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AGENDA

OPENING STATEMENT ON THE SOFI REPORT 2022

Thank you, Mr. Chairperson,

1. Kuwait has the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Group of 77 and China.

2. The conclusions of the SOFI report 2022 alert us to the aggravation of the state of global food insecurity and malnutrition since, according to its projections, under the current situation, hunger is affecting 150 million more people while the estimations are foreseen that 670 million people will still be facing hunger in 2030.  

3. The message that challenges us as Members of FAO is crystal clear: the world is moving away from zero hunger.

4. In this critical context, as the vast majority of our Group Members can attest, shocks such as conflicts, crisis, climate change, financial turmoil and unilateral coercive measures, have become bigger and more frequent, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been a shock multiplier, driving and deepening vulnerabilities, in particular among developing countries. Hence, crises have multiplied and grown, undermining many governments’ ability to continue progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

5. On this note, G77 & China Members understand that the Committee on World Food Security, as one of important Committees within FAO and given its inclusive nature, is called to augment its efforts to boost the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security in order to achieve a world free from hunger.

Mr. Chairperson,

6. The CFS, within its mandate on food security and nutrition, is located in an irreplaceable position to continue developing robust Voluntary Guidelines and Policy Recommendations to offer countries different science-based tools and options in order to elaborate and assist their nationally owned plans of action and programmes for the eradication of hunger considering their contexts, necessities, capacities and priorities.

7. The added value of this particular Committee lies in being an open, transparent and inclusive platform that facilitates the design of voluntary documents that address the different issues related to food security. We cannot lose this objective from our sight; otherwise, we would be generating overlaps and repetitions of tasks that do not adjust to the needs of the populations that suffer from hunger. Duplication, replication, and moving away from its mandate will also derail us from the spirit of “one UN” which demands us to work in synergy and avoid “silo-mindset” in the UN systems.  

8. In this line, we would like to stress the success of previous processes and documents, such as the “Voluntary Guidelines for the Right to Food”, the “Voluntary Guidelines on Food Systems and Nutrition”, the policy recommendations on “Agro ecological and other innovative approaches” or the recently negotiated document on “promoting youth engagement and employment in agriculture and food systems”, just to name a few of them.  

9. Those very examples demonstrate what CFS and its Members are capable of when the mandate on food security and nutrition is allocated at the core of the negotiations. This fundamental principle must be taken into account in the future for permitting CFS to maximize its potential and outcomes.

Mr. Chairperson,  

10. The Group of G77 and China recognizes the need to draw paths for sustainable and resilient food systems to overcome long-term challenges. We stress the urgency of factoring in different local conditions, ecosystem services, cultures, histories, production systems, consumption patterns and traditions while designing transformations towards sustainable agrifood systems, as appropriate and in accordance to national contexts, priorities and capacities.

11. In this very challenging times, G77 & China would like to highlight that, in framework of international negotiations on sustainable development, it is extremely valuable to respect and follow the principles and values shared by members upon agreements reached under different internationally relevant instruments and processes.

12. On that note, we express the need for these principles and values, widely recognized at the international level, become operative and, to this end, the G77 & China calls on the international community to fully support the recognition and implementation of these principles and values in global agreements and mechanisms, moving from declarative to action.

13. In a nutshell, we need to produce more and better food while generating mechanisms that ensure physical, social, and economic access to it, and we highlight the contribution of sustainable agriculture to food security, economic development, and biodiversity conservation.

14. Furthermore, we recognize that there is no sustainable growth without economically viable agriculture that generates a stable and rewarding income and creates decent work and quality jobs and opportunities for family farmers and agricultural workers, their families, and the rural communities.

15. We emphasize, at the same time, the importance of ensuring a holistic approach to this issue, jointly considering environmental degradation, economic opportunities, and social impacts. To achieve this goal and ensure social inclusion and gender empowerment, critical actors such as rural youth, rural women, indigenous peoples, family farmers and local communities must play a key role as part of the decision making processes and solutions.

16. Not only do shocks or crises compound each other, but their fallout also unfolds more brutally given persistent structural vulnerabilities, such as limited access to education, health and other basic services, poor rural infrastructure and economic and gender inequalities that leave people, communities and nations and entire agrifood systems without social safety-nets, resilience to overcome shocks and coping capacity. Taken together, shocks, crises and structural vulnerabilities increasingly put food security and nutrition at risk.

17. For this reason, the G77 & China calls once again for FAO Members to take concrete steps not to prevent efforts in meeting the needs of the many, and stresses the necessity for Members to take this into account when pushing their national or even regional interest-driven agendas in the UN multilateral fora.

18. We emphasize the value of international cooperation as a tool to share experiences, to transfer knowledge and technology, and to create positive synergies for climate action and environmental sustainability, while boosting economic and social wellbeing. In this regard, the G-77 and China welcome the progress achieved under the UN Secretary General’s Global Crises Response Group (GCRG) on Food, Energy and Finance. We encourage CFS to continue to engage in the discussion including by disseminating its Brief No. 3.

19. South-South and Triangular cooperation actions must be strengthened and adapted to suit local needs, as massive drivers to implement and achieve food security and nutrition. This has been the case when we are negotiating the New FAO Strategy on Climate Change, Science and Innovation Strategy and CFS Policy Recommendation on promoting youth engagement and employment in agriculture and food systems.

20. On international trade, it is essential to achieve a fairer, more transparent and predictable international trade system. The production and trade-distorting subsidies, as well as the non-tariff barriers and other measures that disrupt trade cannot be underestimated since these affect producers and consumers. We therefore call on the members of the WTO (World Trade Organization) to continue comprehensive negotiations on domestic support to substantially reduce trade-distorting subsidies. It is also essential to consider the different members' needs on sustainable development, in order to be able to achieve the objective worldwide by 2030.

21. We also reaffirm the importance of keeping food and agriculture supply chains functioning, and ensuring trade channels and markets open for food, fuel, fertilizers and other agricultural products and inputs, by promoting a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory, and equitable multilateral trading system under the WTO. We must eliminate any unilateral and protective measures that run counter to the spirit and rules of the WTO.

22. As demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic open trade plays a key role in guaranteeing and supporting world food security and the fulfilment of SDGs. In view of this, we insist on the need to move decisively towards the agricultural reform process within the framework of the WTO.

Mr. Chairperson,

23. With these comments, the Group of 77 and China would like to underscore the necessity to tackle hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition as an overarching priority not only at CFS, within its specific mandate, but also for FAO taking into account their respective comparative advantages. We, the voices of developing countries, are ready to support and accompany CFS in achieving a world free from hunger and we expect the same compromise and understanding from CFS in striving for the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security leaving no one behind.

Thank you very much.