Group of Friends of Food Security and Nutrition discusses food systems transforming and upcoming Summit
The upcoming United Nations (UN) Food System Summit in New York and the Pre-Summit in Rome were the focus of the first meeting of the Group of Friends of Food Security and Nutrition in 2021. The event, hosted by the Permanent Mission of Italy to the UN, and co-organized with the support of the UN Foundation and the UN Food Systems Summit Secretariat, took place virtually on 19 January.
The Summit has been convened by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to launch bold, new actions that will help deliver progress on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), considering that they all rely to some degree on healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems.
In his introductory remarks, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy, Ambassador Stefano Stefanile, said that the Group of Friends would play a proactive role in supporting the Food Systems Summit process, help connect food systems transformation to the wider 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to other UN processes.
The Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit, Agnes Kalibata, and her deputy Martin Frick presented the main goals of the Summit, its governance structure and the timeline to its realization in September. The summit seeks to identify game-changing solutions that can transform food systems and accelerate progress towards the 2030 Agenda, focusing on five Action Tracks. Kalibata informed that over 40 Member States have become engaged in the Action Tracks but called for more participation of governments and non-state actors to forge the partnerships needed to identify and implement game-changing solutions.
The CEO of UN Foundation, Elizabeth Cousens, stressed that the summit was a unique opportunity to look at how food systems cuts across all dimensions of human lives and to drive real and innovative partnerships to transform food systems.
The Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Máximo Torero, explained FAO’s commitment and involvement in the preparations of the Summit. FAO is the anchor agency of Action Track 1 (safe and nutritious food), is engaged in all Action Tracks, is a Member of the Scientific Group, supports the realization of Food Systems Summit dialogues and participates in the governance of the Summit. He added that FAO and partners were developing a model to measure the potential benefits and trade-offs in implementing different food systems solutions. He also highlighted that FAO’s new Strategic Framework (2022-2031), currently being prepared, fully encapsulates an agri-food systems approach to ensure that no one is left behind and will help take forward the work of the Summit.
Member States actively engaged in the discussions raising points related to the importance of the preparatory process, of involving Member States and other stakeholders and of building consensus, as well as highlighting the need to address issues such as food insecurity and malnutrition, poverty, inequality, trade and climate change.
Also speaking at the meeting, the Assistant Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), Valerie Guarnieri, offered support to the Member State Dialogues. WFP is the anchor agency of Action Track 5 (resilience). The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) Special Advisor for the Food System Summit, Christine Ciccone, referred to relevant consultations being set in place by IFAD in the context of Action Track 4 (equitable livelihoods).
The Director of the UN Environment Programme’s Ecosystem Division, Susan Gardner, recalled linkages between the Summit and the launch of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030), and also urged to connect the upcoming event to the Rio Conventions (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, Convention on Biological Diversity, UN Convention to Combat Desertification).