Transforming agrifood systems and fostering inclusive rural development in the context of COVID-19 to end rural poverty

FAO, IFAD, WFP, DESA, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of China to the UN and the Delegation of the European Union to the UN, invite you to the side-event in the context of the UN General Assembly special session in response to COVID-19

This side event will analyze the economic, social and environmental potential of an inclusive process of agrifood system transformation for the eradication of rural poverty and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Looking towards the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit, the discussion will highlight the holistic nature of the 2030 Agenda, and the strong interlinkages between the Sustainable Development Goals, their targets and the entire 2030 Agenda.

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Speakers' bios

Mr. Zhang Jun, born in Jilin Province of China in August 1960, holds a Bachelor of Laws from Jilin University in China and a Master of Laws from Hull University in the United Kingdom.

Ambassador Olof Skoog is the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations since December 2019. He is a Swedish diplomat with extensive experience from a number of top positions worldwide, representing both Sweden and the European Union.

After graduating with a degree in law from Ankara University, Mr. Bozkir joined his country’s foreign service in 1972. He held several positions during his 39-year career there, including: Permanent Representative of Turkey to the European Union (EU); Ambassador to Romania; Consul General in New York; Counsellor of the Permanent Representation to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); First Secretary of the Embassy in Iraq; and Vice Consul General in Stuttgart. He also served as the Foreign Policy Advisor to Prime Minister Turgut Özal; Chief of Cabinet and Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to Presidents Turgut Özal and Süleyman Demirel; Deputy Undersecretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for EU Affairs; Secretary General for EU Affairs.

His Excellency Munir Akram assumed his position as Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations, with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary on 01 November 2019. He was subsequently elected the seventy-sixth President of the Economic and Social Council on 23 July 2020.

Ambassador Akram previously served as Pakistan’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York for six years between 2002 and 2008, after serving as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva for seven years from 1995 to 2002.

During his first term at the United Nations, Ambassador Munir Akram served twice as President of the Security Council in May 2003 and in May 2004; President of the Economic and Social Council in 2005; Chairman of the Group of 77 and China (developing countries) in 2007, and Facilitator on UN Administrative Reform in 2006. Among the positions he held in various intergovernmental organizations were: Member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament; Chairman of the WTO Trade Policy Review Body; President of the Conference on Disarmament (June 1996).

Between 1988 and 1992, Munir Akram was Pakistan’s Ambassador to the European Council, Belgium and Luxemburg.

Ambassador Akram joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1967, holding various positions in the Foreign Ministry as Additional Foreign Secretary and Director- General dealing with the United Nations.

He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of Karachi. He is a prolific writer and has lectured and published several articles and papers on various strategic, political and economic issues.

In recognition of his selfless service and outstanding performance in the field of diplomacy and foreign policy, he was conferred the Award of Hilal-i-Quaid-e-Azam by the President of Pakistan. 

Mr. Maximo Torero Cullen is the Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He joined the Organization in January 2019 as Assistant Director-General for the Economic and Social Development Department. Prior to joining FAO, he was the World Bank Group Executive Director for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay since November 2016 and before the Bank Mr. Torero led the Division of the Markets, Trade, and Institutions at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). His major research work lies mostly in analyzing poverty, inequality, importance of geography and assets (private or public) in explaining poverty, and in policies oriented towards poverty alleviation based on the role played by infrastructure, institutions, and on how technological breakthroughs (or discontinuities) can improve the welfare of households and small farmers. His experience encompasses Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia.

Mai Thin Yu Mon is a young indigenous peoples rights activist since her bachelor studies and contributing to building the indigenous peoples’ youth network in the Asia region. She has been working with indigenous youths and indigenous women at grassroots level in Myanmar. She is also engaging with different government agencies regarding climate change in Myanmar, making efforts to ensure the respect and protection of indigenous peoples rights. She has also been promoting the role of women and young girls in decision making at different levels in indigenous communities. Being an advocate on indigenous peoples’ rights to land and natural resources, she has been actively trying to include indigenous youths and women for sustainable development goals 1, 5, 13 and 15.

She has actively been engaged with the advocacy and campaign on the indigenous peoples’ rights at the national, Asia regional and international level. Currently, she is the youth focal person of the Asia region to the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus. She is the Director of the Indigenous Peoples Development Program of the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), and executive member of the Myanmar Indigenous Peoples Network, which comprises 19 indigenous peoples' organizations in Myanmar. She is also representing indigenous youths to the Executive Council of Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact ( AIPP ) which is working in 14 countries with 48 member organizations. She has been engaged in dialogue and negotiations with the ASEAN regional governments, particularly in Myanmar, on the cause of indigenous peoples’ rights. She has also been engaged as a resource person on the human rights and indigenous peoples’ rights, and the promotional works on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the national and Asia regional level.

She has been an active member of the Asia Indigenous Peoples Caucus during the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues sessions, particularly in 2016 and 2017, and attended as resource speakers to various side events. In 2016, she led the Global Indigenous Youth Caucus of delivering statement in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. In January 2018, she contributed as an expert to the Expert Group Meeting on the sustainable development on the indigenous peoples land and territories that took place in New York, UN Headquarters in preparation for the 17th session of the UNPFII. She has actively been engaged with other international forum in relating to indigenous peoples issues and took part interactive dialogues, such as, other UN agencies - IFAD and FAO.

Ms. Laura Lorenzo, World Rural Forum, Vice-Chair of the UN Decade of Family Farming International Steering Committee

Laura Lorenzo is an Agronomist who began her career in a Basque Government public research center (Neiker) specialized in animal breading. In 2003 she joint the World Rural Forum Secretariat -an international network with consultative status with ECOSOC and liaison status with FAO-. During her career, Ms. Lorenzo has developed different strategic roles in the organization in relation with advocacy and international relations. She acted as the Deputy Coordinator of the Civil Society during the International Year of Family Farming (2014) and leaded the Campaign for the Declaration of the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028). Currently she is the ViceChair of the International Steering Committee of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF).

Based on this extensive experience in june 2020 she became the WRF Director.

During the last 15 years, Ms Lorenzo has been engaged in the definition and implementation of numerous different policy and institutional frameworks in favour of family farming along the 5 continents, always supporting the work developed by the WRF members in the countries and regions and stimulating inclusive dialogue and building alliances among the different stakeholders. Not in vain the World Rural Forum (WRF) is a global network that promotes family farming and sustainable rural development, composed by family farming organisations rural development organisations, agri-cooperatives and research centers, that represent the interest of more than 40 millions of family farmers.

Ms. Karen Macours, Professor, Paris School of Economics, Researcher, French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment, Chair of the CGIAR Standing Panel on Impact Assessment

Karen Macours is a development economist with an active research portfolio focused on the micro-economic constraints to agricultural productivity and rural poverty reduction in developing countries. Much of her current research involves impact assessment related to agricultural research, the evaluation of programs addressing rural households’ productive and human capital investments, and related measurement and methodological questions. As chair of SPIA, she leads a research program on the reach and impact of agricultural innovations. She has led field projects in Sub Sahara Africa, Latin America and Asia, and has worked with a variety of stakeholders (national governments, NGOs, bilateral and multilaterals agencies).

She is a board member and co-chair of the health sector for JPAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab), co-editor of the Journal of Development Economics, associate editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, co-lead of the development research group at Paris School of Economics, member of the board of directors of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Market Risk and Resilience and of BREAD (Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development) and an affiliate of CEPR (Center for Economic Policy Research) and EUDN (European Universities Development Network). She previously was associate professor of international economics at SAIS- Johns Hopkins University.

She received her MS in Agricultural Engineering from the K.U. Leuven and her PhD in Agricultural and Resource Economics from the University of California at Berkeley.

Mr. Patrick Caron, Vice President of the University of Montpellier, France, member of the Scientific Group of the Food Systems Summit

Mr. Patrick Caron, Vice President of the University of Montpellier, France, member of the Scientific Group of the Food Systems Summit

Qu Dongyu, who took office on 1 August 2019 as Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, has spent his life working on how to make sure the world is fed.

Mr. Liu started his career at the Foreign Affairs Ministry in 1982. Since then, he has served the Ministry in various capacities, including as Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs (2009-2011); Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations (2006-2009); Director-General, Department of Treaty and Law (2003-2006); and Deputy Director-General, Department of Treaty and Law (1998-2003). He also served in the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland (1992-1995) and in the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations (1984-1988).

Gilbert F. Houngbo became the sixth President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on 1 April 2017. This year IFAD aims to increase the incomes of 20 million poor small-scale food producers, 50 per cent of whom are women, by 20 per cent. Houngbo is also Chair of UN-Water, which coordinates the efforts of over 30 UN entities and international organizations working on water and sanitation issues.

Houngbo has more than 30 years’ experience in the public, multilateral and private sectors including as Deputy Director-General of the International Labour Organization; Prime Minister of the Togolese Republic, and a number of executive-level positions at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), including Director of Finances, Chief of Staff, and Assistant Secretary-General. He spent a decade in the private sector, including at Price Waterhouse, Canada.

Houngbo earned a Maitrîse en gestion des entreprises from the University of Lomé, Togo and a Diplôme d’Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées in Specialised Accounting from the University of Quebec, Canada. He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants.

Read the complete bio here. 

David Kaatrud, Director of Programme, Humanitarian and Development, WFP

Mr. Kaatrud, has been involved in leading humanitarian and development work for the past 30 years, with long-standing experience in supporting and coordinating operations across the globe. Currently, he is WFP’s Global Director of Programme, based in WFP’s headquarters in Rome, Italy.