Rome – The Director-Normal of the Meals and Agriculture Group of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, on Wednesday referred to as on Members and all different stakeholders to supply monetary, technical and human assets to assist the implementation of FAO’s One Nation One Precedence Product (OCOP) Initiative, which may make an actual affect to remodel agrifood techniques.
Qu addressed an occasion on the OCOP Initiative, below the Framework of the FAO China South-South Cooperation Programme. The occasion passed off in hybrid type on the sidelines of the 174th Session of the FAO Council. Audio system included Malawi’s Minister for Agriculture, Sam Kawale, in addition to authorities officers and Everlasting Representatives from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Trinidad and Tobago and Uzbekistan.
The OCOP was launched in September 2021. It’s designed to assist extra sustainable agrifood worth chains of Particular Agricultural Merchandise (SAPs), enhance entry to wholesome diets, enhance farmers’ livelihoods and financial development, whereas minimizing the usage of chemical inputs and of pure assets, decreasing meals loss and waste, in addition to minimizing destructive impacts on the setting.
SAPs have distinctive distinctive financial worth, geographical benefits, particular farming practices and cultural heritages. Examples of SAPs already supported by the initiative embody jackfruit in Bangladesh, date palm in Egypt, banana in Malawi, cocoa in Trinidad and Tobago, and candy cherry in Uzbekistan.
As of November, 83 international locations throughout all 5 FAO areas had expressed curiosity in selling the sustainable improvement of over 50 SAPs, and all of that are potential OCOP mission international locations.
Throughout Wednesday’s occasion, the worldwide South-South Cooperation mission was formally introduced to assist the implementation of the OCOP initiative. Chosen international locations shared their experiences in implementing the initiative, whereas FAO Members have been briefed on the initiative’s progress and the way in which ahead. Members and related stakeholders have been referred to as to actively assist, take part and promote its implementation.
To this point, greater than $14 million from varied sources have been mobilized to assist the implementation of the OCOP initiative in 53 international locations.
As the biggest single contribution to the OCOP initiative, China has supplied $5 million to assist this new world OCOP mission below the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Programme supporting capacity-development and demonstration actions in 15 international locations. These are Congo, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi and Tanzania in Africa; Bangladesh, Cambodia and Samoa in Asia and the Pacific; Georgia and Uzbekistan in Europe and Central Asia; Chile, Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago in Latin America and the Caribbean; and Egypt and Iraq within the Close to East and North Africa.
Modern options within the world South are key for tackling meals insecurity, poverty and different improvement challenges. South-South and Triangular Cooperation has grow to be an integral a part of FAO’s assist to country-level motion to attain meals safety and vitamin, and rural improvement, by creating synergies with associated initiatives.
The OCOP initiative is a robust catalyst for transformation and for accelerating progress within the implementation of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31, in assist of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Improvement and reaching the Sustainable Improvement Targets.
