United Nations Food Systems Summit will be held in September 2021
Recently, the United Nations Secretary-General has announced the first event of the United Nations Food System Summit to be held in September 2021.
Key Points:
- It aims to formulate a strategy for positive change in the world’s agro-food systems to realize the concept of Sustainable Development Goals of 2030.
- The summit will focus on ways to shape food systems nationally and globally, so as to accelerate progress towards the goal of sustainable development.
- In the summit-2021, the following 5 action strategies (action track) will be focused on.
- Safe and nutritious food
- Sustainable consumption pattern
- Nature positive production
- Advance equitable livelihoods
- Resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress
- The Corona virus led vulnerability and challenges faced by the humanity in food and the systems related to it, has further compiled to the need for reorienting our actions strategies and action beyond specific cropping or farming systems to whole agri-food systems covering production, consumption and distribution.
- It should be noted that India, with about 18 percent of the world’s population, is the paramount country in this food system summit. India has volunteered, to the Action Track 4: Advance Equitable Livelihoods for the UN Food System Summit
- To take this process forward, the government has formed a high-level departmental group headed by Professor Ramesh Chand, (Member, NITI Aayog), together with representatives from rural development and other ministries.
- Its main objective is to establish a national dialogue with all stakeholders of agri-food systems in order to explore national strategies towards creating a sustainable and equitable food system in India.
- For the first time in India, the dialogue on Agri-Food System-Improved Livelihood at the national level was held on 12 April 2021 in Delhi. The conference was attended by farmer organizations, civil society organizations, farmer producer organizations, research institutes and other government agencies.
Meaning of food system
Food system refers to the production, processing, transport and consumption of food items. Improved food systems have a profound impact on our health as well as our environment, economies and cultures.
Source – PIB
