Partnership for Peace and Zero Hunger: FAO sheds insight on role of private sector at Business and SDG 16 report launch

“The link between productive development and peace is increasingly recognized in all spheres. And there is no productive development without the private sector,” said Carla Mucavi, Director of FAO Liaison Office to the United Nations, during the launch ceremony for the report entitled, “Business and Peace: How the Private Sector Can Contribute to SDG 16,” on 3 November in New York.

Developed by the SDG Fund in collaboration with its Private Sector Advisory Group, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and McDermott Will & Emery, the report examines how SDG 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions) is relevant to the private sector and offers perspectives on the link between peace and the development agenda.

Mucavi delivered her remarks as part of a panel that also included Ana Maria Menéndez, Senior Advisor to the Secretary-General on Policy; María Emma Mejía, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the UN; Rangita da Silva, Associate Dean of University of Pennsylvania Law School; Sol Beatriz Arango, President of Servicios Nutresa; and Paloma Duran, Director of the SDG Fund.

Offering the perspective of food security, Mucavi informed the audience that a thriving agricultural sector can play a significant role in efforts to prevent conflict and build peace. She also shared FAO’s ongoing collaboration with the SDG Fund and the private sector to promote peace, including joint programmes in Colombia, Cote d d’Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

“FAO considers the private sector to be a key ally in the fight against hunger. Effective engagement with the private sector can help the fight against hunger and malnutrition by enhancing FAO’s work in agriculture, fishery, forestry, natural resource management, and the food value chain, from farmer to consumer,” Mucavi said.

The SDG Fund is an international multi-donor and multi-agency development mechanism created in 2014 by the United Nations to support sustainable development activities through integrated and multidimensional joint programmes. It works across the UN system, implementing programmes around the globe with 14 agencies including FAO.