The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Republic of Korea (South Korea) have joined forces to bolster Zero Hunger efforts in the Asia-Pacific region and strengthen their collaboration in South Korea where the UN agency opened its first office.
“I am delighted by the prospect of this partnership arrangement leading to even deeper cooperation in a wide range of areas where the Republic of Korea is already providing a significant and much-appreciated contribution, including in agriculture, fisheries, forestry, animal health, and food safety,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva at the inauguration of the FAO Partnerships and Liaison Office in Seoul.
The FAO Director-General lauded South Korea’s remarkable progress in recent decades – in both nutritional and economic development – as well as its leading role in scientific and technological advancements, including in the use of innovative ICT solutions in agriculture.
The FAO-South Korea collaboration aims to make the country’s technical know-how in agriculture, forestry and fishery available for vulnerable rural populations in the region, and help accelerate Zero Hunger efforts across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.
It will promote partnerships with the private sector, academia and civil society to facilitate exchanges on food security governance, technology transfer, training and research, and improve access to scientific and technical information to boost agricultural production.
These renewed efforts are especially fitting as the Asia-Pacific region accounts for over half of the world’s hungry people – nearly half a billion people – and progress in reducing hunger has slowed tremendously in recent years.
On the other hand, the region has seen an increase in obesity – both in children and adults – and has the fastest growing prevalence of childhood obesity in the world.
The FAO-South Korea collaboration aims to fight hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by enabling the production and consumption of healthier and more nutritious foods, and by protecting our environment and biodiversity.
South Korea has been supporting FAO’s work by funding development work abroad and offering highly skilled human resources to help create and secure environmentally sustainable food systems, improved value chains, and innovation in agriculture.
Original source: FAO
Published on 13 May 2019
