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HLPF: FAO calls for focus in rural areas to end poverty and hunger

11/07/2017

Hunger and poverty are closely interlinked and need to be tackled together, with a special focus on rural areas of developing countries where around 80 percent of the world’s extreme poor lives, FAO said at the 2017 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF).  FAO also called for a shift to more sustainable, resilient and inclusive food systems and warned that, after years of progress, hunger was on the rise again.

“For the first time in many years, there is evidence that the major gains that have been made toward ending hunger may be at risk as climate change, conflict, lack of appropriate policies and insufficient investment, are threatening food security in many countries across the globe”, said Maria Helena Semedo, FAO Deputy Director-General, Climate and Natural Resources, delivering a joint statement on behalf of the UN Rome-based Agencies FAO, IFAD and WFP during the thematic review of SDG2.

“We can only achieve Zero Hunger if we transform the rural economy, put smallholders at the centre and invest in sustainable agriculture and food systems,” she added.

The 2017 HLPF was convened under the theme "Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world” and included thematic reviews of SDGs 1, 2, 3, 5, 9 and 14. Led by Semedo, FAO played a significant role during the HLPF, serving as a panellist in the session on taking forward the S.A.M.O.A. Pathway, intervening during the thematic reviews, and engaging in many side events.

Thematic Reviews

  • SDG 1: FAO noted the interlinkages between hunger and poverty, observing that in most low and low-middle income countries, agriculture is the largest employer of the poor through smallholder production, and often the main source of income. In this context, FAO emphasized that countries should address the structural constraints faced by small holder producers through a holistic approach to rural transformation in order to achieve inclusive growth and transformation necessary for implementing SDG 1.
  • SDG 2: Deputy Director-General Semedo delivered a joint intervention on behalf FAO, IFAD and WFP, pointing out the need for integrated approaches to end hunger and malnutrition and calling for a transformation to reach the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and, in particular, SDG2. “A transformation of the rural economy is necessary, putting small scale producers at the centre of all interventions as critical agents of change,” she said  on behalf of the UN Rome-based agencies.
  • SDG 9: FAO highlighted that transforming food systems and making agro-industry more inclusive, sustainable and resilient would help create much needed decent jobs in on-farm and off-farm activities. FAO also recalled the Accelerated Agribusiness and Agro-industry Initiative Plus (3ADI+) presented at the ECOSOC Special Meeting on SDG 9 that FAO co-organized with UNIDO.
  • SDG 14: In recognizing the vital role of oceans in food security, nutrition as well as regulation of climate change and economic development, FAO informed that to achieve SDG 14, countries should, inter alia, implement conventions, treaties and arrangements for conservation and sustainable use of aquatic resources; support mechanisms minimizing impacts of ocean acidification and pollution; combat Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing including through the FAO Port State Measures Agreement; strengthen implementation of global agreements on climate; and rebuild fisheries with a focus on recovering catches.
  • Taking Forward the S.A.M.O.A Pathway: Serving as a panellist during the session, Semedo presented the Global Action Programme (GAP), a framework to accelerate action to ensure food security and nutrition in small island developing states. “SIDS have fragile natural environments and are particularly threatened by natural disasters and climate change. With limited arable land, they have a high dependence on food imports. These are only some of the obstacles to food security and nutrition in SIDS. Addressing these complex issues requires multiple and coordinated actions,” she said. The GAP was developed by FAO, UNDESA and UNOHRLLS responding to a request made in the S.A.M.O.A. Pathway.

Selected side-events

  • Toward a hunger-free world, with adequate nutrition for all: the Ministerial Segment of the HLPF kicked off on July 17 with a dialogue with governments, UN System and non—state actors on SDG 2 and how ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture supports the 2030 Agenda. To tackle the complex challenges the world faces, “our actions must be transformative, embracing the three dimensions of sustainable development –economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection, and addressing root causes to leave no one behind,” said the FAO Deputy Director-General.
  • Agriculture and Food Day: In her closing remarks, The Deputy Director-General highlighted the need to bring rural communities into the heart of the implementation of the 2030 agenda, as well as the critical role of family farmers, fishers and pastoralists, and indigenous peoples as agents of change in achieving the SDGs. She also shared some of the key recommendations from the expert group meeting on SDG 2 convened by DESA, FAO, IFAD and WFP in preparation for the HLPF. The recommendations included transforming food systems to be more sustainable, inclusive and resilient; recognizing that malnutrition is a major cause of the global burden of disease; and acting on the urgency to implement to respond to humanitarian crises.
  • Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) - a litmus Test for multi-sectoral action in the SDG Era: “Without healthy food we will not have health and nothing as humanity,” cautioned Semedo at the event, highlighting that the threat of AMR can be solved only through a One Health approach, as worked out in the Global Action Plan and with all stakeholders working together.

HLPF

The HLPF meets annually and is the central platform for follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, an ambitious plan of action that includes 17 SDGs to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all. The forum identifies progress and challenges and mobilises action to accelerate implementation of the SDGs.

The 2017 HLPF was convened under the theme "Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world” and included thematic reviews of SDGs 1, 2, 3, 5, 9 and 14. Forty-three countries also presented Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), sharing their experience, successes, challenges and lessons learned in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda during the Ministerial Segment of the HLPF.

Convened from 10-19 July, HLPF 2017 counted with the presence of 65 ministers, vice-ministers and state secretaries and nearly 2500 registered participants. The dialogue on the 2030 Agenda took place during the formal sessions of the HLPF as well as in nearly 150 side-events.

The HLPF culminated in the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration, which welcomed the efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda but stressed that the pace of implementation needs to be accelerated, stressed the importance of resilient, sustainable and inclusive food systems and called for increased responsible investments in sustainable agriculture; and called on all to  implement the “Call for Action” adopted during the Ocean Conference.

FAO also actively contributed to the preparation of the High-Level Political Forum, co-leading the drafting of UN System background notes for the thematic reviews of SDGSs 2 and 14 and co-organized the Expert Group Meeting on SDG2 in preparation for the HLPF.