Climate change is upon us and poses unprecedented destruction to food systems, escalating the already vulnerable food (in)security generally and in developing countries in particular. Thus, transforming food systems appears the panacea as the transformation will bolster the realization of the potential of agricultural production, distribution, storage, and storage, therefore improving nutrition, food security, and safety, thereby developing nutritious, climate-adapted, and market-driven food systems, which at the end of the day bolsters community resilience and sustainability. Thus, bringing this topic by FAO is timely and relevant. The following can be the avenues through which FAO can better support countries in addressing governance, agrifood systems, and transformation.
Food production: There is a need to increase food production globally, and the situation in developing countries is particularly dire. Whereas FAO has reported increased food production in recent years, with the global production of primary crop commodities reaching 9.5 billion tonnes in 2021 and an increase of 54 percent since 2000 and 2 percent since 2020, there are also reports of increased hunger globally. For example, FAO reports that 691 and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022. These are worrying figures, given the ever-increasing global population. There is a need to adopt modern technology and science to increase food production, boost food security, and increase the availability of nutritious food varieties.
Storage: Food storage is another area where FAO can support governments. Much food is lost due to poor or non-existent appropriate food storage mechanisms. FAO study estimated that around one-third of the world’s food is wasted annually, which adds up to a staggering 1.3 billion tons, worth almost one trillion US dollars in 2023. These figures are disturbing, given the staggering numbers of people without food. FAO should support governments in building up-to-capacity storage facilities, improving the available mechanisms to increase the shelf life of these food items, and investing in agri-processing industries to boost the storage aspect throughout the agrifood systems.
Food distribution: There is an urgent need to boost the food distribution system so that food can reach all places where it is required in time and enough quantity. FAO emphasizes that food systems should ensure enough nutritious food is available for everyone, whether they live in urban or rural areas or are in poor households. The problem is that food distribution involves other sectors, such as transportation systems such as roads, railways, and air, that may be outside the operation scope of FAO.
Lastly, collaborations and partnerships: It is apparent that global problems have become enormous and complex, and in most cases, multidisciplinary solutions and vast sums of resources are needed. FAO should seek these collaborations with the World Bank, WFP, IMF, ENEP, and other international organizations to ensure resource mobilization, knowledge and skills sharing, and research and innovation. Already, FAO is seen in other such collaborations, such as the Quadripartite collaboration, which includes FAO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) in the One Health global policy program.
In conclusion, if the four aspects highlighted above can be addressed with robust approaches, agri-food systems are bound to yield to the increasing pressure amidst population explosions and strained economic resources amidst climate chaos that have also been blamed for the deteriorating global food systems.
Dr. James Mawanda