Meet FAO: Self-Presentation at MGIMO University

On 25 November, at the premises of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), the FAO day dedicated to agriculture and food security, as well as to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 — "Zero hunger" — was held within the Regional Professional Upgrade Programme "Negative Socio-Economic Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Ways to Address Them", set up along with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR). The session was divided into 4 sections:  

1. Food systems: worldwide and Russian statistics, FAO work and COVID-19
2. Food security: statistics, trends, current threats and ways to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic and improve people’s nutrition
3. FAO partnerships and youth’s participation in the fight against hunger
4. The concept and goals of the One healthcare approach, "One Health".  

Evgeny Glazov, Deputy Director of the School of Business and International Competencies, MGIMO, moderated the section. Drawing the participants’ attention to food inflation, he asked them to describe reasons for and possible ways out of this negative trend. 

Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation presented the audience an in-depth insight at the Organizations’ activities, described its main goals, including progress towards SDG 2, highlighting its Charter mission — to create a world free from hunger. Among the goals, set out in the FAO Charter, "agriculture and rural development" is high on the agenda. The current developments "have added to this mandate new areas, but the essence remains the same — achieving zero hunger and ensuring food security for the entire world population that is going to reach the 8 billion mark in the coming months," added Oleg Kobiakov. 

At present, multilateral work on the socio-economic track is being carried out in compliance with the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030. "The attention is now focused on the necessary transition to sustainable development. Our planet has limited resources, and they are vigorously used in areas of the FAO mandate. Talking about fisheries, it is necessary to remember that water itself is a productive environment, and if we use these resources excessively and irrationally, they become unfit for further human use," noted Oleg Kobiakov. 

"Producing one kilogram of red meat requires 20 tons of clean water, and harvesting an orange to its marketable maturity index requires 50 liters of water. If we multiply this amount by the total production on a global scale, then we will see what a colossal pressure our limited food resources are exposed to," added the Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation. 

"75 years ago about 1 billion people out of a 2.5 billion population went chronically hungry around the world. In the pre-COVID-19 period, in 2019, the number of starving people globally accounted for about 680-690 million people, while the world population has increased by 2.5 times over that period. This is a great success," noted Oleg Kobiakov. "However, COVID-19 has thrown into the famine zone another 130 million people, and today the number of hungry people is estimated at about 811 million." 

"For the year 2020, Rosstat estimated the percentage of starving people at 1.6% of the population, which is less than the statistical margin of error. As for the state of food insecurity, about 6% of the country’s population reported it. We can say that Russia, according to these figures, is firmly among those countries where hunger is non-existent and food security is ensured to the majority of the country’s population," concluded Oleg Kobiakov.  

During the second part of the forum dedicated to agriculture and food security, as well as to SDG 2, Aghasi Harutyunyan, Deputy Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, addressed the audience. He introduced the conference participants to the FAO conceptual structure and the food security concept, described the structure of agrifood systems and the FAO’s role in achieving the SDGs. In addition, he showed FAO statistics and projections on the prevalence of moderate and severe food insecurity, both in the Eurasian region and globally, and introduced the participants to the main flagship publications and statistics of the Organization, such as FAOSTAT, SOFI 2021, SOFA 2021 and others. 

During the third part of the event, Eduard Porvatov, Intern of the FAO Office in Moscow, delivered a report. He presented FAO's partners, identifying 5 major groups: United Nations organizations and agencies, funding, academic and research institutions, banks and others. Eduard introduced some of the main partners with which the FAO Office in Moscow actively collaborates, particularly stressing the fruitful cooperation with Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, MSU, MGIMO and HSE. 

FAO's partnership with the private sector was described by Igor Shpakov, FAO Private Sector Consultant. He explained the reasons for establishing the new FAO Strategy for Private Sector Engagement 2021-2025, highlighting the main changes in innovations, technologies and data management. The collaboration with the private sector is underpinned by a number of basic principles that FAO use as a guide. ''They include UN principles, SDG alignment, the inclusive ''No One Left Behind'' approach and FAO's reputation,'' noted Igor Shpakov. Furthermore, he spoke about the stages of establishing partnership relations, high-risk factors and an information resource for business – the Connect portal. 

Natalia Ryazanova, Associate Professor of the Department of Integrated International Ecological Problems and Wildlife Management, MGIMO, spoke about new opportunities for the youth and professions of the future. "FAO has published a report on tracking progress on food and agriculture, indicating major and relevant global issues," noted the expert. Natalia Ryazanova pointed out critical issues in transforming educational programmes aimed at solving current and future problems. She highlighted 5 key areas: insight, motivation, abilities, practice and responsibility. The expert mentioned the existing youth models, project laboratories and business games organized by the FAO Information Centre at MGIMO University. 

During the fourth part of the event, Dr Budimir Plavsić, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Regional Representative for Europe, addressed the meeting. He spoke about the One Health approach and the OIE activities. He drew the attention of the participants to the tripartite alliance, which includes FAO, WHO and OIE, and elaborated on its initiatives. Budimir Plavsić explained the mechanism of regional coordination under the One Health approach, highlighting country priorities, partnership engagement and the complexities of its implementation at all levels. 

The recording of the section and the presentations of the participants can be found here.