New York: 17/09/2023-
Ahead of the 2023 SDG Summit, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO) and its partners presented on Sunday the High Impact
Initiative on Food Systems Transformation aimed at mobilizing commitments to
ensure food security and healthy diets for all.
“Global agrifood systems are at the nexus of high priority
SDGs…This initiative aims to bring all partners and stakeholders together to
transform our agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a
better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind,” said FAO
Director-General QU Dongyu, at a high-level event during Acceleration Day of
the SDG Action Weekend at UN Headquarters in New York.
As world leaders meet at the UN General Assembly to generate
renewed momentum halfway through the deadline to reach the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) established in 2015, the initiative calls on
international organizations, financial institutions, the private sector, civil
society partners, the scientific community, indigenous peoples and all relevant
stakeholders to assist countries on transforming their agrifood systems and
accelerating the pace of their national processes.
“Increasing and accelerating the pool of existing
investments and new needed financial resources, and deploying new financial
instruments including risk-management mechanisms remain a top priority,” Qu
underscored, reminding participants that with the right conditions in place and
targeted concrete actions, agrifood systems can become a powerful means to
drive transformative change at local, country and global levels.
122 million more people faced hunger in 2022, compared to
2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, and the projections show almost 600 million
people will suffer from hunger in 2030.
To change this bleak future and transform agri-food systems,
Qu said, it is necessary to mobilize around $4 trillion from now to 2030 in low- and Middle-Income countries—or around $680 billion per year.
The FAO-led High Impact Initiative, in collaboration with
the other UN Rome-based agencies - the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food
Programm (WFP) - the World Bank, the
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP), builds on the outcomes of the Food Systems Summit
2021 (UNFSS) and the recent UNFSS+2 Stocktaking Moment 2023 and current means
of implementation initiatives, including the FAO Hand-in-Hand Initiative which
now has 66 countries participating and investment plans for over $10 billion.
Overall, the High Impact Initiative aims to leverage
investment, innovation, science, data, and technology including better access to
tools and geospatial platforms, as well as building on the result of the work
by the Scientific, Youth, and Indigenous groups formed ahead of the UNFSS.
“The goal is to strengthen and further develop national
capacities, for country-led and country-owned agrifood systems transformation
that are adapted to the context and tailored to the needs,’’ the FAO
Director-General explained.
An initiative for
localized impact
A total of 12 High Impact Initiatives were selected by the
United Nations to provide a unique platform to renew commitment to urgent
actions to be taken in the next seven years to boost the progress towards the
SDGs. The platform cuts across three major areas: economic and social
transitions, means of implementation, and gender equality.
Besides spearheading the Food Systems Transformation
initiative FAO also co-leads the Local2030 Coalition initiative along with the
UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN-Habitat, which aims to enable
connections across a diverse range of stakeholders – from local and subnational
governments to the private sector and other local actors – with the shared aim of
localizing the SDGs.
“Solutions and experiences come at the local level. FAO is
ready to support as co-chairs of this initiative’’, the FAO Director-General
said while delivering the closing statement of a high-level event also held
today in New York and dedicated to the Local2030 Coalition.
By bringing together localization efforts from across the UN
system, the Coalition provides a bridge for sharing knowledge, expertise,
innovations, tools, and investments. It also empowers and strengthens local and
subnational governments and other local actors through regional and local
solution Hubs, providing advisory and technical support to accelerate action on
the SDGs.
The FAO Office of SDGs – the first in the UN system – as
well as key initiatives such as the Hand-in-Hand, Green Cities, and the 1000 Digital
Villages, are a reflection of the FAO commitment and are key tools to support countries
to localize the SDGs.
High Impact
Initiatives on Nature, Social Protection, and Data
FAO is also collaborating with the UN System in three other
High Impact Initiatives: Nature Driving Economic Transformation, the Global
Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, and via its
Statisticians Network to Power of Data: Unlocking the data dividend for the
SDGs. Events related to these initiatives were also held over the SDG Action
Weekend.
A FAO report published this week revealed that halfway into
the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a lot of the
progress made towards its food and agriculture-related targets has stagnated or
reversed, compounding the challenges in eradicating poverty and hunger,
improving health and nutrition, and combating climate change.
FAO has made the achievement of the Sustainable Development
Goals a fundamental part of its strategy and mandate. FAO's Strategic Framework
is designed to align with the 2030 Agenda by fostering the transition towards
more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems. This
approach is encapsulated in the concept of "better production, better nutrition,
a better environment, and a better life," with a strong emphasis on
leaving no one behind.
The four "betters" serve as a guiding principle
for FAO's efforts in relation to SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG
10 (Reduced Inequalities), and SDG 13 (Climate Action), and all other SDGs that
contribute to the broader 2030 Agenda. Actions taken to achieve SDG 2 and
establish sustainable agrifood systems can significantly accelerate progress
across a wide range of other Goals and targets.
The key SDGs and their associated indicators, especially
those for which FAO holds custodianship or plays a contributing role, provide
clear directions for focusing efforts, monitoring progress, and formulating
long-term goals and impacts.
Source:
Online/GFMM
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