WORLD FOOD FORUM 2025 Side Event co-organized by Brazil and China:“Deepening International Cooperation on Poverty Reduction to Advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” Opening Remarks

Your Excellency Han Jun, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China,

Your Excellency Rosangela Lula da Silva, First Lady of the Federative Republic of Brazil,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues and Friends, 

It is a historical moment for FAO and for the world.

When China and Brazil, and other developing countries, come together to learn from each other and support each other, then we can speed up and scale up the process of ending hunger and eradicating poverty, together.

This is the message and impression I get from this event.

Poverty eradication is our collective mission.

His Excellency Han Jun is one of the most famous agricultural economists in China, maybe in the world, and he leads the largest agriculture in the world.

In China, we still have more than 400 million farmers who live in rural areas, which is less than 30 percent.

For all his life, during the past 36 years of career, Minister Han Jun grew up from grassroots, as a researcher and became middle-level officer, then Vice-Minister, and now Minister.

More importantly, he is the Chief Adviser of the Presidency of China on rural policy, innovation and other key issues.

He was also the Governor of one of the most important agricultural provinces in China, Jilin, and later he also held this role in Anhui, and then served as Party Secretary before transferring back to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

It is therefore a great honour for me personally to welcome His Excellency to FAO, especially as I recall the many beautiful stories we had together during the past 36 years.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 2023, 10.3 percent of the global population lived below the extreme poverty line of USD 3 per day.

Over 75 percent of the world’s extreme poor lived in rural areas, with rural sub-Saharan Africa alone accounting for half of the global total.

Beyond income poverty, rural households often experience deeper and more multi-dimensional poverty than in urban areas,

I learned from His Excellency Han Jun many years ago that in the world we have two societies: one is urban society; the other is rural society. No matter whether in China, the United States, Italy, in Africa, Brazil or Pakistan, no matter how big or small the country is, there are two societies.

All problems of the cities originally traced back to the rural areas because we did not care enough. This is what I learned from His Excellency the Minister 25 years ago, maybe he has forgotten but I will remember forever.

And poverty is also strongly linked with age and gender, among other dimensions.

Most of the extreme poor - over 60 percent - are children and youth.

In 2025, FAO launched the report The Status of Youth in Agrifood Systems, providing innovative data and robust evidence on the unique challenges youth face across diverse agrifood contexts.

Women - especially those between the ages of 25 and 34 - are more likely than men to live in extreme poverty due to unpaid care work, early marriage, and limited access to education and jobs.

Rural women face even greater challenges.

Rural households depend heavily on agrifood systems,

Yet in many low- and middle-income countries, the sector faces high informality, low productivity, and weak institutions.

Extreme climate events are also a poverty multiplier, and poor rural communities face the greatest risks and have the fewest resources for adaptation.

That is why two years ago, the American government initiated the Resolution for the United Nations to proclaim 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

FAO will be honoured to observe this International Year, and we will provide full support for its celebration, in support of this important initiative by the United States and other supporting friends.

Next year, we will also be observing the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, initiated by the Government of Mongolia.

In 2026, we will have a lot of things to do together globally.

We will also be holding the FAO Regional Ministerial Conferences in the different regions across the world, and I would really like to once again convey my appreciation to His Excellency President Lula of Brazil for the offer to host the FAO Regional Ministerial Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean in Brazil. A commitment he made already two years ago – a sign of strong solidarity in support of our global mandate.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Agrifood systems’ transformation is a matter for all Members. Together, we need to ensure that global agrifood systems are transformed to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable.

We need agrifood systems that ensure access to nutritious diets, promote women and youth, and provide opportunities for decent livelihoods, especially for the most vulnerable.

The FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31 is based on the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and a Better Life – leaving no one behind.

It is not only a slogan contained in our Strategic Framework, but it also applies to national and local government, and each sector of the agrifood system.

This strategic vision is reflected in FAO’s strategic partnerships.

In 2024, FAO joined the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty as a founding member, supporting Brazil’s G20-led initiative to accelerate efforts to end poverty and hunger and reduce inequalities by 2030.

The support was also shown by the 88 countries whose leaders endorsed the Alliance.

By hosting the Global Alliance’s Support Mechanism, FAO is offering technical assistance and putting at disposal the FAO network to reach Members who need it the most.

FAO is ready to work with all people and initiatives from Members, from China such as the Global Development initiative, or from the United States such as the VACS initiative, and also many other countries like Germany among others.

We will support any Member that has a good initiative that is in line with the FAO Strategic Framework, and our mandate.

FAO is a member-owned, member-led Organization. No matter if you are a big country or a small country, rich or poor, if you have something to offer, we are ready to support you. I am ready, you can count on me.

 So, let us work together, let us be bonded, let us be determined. It is our mission. Let us speed up and scale up together.

Thank you so much.