Asia-Pacific FAO Members pledged bold and innovative action for food security
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On September 1-4, 2020, FAO had its Thirty-fifth Session of the Asia and the Pacific Regional Conference (APRC) hosted and chaired by the Royal Government of Bhutan – the first ever FAO Regional Conference held online.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than half of the world’s undernourished, and with COVID-19 the number of hungry people in Southern Asia is projected to rise nearly by a third to 330 million by 2030.
In this regard, 46 FAO Member Nations in Asia and the Pacific, along with private sector and civil society organizations, discussed current regional priorities and pressing issues in the region, such as the impact of COVID-19, the state of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, natural resources management, food security and nutrition as well as innovation and digitalization challenges on the way to the implementation of 2030 Agenda.
In his statement, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu stressed that “even before the pandemic, we were not on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – particularly SDGs 1 and 2 – which aim to defeat poverty and hunger worldwide. And it is here, in this region, that we find a large proportion of the world’s undernourished.”
“The negative effects related to the pandemic have been felt across the entire food system. Measures to control virus outbreaks are disrupting global food supply chains. Border restrictions and lockdowns are destroying livelihoods and hindering food transport. Food loss and waste are increasing, as farmers must resort to dumping perishables, and many people in urban centres are struggling to access fresh food. Smallholder farmers and their families, food workers in all sectors, and those living in commodity and tourism-dependent economies are particularly vulnerable and need our utmost attention”, the FAO Director-General QU Dongyu stressed.
The Russian Federation country statement pointed out to the positive effect of measures applied by the UN system in combating the most acute food crises due to the enhanced risks generated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Russia praised FAO efforts to monitor and analyze the situation and called for actions “to avoid volatility and price speculation on food markets, as well as to strengthen sanitary controls of food production. The Russian delegate, Ms Dilyara Ravilova-Borovik, strongly supported the initiative by António Guterres to hold a UN Food Systems Summit in 2021 and expressed the hope that the Summit would bolster the transformation of existing food systems a) to make them sustainable; b) to adapt them to the requirements of healthy nutrition; c) to assure access to quality nutrition to the most vulnerable society members.
The Conference highlighted positive examples of partnerships, innovation and digital technologies that are helping to improve food security and nutrition across the region. Special attention was devoted to the Hand-in-Hand Initiative launched in 2019 by the FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. This country-led and country-owned initiative is aimed through scientific data analysis at accelerating agricultural transformation and sustainable rural development to eradicate poverty (SDG 1) and end hunger and all forms of malnutrition (SDG2).
Addressing the Conference, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu spoke of the changes in the work of the Organization that he had implemented during his twelve months at the post: “These adjustments translated my vision of building a dynamic FAO for a better world, while remaining committed to the original aspirations, mandate and mission. The transformation we have made aim to create inclusive FAO that serves its members to achieve the four “betters”: better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life”, the Director-General QU Dongyu said.
The delegates concluded their intensive four-day’s work by adopting a report that would serve as guidance for the Organization’s work in the region for the upcoming biennium.
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The Conference was webcast for public viewing. For more information, please go to the Conference webpage.
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Regional Conferences are FAO Governing Bodies meeting every two years. They constitute forums for the discussion of regional priorities of FAO programme, as well as global issues under the mandate of the Organization. The FAO Asia and Pacific Regional Conference (APRC) has 46 Member States from Asia and the Pacific.
Russia became a full member of the APRC in 2010, when its delegation headed by Mr Oleg Kobiakov, currently Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, for the first time participated at the 30th session of the Conference held in Gyeongju, Republic of Korea.