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Showing posts with label zero hunger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zero hunger. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 13, 2018

Dialogue, knowledge exchange scopes to zero hunger - NaijaAgroNet

NaijaAgroNet:
Food security experts have identified forging ahead strategies and partnerships with different organizations will ensure that food systems are visible, and recognized, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Leading this call at the weekend is Christiana Louwa Saiti from El Molo People in Kenya, while speaking at the wake of High-Level Expert Seminar on Indigenous Food Systems held to explore how to build on traditional knowledge to achieve Zero Hunger in Italy.

"What it is important about this seminar is not only indigenous peoples themselves coming together, but that we are forging ahead strategies and partnerships with different organizations to ensure that our food systems are visible, recognized and respected," said Christiana.

Indigenous food systems are dynamic and their very persistence highlights their value as a source of insights for broader global challenges, said Helena Semedo, FAO's Deputy Director General.

She urged seminar participants to think of "how can we embrace key features of indigenous food systems that depend on both cultivated crops and wild plants, synergies with the natural environment and biodiversity, close adaptation to local conditions, a high level of diversification, a light carbon footprint, fewer ‘negative externalities' and reduced use of external inputs while being closely tied to socio-cultural and spiritual activities?"

Along with opening and closing ceremonies led by Abuela Amalia, a traditional healer of the Nahuatl People in Mexico, and Taita Morales, the seminar addressed topics ranging from how indigenous food systems can contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Zero Hunger Challenge. Sessions were also dedicated to case studies related to communities in upland Vietnam, northern Finland, the Solomon Islands and Cameroon's forests.

"I learnt all that I know about handcrafts and the use of medicinal plants from my grandparents. Today the mission of the youth is to take care and save the natural resources and the sacred elements of their communities and cultures", said Abuela Amalia, calling attention to the challenges, noting that migration and the loss of natural resources pose challenges for the transmission of traditional knowledge to indigenous youth.

Diversified practices linking pastoralism, nomadic gathering and agroforestry from Guatemala, India, Kyrgyzstan and Mali were also presented.

"I think the biggest challenge now is to take what we have learnt and discussed here to the local levels, and be able to engage with communities in preserving and valuing our indigenous food systems," Hayu Patria from the Dayak people in Indonesia.

Along with spurring greater and broader commitment to strengthen the understanding, promotion and preservation of indigenous food systems, the goal of the seminar is to upscale the current indigenous peoples task force into a FAO Technical Network with bolstered links to research institutions, universities, indigenous organizations and other United Nations agencies so as to coordinate activities, and to foster an informal action network to serve as a platform for countries to highlight and support the role that indigenous peoples and their food systems can play in ensuring food security and nutrition.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE

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Pix: Christiana Louwa Saiti from El Molo People in Kenya

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Zero hunger by 2030 is still possible

The Food andAgriculture Organisation (FAO) has reiterated determination that the zero hunger by 2030 is still very possible, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Although the prevalence of hunger has increased in some parts of the region, the 2030 goal is still within reach. But more investment will be needed to improve food systems across the region, a call also repeated at the opening of the regional symposium.

"Good nutrition depends on raising awareness about healthy foods and choices, as well as efficient, affordable and sustainable systems to deliver that food," said Kundhavi Kadiresan, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific. "If we are to reach the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger in this region, we must invest to improve our food systems and pool our knowledge and resources to meet our current food and nutrition challenges head on."

The symposium is an integral component of the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition 2016-2025, which seeks to increase investments and actions to improve people's diets and nutrition. Recent innovations and the latest research in nutrition and food systems from this region, as well as the rest of the world, are being examined over two days.

The aim is to discuss concrete actions that result in higher quality and more efficient production, processing and distribution of food, in addition to healthy and sustainable diets. In order to achieve those goals, participants will work toward activating regional and global partnerships and networks that promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture.


The Asia-Pacific forum is one of five regional symposia that are taking forward the outcomes of the International Symposium on Sustainable Food Systems and Healthy Diets held last December in Rome.

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Thursday, September 15, 2016

NEPAD, Pardee: Zero Hunger in Africa by 2025 is possible

The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) has reiterated determination of Africa Union on the possibility of having zero hunger in the next nine years, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The NEPAD Agency’s CEO, Dr Ibrahim Mayaki, gave this indication on the premise of the goals set in the 2014 Malabo Declaration through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), is ending hunger in Africa by 2025.

Speaking in Pretoria, South Africa at the unveiling of the Zero hunger in Africa by 2025 in collaboration Pardee Center for International Futures, he noted that nearly one in five people is hungry, even as hunger has decreased steadily since the mid-1990s, due to population growth, but has actually increased in absolute numbers.

In addition, Mayaki said, net food imports since the early 1990s have grown to about 14 per cent of the total demand, maintaining that one of the goals set in the 2014 Malabo Declaration through the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), is ending hunger in Africa by 2025.

He emphasised that success in Africa will therefore be through regional integration, be it in ending hunger, agriculture or infrastructure, highlighting the major levers in policies, investments, technologies as well as human and institutional capacities necessary to sustain desired levels of supply and demand-access to food.

“We cannot continue doing business as we are doing it today, since growth in Africa has not been inclusive enough. We need improved capacity to implement various interventions to do things differently if we are to deliver on Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the goal of eliminating hunger by 2025,” Dr. Mayaki underscored.

Dr Lindiwe Sibanda , CEO of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), noted that hunger affects women and children disproportionately, while women are the backbone of agriculture in Africa.

“The face of hunger in Africa is that 32 percent of under-5 children are stunted – the numbers have stagnated instead of going down. If the cognitive capacity of children in Africa is reduced for life, who are the future leaders for the continent? Agriculture needs to be more nutrition sensitive. Hidden hunger challenges are therefore critical and need to be addressed,” Dr. Sibanda said.

Speaking at the same event, Lynette Chen, CEO of the NEPAD Business Foundation also maintained that food security and the trajectory of economic growth need to be balanced with nutrition sensitive agriculture.

During the launch of the report on ending hunger in Africa, it was recognised that while the goal of eliminating hunger by 2025 might be very ambitious, it is not impossible. Steve Hedden, Research System Developer from Pardee Center maintained that how we define hunger will dictate how we get there and how we reach our targets.

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Tuesday, December 1, 2015

FAO honours AUC, Thai Ministry, National Geographic Society with awards



The African Union Commission (AUC), Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the National Geographic Society and the non-profit World Rural Forum have received awards from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for their outstanding efforts in supporting Zero Hunger, and improving nutrition as well as raising awareness of the challenges facing the world's food systems, reports NaijaAgroNet.

The awards ceremony, which took place at FAO headquarters at the start of the organization's governing council, is the last in a series of events this year marking the 70th anniversary of the UN agency's founding.

Former FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf attended the ceremony and presented an award named in his honor to Erastus Mwencha, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC). The award recognizes the AUC's efforts to boost sustainable agriculture, food security and nutrition through its Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). 

NaijaAgroNet reports that FAO recognized CAADP was helpful in paving the way to the commitment at the 23rd AU summit in Malabo to eradicate hunger in Africa by 2025.

The AUC shares the award with the World Rural Forum, a globe-spanning network of rural organizations and researchers, which works to support dialogues among rural communities and its policy advocacy on behalf of family farmers. 

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva in a video message congratulated the winners and said "Our mission now is to help countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal, and prepare a greater event in 2030 to celebrate the eradication of hunger and extreme poverty. We have the conditions for that. Let us be the first generation free from hunger. Let us all work together to make it a reality."

The awards ceremony featured a special musical performance by a well-known Rome-based musical group, the Piazza Vittorio Orchestra, and a young multi-ethnic band the Piccola Orchestra di Tor Pignattara.

Isaac Oyimah/GEE 
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Monday, September 28, 2015

Zero hunger, key for realization SDGs


 
The Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) José Graziano da Silva has told world leaders at United Nations headquarters that zero hunger is the only guaranty for  realization of the entire set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, NaijaAgroNet reports.
Information from FAO stated that fourteen of the 17 new SDGs are related to FAO's historic mission, the Director-General noted, adding that the second goal - which is "to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture" - must be urgently pursued as rapid progress on that front is the key to the other goals, he added

"We have given ourselves an enormous task,that begins with the historic commitment of not only reducing but also eradicating poverty, hunger in a sustainable way. We can only rest when we achieve zero hunger," Silva said.

NaijaAgroNet recalledthat the SDGs follow and expand on the Millennium Development Goals, established in 2001 and ending this year, which set a hunger reduction target that was met by more than half of the countries monitored by FAO. But nearly 800 million people still suffer from chronic undernourishment.

A majority of the world's poor and hungry live in rural areas, and improving their livelihoods is the core challenge.

He also reminded world leaders that in the next 15 years an additional investment of 160 dollars, about N31,848per year per person living in extreme poverty is needed to end hunger, NaijaAgroNet learnt.
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