Georgetown, Guyana – Defending the poorest, lowering inequalities, bettering meals safety and diet, and bettering market entry are amongst key targets in Latin America and the Caribbean, a area that makes main contributions to world meals safety, QU Dongyu, Director-Basic of the Meals and Agriculture Group of the United Nations (FAO), highlighted in his opening remarks on the Ministerial Session of 38th FAO Regional Convention for Latin America and the Caribbean.
“You might have large potential to speed up progress, and to do much more with much less inside and outdoors your area,” he stated, noting the area boasts a big share of the world’s biodiversity and water sources and accounts for 13 p.c of worldwide meals manufacturing and 45 p.c of internet worldwide commerce in agrifood merchandise.
Qu additionally famous that, though the area is a internet meals exporter, the reliance on commodity imports and exports exposes its agrifood programs to macroeconomic volatility, world geopolitical instability, and local weather change, which in flip negatively influence meals costs and incomes and result in unfavourable meals safety and diet outcomes.
In line with FAO’s newest estimates, the prevalence of undernourishment within the area stays larger than in 2019 because of COVID-19, though it decreased to six.5 p.c in 2022, from 7.0 p.c in 2021, which signifies that 2.4 million persons are now not affected by starvation. That is the best lower amongst all areas of the world. Nevertheless, such progress has occurred in South America (from 7.0 p.c to six.1 p.c), whereas the prevalence of starvation has remained nearly the identical in Mesoamerica (from 5.0 p.c to five.1 p.c). Within the Caribbean, undernourishment has risen, from 14.7 p.c in 2021 to 16.3 p.c in 2022.
These statistics solely scratch the floor of the present challenges dealing with agrifood programs within the area, which embrace the impacts of the local weather disaster, financial disparities, and an over-dependence on commodities.
Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, stated that creating resilient and climate-protected agrifood programs is an crucial job going ahead, and “choice making have to be knowledge pushed so far as potential,” he stated. He additionally referred to as for a higher concentrate on diet and a shift “again to the bowl from the field.”
FAO’s Director-Basic urged nations to share greatest practices and leverage the momentum provided by the Convention to work collectively and with FAO to set tangible targets and “speed up and strengthen collective efforts in direction of remodeling agrifood programs within the area and past.”
Zulfikar Mustapha, Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture and Chairperson of this Regional Convention, highlighted progress made in some landmark initiatives in his nation, together with notably elevated manufacturing in animal proteins, entrepreneurial incentives for youthful individuals and a dedication in direction of elevated integration of regional agrifood commerce.
Multilateral approaches
Emphasizing the significance of Latin America and the Caribbean as a key supplier of surplus agrifood output to world markets, the Director-Basic burdened that FAO goals to mitigate the damaging impacts of worth shocks on meals prices and to forestall disruptions in provide chains, each areas of labor that assist Members and their coverage choices and measures to supply extra with much less.
Even stronger partnerships are wanted for extra profitable influence at scale, he stated, noting that the poor, by misplaced earnings and better costs, all the time bear a disproportionate burden of disruption to agrifood programs.
Qu additionally highlighted that the G20 below the Presidency of Brazil in 2024 supplies a novel alternative to advocate for the eradication of starvation and discount of inequalities. On this context, FAO robust helps the proposed G20 Activity Power for the International Alliance In opposition to Starvation and Poverty, he stated.
The brand new Meals Safety, Diet and Starvation Eradication Plan of the Neighborhood of Latin American and Caribbean (CELAC) can be an essential contribution to tackling present agrifood programs challenges by regional integration, he added.
Regional path ahead
The Regional Convention options Ministerial Roundtables specializing in the way to advance fisheries and aquaculture below the Blue Transformation strategy, harnessing commerce as a strategic deriver to cut back starvation and malnutrition within the area, and addressing the challenges of the water-forest-biodiversity-soil nexus within the context of local weather change.
Excessive-level particular occasions may also be held specializing in the way to science and digital innovation can bolster household farming, the necessity for agrifood programs transformation within the area’s Small Island Creating States, funding focusing on by FAO’s Hand in Hand Initiative, and foresight drivers and triggers related for Latin America and the Caribbean.
On the Regional Ministerial Convention, the discussions may also concentrate on 4 interconnected regional priorities reflecting the “4 betters” set out within the Group’s Strategic Framework 2022-31 – higher manufacturing, higher diet, a greater atmosphere, and a greater life, leaving nobody behind. These priorities purpose to catalyze the transformation of agrifood programs by enhancing effectivity, inclusivity, and sustainability in manufacturing; eradicating starvation and advancing meals safety and diet; selling the sustainable administration of pure sources and adaptation to the local weather disaster; and addressing inequalities, poverty, and fostering resilience.
FAO’s Hand-in-Hand Initiative is at present collaborating with 14 nations in Latin American and the Caribbean, creating funding plans totalling round $772 million in addition to pushing ahead regional initiatives for the Dry Hall, the Panama hub, and Amazonia.
The FAO 1000 Digital Villages Initiative at present helps 52 agritourism initiatives in 14 nations within the area.
The FAO One Nation One Precedence Product initiative is selling 11 Particular Agricultural Merchandise in 14 nations within the area.
The Regional Technical Platform on Household Farming has efficiently linked contributors from greater than 40 nations world wide.
Qu additionally outlined how FAO’s strategy is constructed round crafting complete methods aimed toward advancing inclusive rural growth and sustainable pure useful resource administration, enhancing resilience among the many most susceptible populations, and sharpening programmatic work with Small Island Creating States.
