FAO Director-General invites private sector to join fight against hunger and poverty

23 January 2020, Davos – FAO Director-General QU Dongyu today urged the private sector to work with the organization in its efforts to lift the world’s most vulnerable out of hunger and poverty.

Speaking to UN TV at the 2020 World Economic Forum in Davos, the Director-General said more than 800 million people in the world did not have enough to eat and called for urgent action to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

He invited  private companies to work with national governments, academics and civil society in supporting FAO’s new Hand-in-Hand initiative, which is designed to match donors with recipient countries to tackle poverty and accelerate development.

“We have to do it as quickly as possible because time is running out,” Qu said. “We have to build a better future for our planet.”

Qu said the most vulnerable people were located on small islands or landlocked countries, least developed countries and in conflict areas.  He said densely populated countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria accounted for 90 percent of the world’s poverty.

He said FAO wanted to work with farmers and member countries as well as the private sector to facilitate change and transform people’s livelihoods.

“We want to build a network in a collective way to help people who need it the most,” Qu said.  “At the international level we have to work together.”

The Director-General said he had had fruitful talks with CEOs at Davos and stressed it was important to combine their interests with UN action that will make a difference through capacity building, technology transfers and other kinds of support.