PESCARA G7 Development Ministers’ Meeting Session on “Food Security” Statement

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

I would like to start by thanking the Government of Italy, and especially the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Antonio Tajani, for his leadership and for putting Food Security at the center of the G7 Agriculture and Development Agenda 2024, as well as during the G20 Italian Presidency in 2021.

Political commitment is key to achieving collective success.

At FAO, together with all our 194 Members, we are particularly grateful to Vice-Prime Minister Tajani for his leadership, passion and commitment for food security.

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate FAO’s commitment to the G7 Apulia Food Systems Initiative and G20 Food Coalition in 2021, as well as the G20 Summit in November in Brazil and its Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty.

As important tools focused on addressing the structural barriers to food security and nutrition, and to building efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.

The Initiative also aligns with FAO’s focus on addressing the inter-linkage between climate change and agrifood systems.

Opportunities and platforms provided by G7 Members are critical for ensuring coordinated actions, redirecting investment and reaching consensus.

We need to leverage multi-stakeholder partnerships to refocus on development for the effective transformation of global agrifood systems.

Food security is the sum total of food availability, food accessibility and food affordability.

We know that all FAO Members, whether from developing or developed countries, have problems with one of these criteria.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 2023, the jointly released State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report, confirmed that 733 million people faced hunger, this means 1 out of 11 people globally.

Hunger is still on the rise in Africa and a large proportion from South Asia.

We need to increase our focus on this Continent and work closely with the African Union and the African leaders.

The G7 coffee initiative proposed by the Italian Presidency is a good example of a sector with one of the most widely traded products,

With up to 25 million farming households accounting for 80% of world output in many countries of Africa, Latin America, Asia and beyond.

For this reason, I am pleased to see the Secretary-General of the International Coffee Organization here today.

A climate resilient and sustainable coffee value chain, is important for improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers globally.

Multiple overlapping crises, and growing inequalities are magnifying their effects and also bring many opportunities.

Depending on the drivers facing a country, there are several pathways.

We know the policies, investments and regulations needed, as well as the innovative, inclusive and equitable solutions to financing them.

Globally, this funding gap may well reach several trillion US Dollars by FAO estimate.

We need to scale up financing in countries where hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition are most alarming.

I am encouraged to see the critical financing mechanisms and initiatives proposed by the G7 this year, and look forward to its continuation through the G20 as well.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are living in a small world of uncertainties and a world that is extremely inter-connected - a crisis in one part of the world affects many people in another part.

I always say, we are all living together on this small planet!

This is why FAO has proposed to the G7 a financing facility for shock-driven food crisis, especially to de-risk finance for 84 % small farmers in the world.

And has worked closely with the World Food Programme and the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs over the past few months to design this facility. And after the G20, we look forward to having a joint action plan.

There is an urgent need to invest in anticipatory actions and rapid response to prevent high levels of acute food insecurity, such as the VACS Initiative.

The evidence is clear: the benefit-to-cost ratio of anticipatory action can range from 7:1 to 20:1 depending on the context of the business models.

We not only rely on public funding but also we need innovative and blended financing mechanisms to attract private financing through re-insurance companies,

And to optimize the use of donor funds as investments for development and to ensure sustainability.

FAO as a technical specialized agency advocates and stresses evidence-based and technically sound forecast and early warning systems to trigger anticipatory actions.

Our design is developing triggers of anticipatory action for 12 risks.

Research indicates that speed in responding and anticipating is crucial - as even a small amount of cash delivered just one day prior can drive change and improvements in welfare.

Transforming agrifood systems to achieve a world without hunger, malnutrition and poverty requires a holistic and long-term perspective with deliverables.

We must join efforts to anticipate potential risks, weaknesses and vulnerabilities,

To anticipate and reinforce our adaptive capacity and risk management.

I wish to commend once again the Government of Italy, as well as the Government of Brazil, for bringing the public and private sectors together around FAO mandate.

We need to invest more in public goods and family farmers that will help ensure the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life - leaving no one behind.

Thank you.