This content was published on April 01, 2022 – 08:43 p.m. April 01, 2022 – 08:43 p.m
Quito, 1 April (EFE).- The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) this Friday concluded its thirty-seventh regional conference for Latin America and the Caribbean with a commitment to transforming agri-food systems to make them more efficient , inclusive, resilient and sustainable.
The meeting, held again in Quito after 73 years, brought together representatives from 33 countries who analyzed food insecurity, exacerbated by the rise in prices of products and fertilizers, the impact of the pandemic or the grain shortages as a result of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.
The deliberations followed the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-2031, in line with the 2030 Agenda, which calls for the transformation of agri-food systems to achieve improvements in production, nutrition, the environment and people’s lives, leaving no one behind.
NUTRITION, DEVELOPMENT AND AGRICULTURE
While waiting for the meeting’s final draft to be finalized within 10 days, participants agreed, among other things, to approve a work plan in three areas: healthy nutrition, inclusive development, and sustainable and resilient agriculture.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu acknowledged that the meeting came at a “difficult moment in history” and drew attention to the consequences of rising product prices as well as the climate crisis and its impact on the oceans. deforestation, poverty and food insecurity.
The region faces the great challenge of “feeding 10,000 million inhabitants by 2050”, forcing us to “revisit the innovations and multilateral actions that allow us to harness the potential of inclusion and face the challenges”.
Qu mandated a transformation of agri-food systems to make them more efficient, resilient and sustainable, as well as “responsible” policies and investments that empower both the people and the technology they use.
CONCERN ABOUT PRICE INCREASE
The countries’ strong concerns about the increase in food and fertilizer prices due to the global situation was evident at the meeting, prompting the FAO to formulate a set of recommendations.
“We want countries to value the role of agriculture and food from a systemic perspective, helping to address the impact of the pandemic, maintaining production channels, commercialization and access to food,” Maya explained to Efe Takagi, dem Head of Regional Program at the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Chile.
And it is true that many countries in the region have an important source of foreign exchange in agriculture, but these products also play a fundamental role in promoting healthy eating, the regional representative estimated.
According to the FAO, these systems are responsible for between 9% and 35% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the countries in the region and contribute 25% of their exports.
COMPREHENSIVE APPEARANCE
The organization also proposes a comprehensive overview of food systems that not only promotes healthy and adequate nutrition, but also helps eliminate hunger, malnutrition, including overweight and obesity, which the region suffers from.
Depending on the global context, with rising fuel prices, the increase in container transport and the impact that is weighing on economies due to the pandemic, experts advise increasing joint regional work and implementing measures that support agriculture as a key sector of the crisis.
The FAO has committed to “analyze and monitor this trend and, in this context, recommend that countries strive to protect farmers, keep trade open by avoiding major price distortions, look for fertilizer management models to avoid supply shortages,” said Takagi.
On the other hand, the participating countries have decided that Guyana will host the thirty-eighth FAO Conference for the Americas, which will be held in 2024.
The regional conference is held every two years and brings together the governments of FAO member countries in the region to set regional priorities for the next biennium. EFE
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