The agricultural sectors and livestock farming, in particular, must shift towards sustainability to enhance their contribution to food security, nutrition, and healthy diets and build back better to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said in his opening remarks to the 27th session of the Committee on Agriculture (COAG).
A sustainable livestock sector will foster inclusive economic growth, improve livelihoods, sustain animal health and welfare, and address environmental issues, he added.
FAO Director-General highlighted the need for a holistic and inclusive approach to livestock sector policies and technical actions that includes all stakeholders within the food system. In this respect, he stressed the vital role the private sector needs to play and the importance of strong partnerships with the sector.
Noting that the combined impacts of COVID-19, its suppression measures, and subsequent global recession would increase the burden for family farmers and most vulnerable people, the FAO Director-General highlighted the need for greater support and increased investment in knowledge, infrastructure, and technology for sustainable agriculture.
“Our assessment suggests that the pandemic may add up to 132 million people to the ranks of undernourished in the world in 2020. This would be disastrous, particularly in the context of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals”, Qu said calling for an integrated agri-food system approach that addresses food security, livelihoods, and the management of natural resources in a comprehensive and effective way.
In addition to COVID-19, agricultural and food systems are under increasing pressure from other unprecedented threats, like climate change, affecting crop yields, reducing the diversity of crop and animal species, and increasing the incidence and spread of pest and diseases, the FAO chief said.
“The people most vulnerable to climate shocks and natural hazards are the 2.5 billion small-scale farmers, herders, fishers and forest-dependent communities who derive their livelihoods from natural resources”, he noted.
The FAO Director-General called on countries to step up efforts to tackle the root causes of hunger and malnutrition through transformative changes to the way we produce, distribute, and consume food.
To achieve this, we need to transform food and agriculture systems, ensuring inclusiveness and equality; identify and implement innovative approaches and technologies in agriculture; shift to more sustainable and diversified production and consumption patterns, and improve governance, he said.
Original source: FAO
