Overview of the Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems

The 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems successfully organized 9 official sessions, 11 side sessions and 31 bilateral meetings.

On the morning of April 24, the 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems with the theme "Together to transform food systems into healthy and sustainable, adapting to climate change in the new crisis situation” hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam opened in Hanoi.

This is a Ministerial Conference with the participation of more than 300 delegates, including nearly 200 international delegates from many countries, United Nations agencies, and international organizations.

Before the opening session took place, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang had a reception and brief exchange with representatives of agricultural industry leaders of countries and organizations attending the conference.

In terms of senior leadership, the Conference was attended by the Ministers of Switzerland, Malawi, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Cambodia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Deputy Minister of Ghana, Kenya; UNIDO Executive Director, Global Director of Partnerships and Policy for the Confederation of International Agricultural Research Institutes - CGIAR, Director General of the International Union for Biodiversity and CIAT. In addition, the Costa Rican Minister of Agriculture and the FAO Director-General attended online.

In the opening speech, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, welcomed and highly appreciated the organizing committee's choice of the theme of the 4th Global Conference - Sustainable food system - One Planet Network is " Together, we will transform the food system into a healthy, sustainable, climate-resilient and inclusive food system in the context of a new crisis.”

According to Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, FAO reports (2020, 2021), hunger is still on the rise and the number of people affected has reached 828 million by 2021. Asia region - The Pacific is expected to meet its sustainable development goals (SDGs) only by 2065, three and a half decades behind schedule.

Within the framework of the opening session of the 4th Global Conference on Food Systems, the ministers and national leaders had a lot to share to ensure food security.

Mr. Le Minh Hoan, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, said that in the past time, Vietnam has made great progress in poverty reduction, the impressive poverty reduction index has been approved by the United Nations and many international organizations. highly appreciated.

Vietnam determines that agriculture will become the backbone of the economy, but agricultural production still has many limitations and challenges such as small-scale production, farmers are vulnerable to fluctuations in the environment. the world and facing difficulties in accessing world trade trends.

Also on the morning of April 24, Minister Le Minh Hoan received a bilateral reception from the Swiss Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Christian Hofer, who visited Vietnam on the occasion of the 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems - online. grid One planet.

In which, Minister Le Minh Hoan also highly appreciated the role of Switzerland in activities to ensure sustainable food security globally as well as the cooperation with Vietnam in the past time, and believed that this It is also an opportunity for the two sides to promote cooperation, especially in the potential fields of agriculture and trade.

Addressing the 3rd panel discussion with the theme "Review, National and Local Governance and Policies" at the 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems (LTTP), Ms. Corinna Hawkes, Director of Food Systems and Food Safety (FAO), said that there is currently an imbalance and inequality in the food processing system.

Accordingly, the representative of FAO said that the important solution to solve the problem of imbalance and inequality in the food system is to give opportunities, collect ideas, innovate, listen to thoughts and opinions. of the disadvantaged, the units involved in the food system.

Sharing at the 4th discussion session with the theme "Consumption and production patterns" of the 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems (LTTP) on April 25, Dr. Rebecca Shaw, Vice President WWF senior president, said that recent aggregate reports show that biodiversity indicators are showing signs of decline. Meanwhile, biodiversity is an important factor in ecosystem services such as livestock, fisheries, wood production, carbon ...

“In the WWF study, the LTTP system has had notable impacts on climate and biodiversity, responsible for 27 to 30 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and 70 percent of fresh water released exploit. The food industry is also one of the main causes of deforestation, biodiversity loss as well as the increasing trend of the pandemic,” said Dr. Rebecca Shaw.

Taking place on the morning of April 25, Session 5 of the 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems was themed: “Advancing transformation through science, finance, human rights and innovation. ".

Addressing the opening remarks, the conference moderator, Adam Gerstenmier, Chief of Staff to the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy to the Food Systems Summit 2021 said, the content of the 5th session was quite good. wide, covering many professions in society.

According to him, these contents can have a direct or indirect impact, but most of them bring a lot of influence to promote the sustainable development of agriculture.

In particular, the content of "human rights" is very consistent with the United Nations' perspective in the 2030 Agenda. All plans and policies are human-centered, human-centered, and highly beneficial. best.

On April 26, more than 200 international delegates attending the 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems went on a field trip in Hanoi, Thai Nguyen and Bac Ninh.

International delegates participating in the field trip included ministers, deputy ministers of agriculture, leaders of international organizations and corporations attending the 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems.

The 6th session of the Food System Conference discussed the content of resource mobilization towards the upcoming United Nations Summit.

At the meeting, Ms. Sylvia Lopez-Ekra, Deputy Director of the United Nations Food System Coordination Center said: one of the results achieved at the United Nations Summit on Food Systems The product is to establish an action coalition. This coalition has covered issues with the participation of 6 countries.

In addition, there are national alliances in Europe and Africa with the participation of many cities and municipalities. The strength of the Action Coalition is to identify the challenges from which to consider supporting countries in implementing their actions. The advantage of coordination is that countries can work together, have the opportunity to present and introduce themselves, in addition to provide documents and digital tools... for the alliances to continue to prepare. filter and then offer support solutions for the participating countries in the alliance.

The 8th session of the Food System Conference emphasized the role of connecting and leading the implementation of the action plan of the national focal points.

At the discussion session, Ms. Sylvia Ekra, Deputy Director of the Food System Coordination Center, moderator of session 8 shared: In this dialogue session, it will focus on specific dialogues with representatives of different countries. nation. Because, for the Food System (LTTP) to operate effectively, it is first important for countries to have a focal point to implement activities.

Representatives of countries will act as a "conductor", leading the roadmap for implementing activities to build LTTP systems in their countries; intervention and influence for domestic ministries and branches to connect, support and agree with the common goal. From there, activities will be implemented effectively, helping countries achieve their goals and vision.

The 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems (LTTP) with the theme "Together to transform food systems, healthy and sustainable food, adapting to climate change in the context of crisis new crisis" hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Hanoi and closed on the morning of April 27.

The Ministerial Conference, which took place from April 24 to 27, was attended by 337 delegates, including nearly 200 international delegates from 60 countries, United Nations agencies, international organizations and individuals. International organizations, state management agencies and research and training agencies.

Regarding senior leaders, the Conference was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and 21 ministerial-level leaders of countries and leaders of major international organizations. In addition, more than 1,000 agencies and delegates registered to attend the Conference through the online form. In addition to the 9 official sessions, the Conference also had 11 side meetings and 31 bilateral working sessions between the parties and 5 field trips.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep had some sharing at the Closing session of the 4th Global Conference on Sustainable Food Systems with the theme "Together to transform a healthy food system". , sustainable, adaptive to climate change and inclusive in a new crisis context” April 27. According to Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep, this is the "time of heaven - advantage - human harmony" to hold the conference in Vietnam.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Hoang Hiep also emphasized that the problem of converting the LTTP system has become more urgent than ever. “Now, and not any other time, is the time when we, with a fuller understanding of the challenges ahead, must act now to protect the planet – our common home. protect our own existence and that of future generations," said Mr. Nguyen Hoang Hiep.

“Sustainable production and consumption” and “Food system transformation” are among the topics that all parties can take action now to contribute to the realization of 17 Sustainable Development Goals. steady.

Right after the closing session of the 4th Food and Food Conference, Vietnam Agriculture Newspaper coordinated to hold a press conference, summarize the results obtained from the conference as well as answer questions from information agencies. tons, press.

Mr. Nguyen Do Anh Tuan, Director of the Department of International Cooperation (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), said that with countries and international organizations, the Conference achieved two main results. Firstly, the Conference has inspired and aspired for countries and stakeholders to implement the transformation of sustainable food processing systems in the new context.

Secondly, the discussion sessions of the Conference focused on providing solutions close to reality. Those solutions will be shared with countries and stakeholders, from which resources can be mobilized to act together.

The conference also created consensus and high determination among countries in building a sustainable LTTP system when it is expected that the program will be upgraded to a national level in the future.

Source:  https://nongnghiep.vn