Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

Organized by CFS in collaboration with the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the FAO Regional Office for Near East and North Africa at the MENA Agri-Food Innovation Days at Expo Dubai, the high level event will:

• Raise awareness about the CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition (VGFSN) and mobilize policy and political commitments by governments, donors, civil society, private sector, and others for further promotion and implementation of the VGFSN and other flagship CFS policy guidelines, especially within national food system transition pathways linked to the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.
• Showcase UAE’s global and regional leadership on sustainable food systems including championing the utilization of CFS Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition.

The event will take place on 24 February 2022, 12:30 - 14:00 GST / 9:30 - 11:00 CET

                                                                     Register here.

Speakers:

• H.E. Gabriel Ferrero y de Loma-Osorio, Chairperson, CFS
• H.E. Mariam Al Mehairi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates
• Dr Jessica Fanzo, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Global Food and Agriculture Policy and Ethics
• Dr Maximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Hon. Bwino Fred Kyakulaga, Minister of State for Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries, Uganda
• Ambassador Pio Wennubst, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to United Nations Organizations in Rome
• Ms Anna Scavuzzo, Deputy Mayor of Milan
• Dr AbdulHakim Elwaer, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
• Dr Martien van Nieuwkoop, Global Director Agriculture and Food Global Practice, The World Bank
• Dr Agnes Kalibata, AGRA President and former Special Envoy for the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit

For more information, visit the CFS webpage or watch the livestream on the CFS YouTube channel.

The ‘Digital Agriculture Report: Rural E-commerce Development—Experience from China’, produced by FAO and Zhejiang University, has been officially released. The publication examines how rural e-commerce could advance the digital transformation of agri-food systems, including increasing production efficiency, expanding farmers’ market access, improving poverty alleviation, fostering agricultural entrepreneurship, and attracting young generations back to their villages for economic revival and rural revitalization. 

It is highlighted that an enabling ecosystem with favourable government policies and strategies, public-private partnerships and innovative business models is of great importance to accelerate the development of rural areas in China, and generate larger economic, social and environmental impacts. As the largest developing country in the world, the experience of digital agriculture transformation in China could be shared with other developing countries.

The report also discusses some of the challenges encountered and lessons learned during the development of rural e-commerce, as well as the proposals for the way forward.

The report is available in English and can be downloaded here.

FAO's Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme will host a special webinar to mark the launch of a new report on public expenditure on food and agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. The webinar will focus on the main findings of MAFAP economic analyses, revealing top trends and current challenges in expenditure on food and agriculture in 13 sub-Saharan countries, while underscoring the role policy monitoring plays in helping governments to spend wisely for farmers, consumers and food security. Experts will offer their perspectives and policy priorities for the way forward on better public spending on food and agriculture.  

The webinar will take place on 7 May at 11:00 - 12:30 (CET, Rome time). Interpretation in French will be provided. 



Please register here.

Agenda and speakers: 

• Opening remarks by QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Presentation on report's findings by Marco V. Sánchez, Deputy Director, Agrifood Economics Division (ESA), FAO  
• Expert panel discussion with: 
  • Yassia Kindo, Secretary General, Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation Development and Mechanization, Burkina Faso
  • Tewodaj Mogues, Senior Economist, IMF* (*Ms. Mogues’ remarks will draw on her analysis carried out in her professional work prior to joining the IMF).
  • Apollos Nwafor, Vice President for Policy and State Capability, AGRA
  • Leonard Mizzi, Head of Sustainable Agri-food Systems and Fisheries, European Commission 
  • Shenggen Fan, Chair Professor at China Agricultural University and CGIAR Board Member 
  • Thule Lenneiye, Coordinator, Agricultural Transformation Office, Kenya
• Short Q&A session  
• Closing remarks by Máximo Torero, Chief Economist, FAO
• And moderated by Bola Mosuro, Journalist, BBC Focus on Africa and Newsday