UN FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT COORDINATION HUB Scientific Advisory Committee: Solutions Dialogue Opening Statement
by Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
16/02/2023
UN FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT COORDINATION HUB
Scientific Advisory Committee: Solutions Dialogue
Opening Statement
By
Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General
16 February 2022
Excellences,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Dear Colleagues,
1. One year has passed since the establishment of the UN Food Systems Summit follow-up Coordination Hub - and the Hub is now fully functional!
2. The establishment of the Scientific Advisory Committee is a milestone in this process.
3. In a recent meeting I had with Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, she expressed her deep appreciation for the work of this Committee.
4. She commended the establishment of the Scientific Advisory Committee and asked me to convey her best wishes for its success.
5. FAO is proud to host the Hub on behalf of the UN System, and, together with UN partners and other key stakeholders, we are pleased to be able to provide leadership for the follow-up work to support countries in implementing the Summit outcomes.
6. Science and Innovation are at the core of FAO's new business model.
7. The new FAO Science and Innovation Strategy supports national efforts in addressing the urgent, complex and interlinked challenges facing our agrifood systems, through science-based solutions.
8. Science and innovation have always been the fundamental components of my personal and professional journey.
9. Based on my extensive experience in China and other parts of the world, both in academia and in local and central government, and international organizations, and now almost 4 years at FAO, I strongly believe that science and innovation are keys in addressing our agrifood systems challenges.
10. Science and innovation-driven agrifood transformation is a critical requirement for the acceleration of the SDGs and to achieving the 2030 Agenda.
11. Science and innovation are game changers, and the Scientific Advisory Committee will be positioned to assist the change – to make a tangible impact on the ground.
12. With direct access to decision-makers, as well as interface dialogues with policy makers and politicians, your work can accelerate implementation of national pathways.
13. As Members of the Committee, you bring together combined multidisciplinary expertise to guide and support countries in addressing the immense challenges facing their agrifood systems
14. By harnessing evidence and expertise from across the scientific community, you can help shift humanity towards healthier, more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems.
Dear Colleagues,
15. The establishment of this Committee is very timely, as it comes just a few months before the Summit’s Stocktaking Moment, which will take place in Rome at FAO headquarters from 24 to 26 July this year,
16. And will directly feed into the SDG Summit in September in New York.
17. The Stocktaking Moment will be the first global follow-up to the Summit, and will focus on progress made on Members’ commitments to accelerate and deepen the transformative power of agrifood systems,
18. As well as to further define the way forward, building on the momentum gathered thus far.
19. The Scientific Advisory Committee can significantly contribute to this exercise, in particular by focusing on how to maximize impact in the lives of small-scale producers, women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples.
20. Countries need support to implement their agrifood transformations, and the Committee needs to provide the scientific advice, guidance and proven solutions needed.
21. Let us continue to work together in an efficient, effective, coherent and scientific manner to transform our global agrifood systems to achieve our common goal of the 4 Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.
22. I wish you fruitful discussions leading to science-based game changing actions!
23. I really appreciate your engagement and contributions.
24. Thank you.