Oleg Kobiakov on the Work of FAO – for Russian Media Platforms
©FAO/Vladimir Mikheev
The growing interest of Russian media in food security agenda, challenges faced by agrifood systems, and achievements and setbacks on the path towards Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) taken on by international community have dictated the demand for information and analytics produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Since the beginning of the year, the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation in Moscow has been receiving an increasing number of requests from the media to provide on-the-spot comments and detailed clarifications of emerging trends in the development of global agricultural sector and what FAO, the UN specialized agency for food and agriculture, often dubbed in common parlance a "global village council”, can suggest to resolve and prevent food crises moving us away from the "zero hunger” goal.
Oleg Kobiakov, the Director of FAO Moscow Office, is at the front line of exchanges with the shooting, writing and posting fraternity of the press. This article brings together but some key interviews and conversations with the head of FAO's Russian Office over the past months.
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On 4 March, Oleg Kobiakov in his interview to TASS, a leading information agency, answered the question on what would happen with food prices following the farmers’ protests in Europe and the escalation in the Red Sea, spoke of the significant support provided by Russia to African countries in combating hunger, and described the role of BRICS in ensuring global food security. Here is an excerpt from the interview:
— What kind of problems can arise as a result of the protests of farmers in Europe, if the strikes continue? Does this pose a threat of growing grain prices? Can other regions be affected by this European crisis?
— Farmers are justly complaining about cuts or elimination of subsidies on fuel and other inputs, falling selling prices, growing costs, forceful imposition of green agenda on the agriculture sector by the European Commission, diktat of retailers, issues with loans repayment, and dumping by countries outside the EU. Of course, these protests can lead to short-term disruptions in supply cycles and even local shortages of goods, but it is hardly advisable to overestimate their impact on other regions.
As regards prices of grain, which is a dominating crop in Europe, if farmers reduce crop areas in the upcoming sowing period since selling prices are dropping, then European wheat will go up in price.”
The full interview is available here: https://tass.ru/interviews/20142311?ysclid=lumje6fbbx426414671
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On 13 March, on the Peasant Outpost radio show at Radio Russia, Oleg Kobiakov talked to its author and host Igor Abakumov. The topic of the programme was the following: From market romanticism to food security. As noted by the head of FAO's Moscow Office, “among all the able-bodied population 1.5 billion are farmers”. Commercial production on farms is the cornerstone of food security in most countries of the world.
The full interview is available here: https://smotrim.ru/audio/2759754?ysclid=lumo0pp4u53381448
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On 26 March, the television news channel Russia Today in Arabic (RT Arabic) presented a 30-minute interview with Oleg Kobiakov recorded in the UN House in Moscow. The discussion focused on a pressing challenge of global hunger and the current status of food security worldwide, in the Middle East and North Africa in particular.
The full interview is available here: https://ar.rt.com/x8hz
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On 29 March, the TV BRICS channel showed an interview with Oleg Kobiakov in which he emphasized that "the enlargement of BRICS will strengthen global food security”. Here is an extract from the replies of FAO’s Office Director:
— To overcome these pressing challenges, transformation of agrifood systems is needed, as was agreed by member states at the global UN Food Systems Summit in 2021. How feasible is the attainment of these ambitious goals and is the BRICS group capable of contributing to this process? The answer is: yes, absolutely! Let’s compare the ambitions of this global community to its resources.
- Brazil is a major exporter of agricultural products, supplying coffee, sugar cane, meat, and soy to global markets.
- India is a leading global producer of milk, putting the same emphasis on the production of rice, wheat, millets, cotton, and sugar cane.
- South Africa is a large-scale producer of wheat, corn, grapes, sugar cane, fruit and vegetables.
- China is a mega-producer of food products and their largest consumer, possessing today not only vast land resources, but also a technology‑intensive agricultural sector.
The impressive dynamics of Russian agriculture over the past years are also well-known, I believe.
We will hardly be able to eliminate hunger by 2030, this is a painful legacy of the past, but pooling the potentials of BRICS+ countries allows us to be optimistic about the future.”
The full text of the discussion is available in the following languages:
The live interview recording has been shared on the DepiMedia platform (South Africa): https://www.depimedia.com/oleg-kobyakov-director-of-fao-liaison-office-to-russian-federation-brics-countries-are-driver-of-agro-industrial-production/
The full interview in Russian is available here: https://tvbrics.com/news/direktor-otdeleniya-fao-dlya-svyazi-s-rf-oleg-kobyakov-strany-briks-drayver-agropromyshlennogo-proiz/
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On 3 April, during a 30-minute live programme on Sputnik Africa radio channel (media resource) Oleg Kobiakov noted, inter alia, that hunger in affected countries is aggravated by sanctions that hit the population.
FAO is a rather market-oriented organization, and therefore we stand against sanctions and unilateral protectionist measures. We are convinced that equal access to the market will help improve food security situation worldwide and ensure sustainable development of agrifood sector.
As for the free-of-charge supplies of Russian grain to Africa, the promised wheat has already been delivered to such countries as Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, and Zimbabwe. And this support is indeed an important contribution to reducing acute hunger in these countries.”
The full interview in French is available here: https://fr.sputniknews.africa/20240403/les-pays-des-brics-peuvent-devenir-une-force-motrice-decisive-du-developpement-agricole-mondial-1065903659.html
...and in English – here: https://en.sputniknews.africa/20240403/russian-grain-supplies-to-somalia-cover-23-of-its-total-annual-demand-for-wheat-fao-official-says-1065902774.html