Every 16th of October marks the World Food Day (WFD). The WFD theme this year is "Right to Foods for a Better Life and a Better Future". To celebrate the 44th WFD and the 79th anniversary of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the FAO Representation in China organized a variety of events.

Wuhan – Main Venue Event in China

On the morning of 16 October, FAO together with China’s National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration (NAFRA), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA), Ministry of Education, All-China Women's Federation, and the Hubei Provincial Government, jointly hosted China’s WFD main venue event and launched the National Food Security Publicity Week (NFSPW) in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Liu Huanxin, Administrator of NAFRA; Wang Zhonglin, Governor of Hubei Province; Vinod Ahuja, FAO Representative ad interim in China and DPR Korea; Ma Hongtao, Director-General of the Agricultural Trade Promotion Center (ATPC) of MARA delivered opening speeches.

Liu Huanxinpointed out that reforms in China's food security sector are continuously deepening, management policies are becoming more mature, and the institutional framework is increasingly comprehensive. There is a growing emphasis on food security across society, and the nation's food security is safeguarded better, paving a path of food security with Chinese characteristics. The Food Security Safeguard Law codifies important principles, systems, and mechanisms for implementing the national food security strategy. It includes provisions for the protection of arable land, food production, reserves, distribution, processing, emergency response, and conservation. The law significantly contributes to solidifying fundamentals, stabilizing expectations, and providing long-term benefits through the rule of law, thereby ensuring high-level legal protection and promoting higher-level safeguard for national food security.

Vinod Ahuja noted that around 733 million people are facing hunger in the world due to repeated weather shocks, conflicts, economic downturns, inequality, and the pandemic. There is an urgent need to accelerate actions to transform agri-food systems towards being more efficient, resilient, inclusive and sustainable. The Chinese government and Chinese people uphold high the role and values of sustainable agriculture development and food security, adhere to the "all-encompassing approach” to build a diversified food supply system which will better meet people's growing diversified food consumption needs, and make great achievements in food production, processing, circulation, among others.

In line with this year's WFD theme, the theme for the NFSPW has been set as " Strengthening the rule of law, Ensuring food supply, Safeguarding food security". At the main event today, exemplary cases under the NFSPW theme were showcased and promoted. A food-security-themed initiative was also launched to the public. More than 1300 participants, including representatives from various organizations and faculty and students from Wuhan University, joined the event today.

Beijing – The Launch Ceremony for World Food Day Celebration in China

On the evening of October 14, the FAO Representation in China partnered with Beijing 798 Culture and Technology Co., Ltd. (798 Culture & Technology) to co-host the launch ceremony for the 2024 WFD Celebration in China in the city of Beijing. Vinod Ahuja, FAO Representative ad interim in China and DPR Korea; Zhao Lijun, Deputy Director-General of ATPC; Li Fujun, Director-General of China Grain Research and Training Center; Jiang Nan, Chairman of Directors of 798 Culture & Technology delivered opening speeches.

In his opening remarks, Vinod Ahuja, stated that today's theme – Right to Foods – signifies a deeper commitment. He emphasized that transforming our agri-food systems is critical to addressing the current challenges faced by the global agri-food sector. China has made significant strides in improving nutrition, food safety, and sustainable agricultural practices in recent years, and the country’s achievements in agricultural innovation offer valuable lessons for others facing similar challenges.

Following the opening remarks and the launch ceremony, the event featured three Chinese cultural performances related to agriculture and food. These performances used artistic forms to showcase the importance of agricultural and food endeavors. Nearly 200 representatives from government departments, international organizations, embassies, civil societies, academia, and the private sector attended the event.

In addition, FAO China actively interacted with partners online to promote the WFD through social media. By far, the topic #WFD has been read on Weibo for more than 890 million times.