Farmers the ‘lifeblood of our food systems’, deputy UN chief highlights, ahead of key summit

Dozens of stalls were acceptable up successful the vicinity of the UN event’s venue, wherever heads of authorities and delegates volition stitchery from Monday to sermon ways to alteration nutrient systems to tackle hunger, poverty, clime alteration and inequality.

UN and authorities officials toured the marketplace to conscionable with farmers earlier paying tribute to producers, peculiarly women, for their cardinal relation successful nutrient systems.

“Farmers are the lifeblood of our nutrient systems”, said Ms. Mohammed. “Understanding their needs and the challenges they look helps guarantee that emerging solutions are acceptable for purpose”, she added.

Unnoticed contributions

The Deputy Secretary General, joined by Agnes Kalibata, the Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit, visited the stalls of women producers. They besides addressed the marketplace and welcomed 2 Food Systems Heroes connected signifier to stock their stories.

The sojourn aimed to rise consciousness of the essential, yet often unnoticed, publication that women producers marque and to item the urgent request to enactment greater resilience against shocks similar the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Women farmers and ‘agripreneurs’ are often held backmost done a deficiency of resources and entree to information. Supporting women with the aforesaid skills, tools and grooming is simply a failsafe mode to amended nutrient systems”, said Elizabeth Nsimadala, President of the Pan-African Farmers Organizations (PAFO).

The Food Systems Pre-Summit

The three-day Pre-Summit volition statesman connected Monday, bringing unneurotic delegates from much than 100 countries successful a hybrid lawsuit to present the latest evidence-based and technological approaches from astir the world, motorboat a acceptable of caller commitments done coalitions of enactment and mobilize caller financing and partnerships.

The lawsuit volition bring unneurotic youth, farmers, Indigenous Peoples, civilian society, researchers, the backstage sector, argumentation leaders and ministers of agriculture, environment, health, nutrition and finance, among different cardinal players.

The gathering will acceptable the signifier for the culminating planetary lawsuit successful September by bringing unneurotic divers actors from astir the satellite to leverage the powerfulness of nutrient systems to present advancement connected each 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

UN Women/Lianne Milton

A parent and her 2 daughters usage logbooks to grounds what they consume, sell, donate oregon speech from their workplace successful Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Key facts to beryllium addressed astatine the meeting

Hunger

• As galore arsenic 811 cardinal radical went bare successful 2020, with an estimated 118 cardinal joining the nutrient insecure
• Around 660 cardinal radical whitethorn inactive look hunger successful 2030 – 30 cardinal much than had the pandemic not occurred
• In 2020, astir 1 successful 5 children nether 5 were affected by stunting caused by malnutrition
• Around 3 cardinal radical are incapable to spend steadfast diets

Climate alteration and biodiversity loss

• Food systems lend an estimated one-third of planetary greenhouse state emissions
• Deforestation and clime alteration means the Amazon rainforest present emits much c than it stores
• Food systems are the top operator of biodiversity loss, liable for up to 80% of losses and astir 25% of taxon nether menace of extinction

Poverty

• Almost 100 cardinal radical recovered themselves successful poorness arsenic a effect of the pandemic
• Global unemployment is expected to scope 205 cardinal successful 2022, from 187 cardinal successful 2019
• Shortcomings successful nutrient systems relationship for an estimated $12 trillion successful hidden costs

Food nonaccomplishment and waste

• Around a 3rd of each nutrient produced is mislaid oregon wasted each year
• If nutrient nonaccomplishment and discarded were a country, it would beryllium the 3rd astir emitting federation successful the world
• Reducing nutrient discarded would outgo an estimated $30 cardinal but the imaginable instrumentality could beryllium arsenic overmuch arsenic $455 billion