UNFSSS+4 Ministerial Round Table Food Sovereignty - Exploring National Pathways to Accelerating the Food Systems Transition Statement

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to join you today for this Ministerial Round Table, co-led by the Government of Italy and the African Union.

We are meeting at a pivotal moment when global food insecurity is not improving at the speed we need.

In 2024, between 638 and 720 million people — which is 8.2% of the world’s population — faced hunger.

This is simply unacceptable.

Transforming global agrifood systems requires an integrated approach that promotes sustainable agricultural practices, strengthens value chains, and fosters policy coherence.

It means empowering smallholder farmers, investing in innovation, driving inclusive rural development, and ensuring resilience to shocks and stresses.

It demands coordinated action across sectors and stakeholders to ensure everyone’s right to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food.

Food sovereignty can serve as a guiding principle in this transformation. Food security must be responsibility and obligation for governments at national level

It emphasizes the empowerment of communities to shape their own agricultural policies, preserve local food traditions, and ensure that agrifood systems are not only productive and resilient, but also just and inclusive.

No one must be left behind.

To achieve this vision, we must empower people and communities to define their agrifood strategies, grounded in their unique cultural heritage and local knowledge.

I strongly believe that coordination among various players within country, as well as partnership with external facilitators, will build up concrete and tangible results.

Investing in local solutions — and respecting traditional practices — is key to building resilience and reducing dependency on external inputs.

Supporting diverse, locally adapted forms of food production strengthens both rural self-reliance and social cohesion, while enhancing adaptability in the face of environmental and economic shocks.

No country stands alone. International trade plays a vital role in moving food from surplus to deficit regions, from natural resources abundant regions to scarcity areas and supporting rural incomes, and enabling access to healthy diets.

Trade also facilitates the exchange of knowledge, traditions, and technologies between farmers across borders, fostering more sustainable and productive systems.

The challenge is to design policies and strategies that allow local food systems to flourish, while enabling fair and equitable trade that benefits both producers and consumers.

Geographical Indications and national food brands through the FAO One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) offer powerful examples.

By supporting high-value, region-specific products — often produced by smallholders — we can create rural jobs, preserve heritage, and promote quality and sustainability.

These products can also succeed in global markets, generating substantial income for local communities.

Dear Colleagues,

Your leadership and experience are essential.

Since the pre-Summit and the Food Systems Summit, meaningful progress has been made — but important gaps remain. Let us keep building on the momentum and coherence.

Strengthening collaboration and improving public policies are vital to promoting the transformation of global agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.

Let us seize this moment to drive bold, coordinated action to ensure the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – leaving no one behind.

Let us continue learning together, thinking together, working together, and collaborating together for a more equitable agrifood system that nourishes every community and safeguards our planet for future generations.

Thank you.