ROME, MAY 27 – The Italian Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Marina Sereni, attended today at FAO headquarters the inaugural High-Level Dialogue of the Food Coalition dedicated to “The impact of global crises on food security: women as key agents in transforming agri-food systems”. “Gender equality is key to transform agri-food systems and fight hunger”, said Sereni, while the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, stressed that “overcoming gender inequality can play a key role in freeing the world from hunger and malnutrition”.
“Women are key actors across agrifood systems, and key contributors to agricultural and rural development,” said Qu. “But if we want to build agri-food systems that benefit all people, leaving no one behind, we must overcome gender inequality,” he added. The Director-General also noted that women comprise nearly half of the rural workforce in low-income countries. Yet “everywhere, rural women face gender-based constraints that limit their potential,” Qu said.
Today’s event was attended by, among others, Nobel Peace Laureate, Jody Williams; Morocco’s Minister of Solidarity, Social Inclusion and Family, Aouatif Hayar; President of Kwame Nkrumah Pan African Centre, Samia Nkrumah; and Chair of the Spanish Parliamentary Alliance for the Right to Food, Elena Diego. The High-Level Dialogue, organized under the Advocacy for Solutions Pillar of the Food Coalition, also sought to discuss how conflicts, in particular the war in Ukraine, lead to increasing levels of food insecurity. In his opening remarks, the FAO Director-General reiterated: “Conflict remains the single greatest driver of hunger in food crisis hotspot countries,” in a reference to a report launched by the Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC).
Reminding with great concern “the worsening food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine”, Sereni recalled the June 8 ministerial dialogue in Rome when 24 countries and the main organizations will discuss the issue. “We appreciate,” Sereni stressed, “that the FAO has agreed to provide technical support to the event and its its follow-up, while WFP and IFAD will provide key inputs. The Rome-based agencies will play a key role in addressing the current challenges of food security and we support them in their efforts”. Italy is especially concerned for the “situation of the countries of the Mediterranean area and beyond, heavily affected by the sharp increase prices and possible shortages of basic foods and basic goods, with possible implications on political stability and inevitable repercussions on migration.
The Food Coalition, launched officially in November 2020, was created to facilitate unified global action in response to COVID-19. Importantly, the role of the Food Coalition was also acknowledged in June 2021 by both the Matera Declaration and the G20 Rome Leaders’ Declaration. In light of the global food security crisis exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, the Food Coalition seeks to act as a global voluntary alliance open to all stakeholders who wish to act and accelerate the pace of change towards the transformation of agrifood systems.
The Food Coalition is structured on five complementary pillars, including: Pillar 1 – Response to and recovery from global crises; Pillar 2 – Advocacy for solutions; Pillar 3 – Support and follow-up to G20 Matera Declaration; Pillar 4 – Longer-term solutions developed to transform agrifood systems; and Pillar 5 (Cross-Cutting) – Knowledge sharing and transfer of experts/expertise. (@OnuItalia)
