Regional priorities centre on building sustainable agrifood systems and addressing impacts of the Ukraine war
Ensuring better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life – the “four betters” – in Europe and Central Asia is the end goal as discussions continue on the second day of the Regional Conference for Europe in Lodz, Poland.
Today, FAO Members in the region have the possibility to participate in the development processes of FAO’s global strategies on science and innovation and climate change. At a special side event today, dedicated to green agriculture, countries seek to unlock its potential to spur growth in the agriculture sector and in rural areas.
The Thirty-third Session of the Regional Conference for Europe, taking place this year in a hybrid modality, is a biennial forum for FAO Members in Europe and Central Asia to discuss pressing issues of food and agriculture and set regional priorities for the coming years.
Specifically, participants review FAO results achieved in 2020–2021, in the context of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the work undertaken through the FAO Regional Initiatives on smallholders and youth, food systems transformation, and sustainable natural resources management addressing food security and nutrition holistically, considering the economic, environmental, and social dimension.
Through a resolution adopted at the Regional Conference yesterday, countries expressed “grave concerns” at the devastating implications of the Ukraine war on world food security and agriculture, including global food, fertilizer, and energy prices. They have requested FAO to assess the damage to Ukrainian agriculture and food sector, as well as costs of the reconstruction and rehabilitation, and to develop immediate, medium-term, and longer-term plans to address the food security impacts of the war in Ukraine, including emergency response, recovery assistance, and resilience building, for countries most affected in the region, particularly in the Black sea region, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Western Balkan.
Additionally, Members called on FAO to strengthening global market transparency and coordination among Members, through initiatives such as the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS).
Green growth in rural areas
In Europe and Central Asia, as well as globally, FAO is strengthening its role in the promotion of green agriculture. As part of this, the FAO Regional Technical Platform on Green Agriculture will help share good practices – from regional and country levels as well as between regions – in partnership with international, national and local development partners.
FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu will open the launch event through a video message.
Green agriculture unites the proper management of natural resources, biodiversity and ecosystem services with high recycling rates and low external inputs for building sustainable and resilient agroecosystems capable of tackling current and future challenges.
As such, the Regional Technical Platform on Green Agriculture contributes to more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems, in line with the FAO Strategic Framework and the four betters.
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12 May 2022, Lodz, Poland