FAO and Russia’s Voluntary National Review on the 2030 Agenda implementation

Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, and Aghasi Harutyunyan, Liaison Officer, participated today in the discussion of the first draft of “Voluntary National Review on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in Russia” at the Analytical Center of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The Head of FAO Office stressed the importance of the work accomplished by 17 task teams, one for each SDG that resulted in a 350-pages document put now for review by stakeholders from government agencies, academia, private sector and NGO/CSO community.

“FAO has a widely recognized capacity in the development of statistical data related to food and agriculture and is providing technical consultations to member states. Being the custodian UN agency for 21 SDG indicators, such as SDGs 2, 5, 6, 12, 14 and 15, and also is a contributing agency for a further 6, FAO stands ready to assist the Russian Federation to finalize its first VNR”, Mr. Oleg Kobiakov said.

Participating experts noted that Russia is showing positive dynamics in the implementation of SDG 2, which spells out the aim to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture”, as well its role as a development assistance donor to other countries.

The draft VNR states, inter alia, that today Russian agrifood industries provide a wide range of products, and, as a result, in 2018, the prevalence of malnutrition was very low ( 1.6 per cent among people over 18 years of age). The share of food products that do not meet hygiene requirements has decreased considerably too.

Such drivers as development of rural infrastructure, reduction of trade restrictions (in line with WTO practices), and the implementation of comprehensive sectoral programs are contributing to the development of Russia's potential to achieve SDG 2 and help others to do so.

The Voluntary National Review of the Russian Federation's implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development will be presented in July this year at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development under the aegis of ECOSOC at the UN Headquarters in New York.