“The state of food security and nutrition in the context of sustainable agricultural production”- Rodrigo de Lapuerta

Kigali: Mr Rodrigo de Lapuerta, FAO Director of Liaison Office to the European Union delivered the following address to the Joint Parliamentary Alliance EU-ACP Plenary session, in Kigali, 20 Nov. 2019. Read his speech below;

It is an honour for me to represent the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in this very important forum and share our views with you on the state of food security and nutrition in the context of sustainable agricultural production.

For FAO, working to promote sustainable agriculture and food systemsis the bedrock of our work.

1. Otherwise,we will not be able to ensure healthy and safe food for all,while preserving our planet’s natural resources.
2. We only have ten years to accomplish the Agenda 2030 and we are off track for most goals, particularlyfor SDG 2 – eradicate hunger and all forms of malnutrition.
3. According to FAO’s “State of Food Security and Nutrition” of 2019, hunger and malnutrition areon the rise for the third consecutive year.
4. 2 billion people – 26% of the population – do not have regular access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food.
5. At the same time, overweight and obesityare growing in all regions of the world, especially among school-age children.Obesity and overweight are truly an epidemic in the Caribbean and in the Pacific, and grow faster in African than in other continents.Andnota single country in the European Union is exempted either.
6. Hunger and obesity are two faces of the same coin: the lack of access to safe and nutritious food. Hunger and obesitycan even coexist in the same household and call for urgent and collective action to rethink and transform global food systems, from farm to fork.
7. Time is running out.
8. In the last decades, we have focused too much on producing more food.
9. If we do not change our production and consumption patterns for better, healthier and more sustainable food, we will not be able to either nourish people or nurture our planet.
10. We know that agriculture is a significant driver of deforestation, biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions.
11. But we strongly believe in FAO that agriculture has the key to bring together all actors – producers, value chain operators, policymakers, parliamentarians – to addressing climate change adaptation, mitigation, food security and land degradation in a holistic manner.
12. “Promoting healthy diets” was this year’s World Food Daytheme and paves the way for the UN Food Systems Summit in 2021, already announced by UN Secretary-General AntónioGuterres.
13. Promoting sustainable agriculture, forestry and fisheries, strengthening resilience to climate change, boosting innovation to defeat pests and diseases, scaling-up agroecology and mainstreaming biodiversity across agricultural sectors are at the core of FAO’s work.
14. In other words, we are anchoring sustainable agriculture and food security in the international sphere. In particular, the upcoming Conferences on Climate, COP25, in two weeks in Madrid, and on Biological Diversity, COP15, in October 2020 in China, which can become a “Paris moment” for biodiversity.
15. Stepping up action against Deforestation and Forest Degradation, tackling illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, or reducing footprints of agricultural commodities – mainly livestock, crops and timber, is fundamental.
16. According to FAO’s State of Agriculture report presented on Monday in Brussels, around 14 percent of food produced is lost from the post-harvest stage up to the retail stage, excluding markets and consumption.ACP countries are specially affected by food losses.
17. We need better data on where food losses occur throughout the whole food supply chain and the reasons behind it, in order to take the adequate measures, and this is what this report is about.

Honourable Members,

20. Family farms represent over 90 per cent of all farms globally, produce 80 percent of the world’s food, and, I just learnt by reading the resolution you adopted in 2016, provide over 60% of the employment of ACP countries. They provide healthy, diversified and culturally appropriate foods. They also provide nature-based solutions to mitigate climate change.
21. They generate on- and off-farm employment opportunities, and help rural economies grow. And they preserve and restore biodiversity and ecosystems.
22. That is why FAO helped to launch the UN Decade of the Family Farming, to empower family farmers, particularly women and youth, and I am happy to note that the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assemblyis raising its voice to protect and promote family farmers and smallholders.
23. To assist the ACP and their family farmers, FAO has been working hand-in-hand with member states across the climate, agriculture and food nexus.

         FAO’s collaboration with ACP countries has been reinforced in recent years, thanks to the strong EU engagement. This partnership allowed us to support the ACP States around five main programmes:

         Action against desertification to stabilize livelihoods and improve food security; 25 million autochthonous trees planted.

         Developing the fisheries and aquaculture sector for poverty reduction and inclusive growth and job creation;

         Sustainable wildlife management to protect species and conserve ecosystems while ensuring food security of indigenous populations; and

         Promoting the marketability of roots and tubers to boost farming incomes and value chains.

         Enhancing the capacity of ACP countries to implement Multilateral Environmental Agreements, with the sound management of chemicals and elimination of obsolete pesticides.

22. Under the new FAO administration and a new Director-General who took office in August, FAO is sharpening its focus on the most vulnerable members of the international community – the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States.

23        Most of the 79 ACP nations fall within one or more of these categories and have great challenges ahead.

24        FAO is ready to continue supporting the ACP Member States to develop a cross-regional coherence in food security and nutrition policies.

25. For instance, with the Small Island Developing States,following the SAMOA Pathway in 2014, FAO was requested to design their food security and nutrition policies, and we have developed a global action programme to map their common gaps and, therefore, identify common solutions.
26. With the EU as its main partner and donor, FAO will continue to work closely with ACP countries to enhance sustainable food systems, innovation, and women’s empowerment; to strengthen South-South and triangular cooperation; and to mobilize the private sectorin the right direction for instance Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT), Responsible Agricultural Investments (RAI)to nourish the people and nurture the planet.

Honourable Members,

27. FAO views the role of Parliamentarians as strategic in approving the right policies, in setting up legal and institutional frameworks and in allocating appropriate resources towards a more sustainable planet.
28. In November 2018, the first-ever Global Parliamentary Summit against Hunger and Malnutrition took place in Madrid, the European Parliament and Commission played a fundamental role towards its success, and dozens of Parliamentarians from the ACP and the EU participated actively. They agreed on a clear roadmapand on having the next Parliamentary Summit in Africa in 2021.
29. In this context, I wish to highlight the significant role ofthe European Parliamentary Alliance on the Fight against Hunger and Malnutrition, composed of Members of the EU Parliament from different countries, political groups and parliamentary committees.And I am pleased to see some members of the Alliance here today. This Alliance is going to be thereto also support ACP Countries.

To conclude, I also wanted to add FAO’s support to the African Union and EU relations. In June 2019,all Ministers for agriculture from both regions agreed on key priorities for the next seven years to come: sustainable land and natural resources management, job creation, development of the African food industry and markets. We can also play this neutral convener role for the Pacific and Caribbean regions.

30. Thank you once again for this opportunity to address you today.
31. It will be an honour to exchange ideas on these important issues.
32. Thank you very much.