Bangkok: At a symposium convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on agrifood systems transformation in Asia-Pacific, governments, the private sector and other stakeholders are being urged to massively accelerate transformation of their agrifood systems, or risk worsening malnutrition and environmental degradation in the world’s most populous region.
Speaking at the beginning of a three-day Asia-Pacific symposium, the world’s first since the UN Food Systems Summit, which aims to fast-track agrifood systems transformation in this vast region, FAO’s Director-General, Qu Dongyu, said the region’s transformation needs to focus on outcomes that result in better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all – ensuring no one is left behind.
"To achieve the SDGs we need a major transformation – one that begins with the transformation of our agrifood systems to ensure they can meet the present and future needs of all stakeholders and consumers," Qu said in a media release on Wednesday.
The Director-General warned that the SDG’s would not be achievable unless there is a collective will to defeat hunger, as a priority, in a post-pandemic region.
Ongoing crises, including the impacts of COVID-19, the climate crisis, droughts and floods, conflicts and war have disrupted the world’s supply of grains and other essential commodities, Qu noted.
The result is "economic downturns and loss of jobs that pushed undernourishment from 8% to almost 10% during the first year of the pandemic, with the number of undernourished that has now grown by 150 million," the FAO Chief said.
"The majority of this increase is in Asia and the Pacific, accounting for nearly 85 million more people in hunger, as well as in Africa and Latin America," Qu added.
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