The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) says it will transform agric-food system in line with the 2030 agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
QU Dongyu, the FAO Director-General, said this in a statement issued to newsmen on Thursday in Abuja.
He said that FAO had entered a new era with new structure and dynamics, stressing that there was need to change the agri-food systems urgently and holistically.
He said that the transformation required a systemic approach and collective action by producers, distributors and consumers, together with governments, private sector, academia and civil society.
He said that the upcoming United Nations Food Systems Summit would address all these through the FAO.
“We are going to achieve this together with all our partners, through the new FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031.
He said, “The action of each and every one of us has an impact on the future of our planet through our agri-food systems.
“The summit is timely. After decades of decline, the number of hungry people has been growing for the past five years, now amounting to as many as 811 million people.”
The director-general also identified obesity and other non-communicable diseases were ever-growing global problems associated with insufficiently diversified healthy diets and consumption patterns.
He said that many of the current agric-food practices were putting a heavy toll on the planet, stating that the agri-food systems were not functioning properly.
He said that as the leading international organisation in the field, FAO had been advocating for and supporting agri-food systems transformation.
“The agri-food system covers the journey of food from tillage to table – from when it is planted, grown, harvested, processed, packaged, transported, distributed, traded, bought, prepared, eaten and disposed of, “he said.
He added that it encompassed non-food products such as forestry, animal rearing, use of feedstock, biomass to produce biofuels and fibers.
Dongyu noted that FAO had been at the forefront of supporting the preparation for the important global summit, adding that it was in line with its mandate.
He assured that FAO would be taking the lead to implement follow-up actions after the summit.
