

From the first day I joined the Organization in 2019, the Director-General, Dr QU Dongyu, has reiterated: “Don’t forget our mission! We are here to help the most vulnerable people and to serve farmers around the world”. I am aware of our mission and the great responsibility that lies on my shoulders.

The transformation of agri-food systems is at the heart of FAO’s mandate – to provide safer, more affordable, and healthier diets for the world’s rapidly growing population. Such efforts contribute to boosting rural development and can lead to more resilient communities enjoying a more harmonious and stable way of life.

With FAO’s new vision of the “Four Betters” (Better production, Better nutrition, Better environment and Better life) as our guiding principles, a ground-breaking action plan like the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, and innovation-powered projects as our tools like the Geospatial Platform, we can transform farming and improve lives and livelihoods without leaving anyone behind.

FAO is currently grounding a new Strategic Framework around FAO’s unique added value and firmly anchored in the 2030 Agenda. This strategy will help us apply four cross-cutting accelerators – technology, innovation, data, and complements (governance, human capital, and institutions) – in all our programmatic interventions, with contributions spanning all SDGs, and especially guided by the lens of SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

FAO’s leadership and expertise in global efforts provide an opportunity to address many of the challenges faced by nations and communities across the globe, and especially the crucial issues specific to Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States.

FAO will continue to use multilateralism as a vehicle to fight hunger and malnutrition and promote sustainable food systems for healthy diets, including by supporting family farmers and other Food Heroes around the world through our initiatives, such as the Hand-in-Hand, Green Cities Initiative, One Thousand Digital Villages, COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme.

The FAO Director-General says that if 2020 was the year of reform and efficiency, then 2021 is the year of continued efficiency and increased effectiveness. For the FAO Liaison Office with the United Nations, 2021 will be the year for concrete actions, contributing to the Decade of Action to deliver the global goals and to the goals set out in FAO's Strategic Framework. We are committed to:

• strengthening synergies with the UN System and other partners to foster collective actions for achieving the SDGs, and advocating FAO’s mission to end hunger and nourish the world;
• maximizing partnerships for greater impact through FAO initiatives, such as the Hand-in-Hand Initiative;
• scaling up joint efforts to advocate for agri-food systems transformation and promoting food security and improved nutrition, rural development, sustainable agriculture, and strengthened resilience; and
• facilitating the High-Level Political Forum, the Food Systems Summit, the General Assembly and its processes, and the work of ECOSOC including its main segments and functional commissions.

As representative of FAO in New York, I stand ready to work together with all partners and stakeholders for a world free of hunger and poverty.