UN Agencies Representatives, during WFD ceremonies in Maputo

Maputo, October 2021- On the occasion of the celebration of World Food Day, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) recognize that there is still much to be done to achieve this Zero Hunger in Mozambique and worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflicts in northern Mozambique and climate change are pointed out as factors that aggravated the food security situation in Mozambique in the last year.

FAO Representative in Mozambique, Hernani Coelho Da Silva considers that the last year was of immense challenges for all, and a warning that the boosters of recent trends in food insecurity and malnutrition have their own trajectory and frequency, and that they could continue to repeat and occur over the decades.

"Therefore, we need to be prepared and equipped with effective and inclusive governance and institutional mechanisms for our food systems transformation in a systematic, inclusive and integrated manner," he said.

Coelho Da Silva also highlighted that "agriculture in Mozambique has shown an ability to adjust to the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, this being one of the sectors with the highest growth in 2020 with a positive dynamic in the contribution to GDP, even during the period of the pandemic".

In turn, the Director of the World Food Programme (WFP, Antonella D'Aprile said that "there is much to be done to achieve Zero Hunger and restated an appeal under the World Food Day: "we cannot accept that people face hunger in a world where more than a billion tons of food are wasted every year".

The representatives of United Nations agencies were speaking on the sidelines of an event held in the Mozambican capital, at the Quisse Mavota Secondary School, led by the Secretary of State of Maputo City, Vicente Joaquim.

The reach of food security has been threatened by climate change, which continues to represent a challenge that deserves attention from all of us, and it is therefore necessary that we are permanently prepared for epidemiological surveillance and pest and disease control, that affect both crop production and animal production, said the City Secretary of State, Vicente Joaquim.

During the event, Mozambique's participation in the Food Systems Summit that took place last month in New York was also referenced, as a stage for the appeal for the world to unite to transform the world's agri-food systems into search for solutions and political actions to respond to the challenges of food and nutrition security.

For this year, the date is celebrated under the theme; "our actions are our future, better production, better nutrition, better environment and better quality of life". World Food Day is celebrated annually on 16 October by more than 150 countries, aiming at raising awareness about the importance of access to balanced food and also marks the founding day of FAO in 1945.