World Food Day 2015

Cairo, 22 December 2015 - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation celebrated today the World Food Day and FAO’s 70th anniversary. The ceremony was organized at the Ministry’s premises in the presence of H.E Essam Fayed, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation; Mr. Pasquale Steduto, FAO Representative in Egypt; and Mr. Nabil Gangi, FAO Senior Adviser to the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Regional Representative.

Focus and theme of the World Food Day this year is “Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty”. The theme has been chosen to highlight the importance of Social Protection. Social Protection helps tackle vulnerabilities faced by rural households and plays a fundamental role in improving food and nutrition security and reducing rural poverty. The predictability of social protection instruments enables households to better manage risks and engage in more profitable livelihoods. The impact of social protection systems is greater if they are coordinated with broader food and nutrition security, rural development and poverty reduction strategies.

During the official opening of the event, Ms. Dina El Kheshen, the Supervisor of Foreign Agricultural Relations at the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation delivered a speech on behalf of the H.E the Minister Essam Fayed confirming that the Ministry has included Social protection in the heart of its agricultural strategies and policies to fight hunger and malnutrition, noting that improving the conditions and living standard of rural areas are at the top priorities of the Ministry’s programmes.

FAO representative in Egypt, Mr. Pasquale Steduto, extended the wishes of FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the NENA Region, Mr. Abdessalam Ould Ahmed. Referring to this year's World Food Day theme ‘Social protection and agriculture - breaking the cycle of rural poverty', he noted that "production and economic growth alone do not solve the problem, if the hungry remain excluded. India and Brazil and other countries show us that increasing the power of the very poor to buy food offers an affordable key to hunger eradication."

Mr. Pasquale added in his remarks that “Success in achieving the world's new sustainable development goals- and becoming the Zero Hunger Generation - ultimately depend on all people and not just governments.” He added “Individuals can celebrate World Food Day by making personal commitments, for instance to eat healthily, cut food waste and help others."

Mr. Nabil Gangi, FAO Senior Adviser to the NENA Regional Representative pointed out in his speech that this year is also the birth of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - FAO – in Quebec, Canada back in 1945. He acknowledged in his speech the founder of the organization and said “Please join me in paying tribute to the vision of our founders in creating FAO: bringing nations together after the turmoil of World War II, to free humanity from hunger, and to coordinate and nurture the management of the global food system.

Highlights of the ceremony also included a documentary about World Food Day theme for this year “Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty”.