FAO Reinforces Partnership with the U.S. to Transform Agrifood Systems Worldwide
Deputy Director-General Beth Bechdol meets with United States leadership and stakeholders during her inaugural mission to Washington D.C.
21 March 2022, Washington, D.C. – “We are at a tipping point with increasing conflicts, natural disasters, pests and diseases, COVID-19, and now a war in the breadbasket of the world,” said Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in one of many meetings with Congressional leaders and key stakeholders during her inaugural mission to the United States last week.
Calling the conflict in Ukraine and its repercussions for global food security a “clarion call,” Bechdol urged FAO’s partners to move beyond triaging single crises to a systems approach in which agricultural development support is incorporated into humanitarian actions from the outset. “Now more than ever, we need to work more closely and in coordination with the United States government, the private sector and civil society toward realizing our shared goals of global food security and food system resilience,” said Bechdol.
During her week-long mission, Bechdol met with members of Congress, senior officials from the United States Department of State, Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agency for International Development (USAID) and Department of Labor to deepen reciprocal engagement between FAO and its largest financial donor. She also met with private sector and civil society representatives to promote FAO’s Mandate to broaden strategic participation in efforts to transform agrifood systems in ways that protect nature and bolster resilience.
Referring to the unfolding conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Bechdol underlined that “it is crucial that we keep trade flows for food and fertilizer open,” during a panel at the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS). The session also featured Dozba Taras, Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine who joined virtually from Kyiv; and Joe Glauber, Senior Fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
During meetings with United States Congressional leaders, Bechdol highlighted opportunities to work with FAO, including climate-smart agriculture, innovations, and private sector engagement. Addressing root causes of hunger and improving food systems resilience to withstand future crises were also key discussion topics.
In addition to meeting United States Government officials, Bechdol held a roundtable discussion with leading NGOs to address how to change the conversation around humanitarian aid. Specifically, the group discussed using early warning systems and anticipatory action to better protect livelihoods.
Bechdol, who oversees FAO’s strategy to increase partnerships and engagement with the private sector, part of the UN-wide effort to harness more capacity to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, also met with key representatives from the private sector. “Engaging with the private sector is a priority, and FAO’s Strategy for Private Sector Engagement 2021-2025 sets out how we will leverage their knowledge, innovation, and investments to accelerate agrifood systems transformation," said Bechdol.
Innovation, as well as the role that cold chains can play to address food and nutrition security, were underlined at the Sustainable Cold Chain Solutions for Africa Summit hosted at the Millennium Challenge Corporation headquarters in Washington, D.C. “Cold chains play a vital role not only in ensuring people can receive enough nutritious food but also in preventing food waste, which in turn can have further positive impacts with a reduction in food shortages and less exposure to food price volatility," said Bechdol.
Bechdol’s visit follows her first mission in Guatemala, where she witnessed FAO’s work to convert the dry corridor into a land of opportunity; and her second visit to Kenya, where severe drought threatens to put 14 million people at risk of acute food insecurity.
This will be one of several missions that Deputy Director-General Bechdol will take to the United States this year with the aim of establishing a strong working relationship with the United States government. The objective is to increase awareness of FAO’s work to transform agrifood systems through the “four betters”: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life – leaving no one behind and building on the joint work with United States leadership towards achieving Zero Hunger.
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Ahdi Mohammed
Communications and Partnerships Officer
FAO Liaison Office for North America
[email protected]