29th Session of the Committee on Agriculture (COAG) Opening Statement

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to join you for the opening of the 29th Session of the FAO Committee on Agriculture (COAG). 

This Committee provides important and technical recommendations for FAO’s work, as it covers a wide range of topics that are inter-related and inter-connected.

COAG plays a key role in breaking silos between different professional sectors and in adopting a systems approach.

This session of COAG is taking place at the tail-end of the other FAO Technical Committee meetings and concludes an important round of discussions with Members on FAO’s programme of work.

I wish to thank the COAG Chairperson Ms Julie Emond from Canada, for her leadership over these last two years.

Dear colleagues,

Food and agriculture are at the core of the 2030 Agenda.

Agriculture at large is not just a source of food. It is the backbone of rural livelihoods, a key driver of economic growth, and the foundation of our collective efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As we meet today, we are reminded that our agrifood systems are facing huge challenges. But, we must also remember that there are huge opportunities ahead of us.

Agrifood systems are part of the solution to current challenges.

I recently attended the UN Summit for the Future, and the UN General Assembly in New York, where global leaders met to reaffirm our collective commitment to leave no one behind, and to build a better future for all.

In New York, I stressed that the future we want is a future that is food better secured for all, for our planet, for prosperity and for future generations to come.

Because the right to food is a basic human right.

The Pact for the Future adopted in New York recognized the critical need to transform global agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient, and more sustainable.

This is core to FAO’s mandate, and we are leading efforts globally, together with relevant partners, to support Members in this transformation.

FAO is also playing a significant leadership role in ensuring agrifood systems are a solution to the climate crisis.

On Saturday I returned from Siracusa where I participated in the G7+ Meeting of Agriculture Ministers plus Africa, together with IFAD, WFP and the CGIAR, where again we emphasized the importance of science and innovation in agriculture to address the impacts of the climate crisis and to produce more with less to ensure we can feed a growing population, while minimizing our environmental footprint.

Furthermore, at the G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting in Brazil in mid-September, we reaffirmed the centrality of agrifood systems to address global challenges and the need to strengthen their resilience and sustainability in their economic, social and environmental dimensions.

FAO is also playing an active role in the lead up to COP29 to ensure that agrifood systems remain central to the discussions.

These multilateral conversations and commitments align with the important discussions you will be having this week.

Dear colleagues,

Since the last COAG Session in 2022, we have made significant progress in several areas. 

The COAG Sub-Committee on Livestock, established by COAG in 2020, held its second meeting in July. It has become an important and active forum to facilitate dialogue on increasing the sustainability of the livestock sector, and on scaling up One Health, among others.

This week, you will be able to build on these technical and policy recommendations to identify concrete solutions for tangible action on the ground.

Following the recommendation of the last session of COAG, FAO has strengthened its work on the sustainable use of plastics in agriculture.

We developed the first Voluntary Code of Conduct on their sustainable use and management, and to balance benefits and trade-offs, and we look forward to its implementation. 

Last year, we launched the report on ‘The status of women in agrifood systems’, based on robust evidence-based data, which confirmed that gender equality and women’s empowerment are central to agrifood systems transformation.

It is clear, providing women with equal access to resources, services, technologies, and training can help close the gender gap in productivity.

We continue to commit to “grow equality” and to take action to bridge these divides.

Over the last two years, we have held landmark Global Conferences, including the first ever conferences focused on the sustainable livestock sector, and on agricultural mechanization and plant production. 

Water scarcity remains one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, severely impacting agriculture.

Droughts are already a major cause of crop failures in many parts of the world, and, together with floods, are causing an acute food insecurity crisis in vulnerable countries. 

Water is essential for agricultural production and is central to achieving food security and nutrition, and for this reason FAO is leading efforts in integrated water resources management in agriculture.

FAO’s critical normative and standard setting work also continues to provide scientific advice related to food safety, plant health, the use of pesticides and more.

We continue to work closely with Members to monitor, manage, respond to and halt the spread of transboundary plant pests and animal diseases that are devastating crops and livestock production, and affecting the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.

Central to these efforts is the One Health approach.

FAO’s work with the Quadripartite partners is contributing to ensure the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment, as well as to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

But we need to remember that healthy soils are the starting point of One Health, and soil science is key to ensuring soil health.

Dear Colleagues,

We have put in place many of the necessary frameworks and partnerships to transform agrifood systems.

But we need to do more and better, together.

Your discussions this week will support the strategic priorities of FAO’s work towards achieving the SDGs. 

You have an important responsibility as a Technical Committee.

Let’s not only talk about transformation, let’s commit to concrete actions!

For the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life - leaving no one behind!

I wish you a very productive week and look forward to the outcomes of your deliberations.

Thank you.