World Food Day celebrations in Geneva
Invitation - World Food Day - Climate Actions for a Sustainable Future! Thursday 13 October 2016, Room XII, Door A17, 3rd floor, Palais des Nations, Geneva
This year, World Food Day (WFD) is dedicated to Climate Change and Agriculture. It resonates with the crucial time in which it will be observed prior to the next Climate Change Conference (COP 22), from 7-18 November 2016 in Marrakesh. The slogan, Climate is changing. Food and agriculture are too, highlights how agricultural and food systems need to adapt to climate change in order to feed a growing global population in a sustainable way. WFD 2016 looks at seven different areas related to food and agriculture where adaptations to climate change are needed. These areas are forestry, agriculture, livestock management, food loss and waste, natural resources, fisheries and food systems.
In line with this background, FAO Geneva celebrates World Food Day by organizing an Expert Panel Discussion, in collaboration with the WFP Office in Geneva.The Discussion’s theme is dedicated to Climate actions for a sustainable future. The discussion will be divided into two sessions. The first session will focus on the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA): actions and way forward and the second session will emphasize on Reducing food loss and waste: the roles and contributions of private sectors and governments.
The discussion will be followed by a Food Exhibition with traditional food from different regions of the world at 12h45, Palais des Nations, Escargot space, 3rd floor, E Building. As 2016 is the International Year of Pulses, traditional dishes will include food made from pulses.
Welcome Coffee 9h-9h30
Opening Remarks, 9h30-9h45
Ms. Sandra Aviles, Officer-in-Charge & Senior Advisor, Programme Development & Humanitarian Affairs, FAO Geneva
Ms. Gordana Jerger, Director, WFP Office in Geneva
Session 1: Climate-Smart Agriculture: actions & way forward, 9h45-11h15
Mr. Raphael Miazza, farmer/UNITERRE representative (climate-smart practice)
H. E. Deepak Dhital, Ambassador of Nepal to the UN in Geneva (Nepal's experience in mitigating the impact of climate change on agriculture)
Ms. Astrid Agostini, Senior Natural Resources Officer, FAO (FAO’s work on Climate-Smart Agriculture & way forward)
Ms. Katiuscia Fara, Advisor Climate Services, Climate & DRR Programmes Division, WFP (the impact of climate change on communities )
Dr. Gretchen Walters, Programme Officer, Global Forest & Climate Change Program, IUCN (Nature-based solutions/climate-smart nature conservation)
Session 2: Reducing food loss and waste, 11h15-12h30
Ms. Andrea Leute, Head of the Policy, Evaluation, Legal Affairs & Resources Directorate, Federal Office for Agriculture, Switzerland (Switzerland's policies on reducing food waste /loss and relations with farmers, distributors & retailers)
Ms. Rie Tsutsumi, Regional Resource Efficiency Coordinator, UNEP (sustainable consumption & production and save food programme)
Ms. Chloé Linder, Nutrition and Environment Officer, UNOG Cafeteria, Eldora & Mr George Couasné, Société GEB Solution, (food purchasing policies, consumption trends & management of leftover food)
Ms. Catherine Morand, Head of Policy Development, Swissaid (agribusiness & climate change in Africa)
Closing, 12h25-12h30
Cocktail Reception & Food Exhibition, 12h45-14h, Palais des Nations, Escargot space, 3rd floor, E Building
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For more information, registration & access to the UNOG building (by 11 October 2016):
[email protected]
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FAO Geneva website
Background information
Growing food in a sustainable way means adopting practices that produce more with less inputs in the same area of land and use natural resources wisely. It also means reducing food losses and wastes FAO has estimated that over 1/3 of food produced worldwide is lost or wasted. That amounts to about 1.3 Billion tons per year, enough to feed the 800 million hungry people in the world before the final product or retail stage through a number of initiatives including better harvesting, storage, packing, transport, infrastructure, market mechanisms, as well as institutional and legal frameworks. This is one of the optimal approaches that we can ensure a low ecological impact while feeding the increasing world population. In this regard, it is widely recognized that adopting climate-smart agriculture (CSA) approach and reducing food loss and waste (FLW) initiative offer an important opportunity to meet climate change mitigation and adaptation objectives while improving access to low-emission technologies and contributing to food security.