Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, renewed calls for transforming global agrifood systems at an International Conference on Food Security in Uzbekistan.
Held in Samarkand on the 7th and 8th of September, the conference reviewed the world's current state of food security and discussed key agrifood systems challenges and solutions in the Central Asia region.
“This conference is an important opportunity to review the state of global food security in the context of agrifood systems transformation on the path towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals)," said Dongyu.
According to FAO's 2021 World Food Security and Nutrition report, about 2.3 billion people worldwide are moderately or highly food insecure, 25 percent of which live in Asia.
“Part of the solution is to improve production and simultaneously offer a sustainable supply through international trade and smooth logistics, food availability, food accessibility, and food affordability."
With agriculture responsible for approximately a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions and food insecurity traditionally affecting vulnerable communities such as Indigenous Peoples and women, the Dongyu emphasised the need to transform global agrifood systems to meet the increased demand for food, feed, fibre and fuel.
This transformation is necessary to reduce pressure on natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard biodiversity, increase resilience to the impacts of the climate crisis, conflicts and other disruptions to supply chains, and ensure decent employment and access to safe and nutritious food and healthy diets.
FAO estimates that transforming agrifood systems will cost US $4 trillion from now to 2030 in low- and middle-income countries. Closing the gender gap in farm productivity and the wage gap in agrifood systems alone would increase global GDP by US $1 trillion.
The organisation's key areas include science and innovation, improved data capabilities, finance, and governance, focusing on Central Asia and landlocked countries such as Uzbekistan, which are among the world's most water-stressed regions.
