UN Food and Agriculture Organization cooperates with Nicaragua

By Guy José Bendaña-Guerrero & Asociados

The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, addressed the 2nd China-CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) Forum on Agriculture, where he stressed the importance of strong partnerships to overcome the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and announced a project to boost the use of digital technologies in the region.

In his remarks, Director-General Qu praised CELAC for seeking cooperation with other regions to face this challenge, and China for its firm commitment to cooperate for economic growth focused on shared prosperity, protecting the environment and the principles of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Through the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme, FAO has supported the efforts of CELAC to overcome the impact of the crisis, initially by providing an impact analysis to determine the effective regulatory instruments regarding the sustainability of food systems and food security. This measure has benefited several countries, including Nicaragua.

During the meeting, the Director-General announced that FAO is in the final phase of approving an ambitious regional programme to support the recovery of agri-food systems in 12 countries of the region, with support from the FAO-China Fund for South-South Cooperation.

"The project will promote knowledge sharing and development exchanges, based on China's advanced experience in the field of digital agriculture," he said.

"In addition, this project will support the design and set-up of the CELAC-China-FAO Digital Agriculture and Rural Development Facility in FAO's Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, to establish the technical and knowledge foundation for the promotion of digital solutions in the region."

All these efforts are part of FAO's broader objective aimed at supporting its Members to transform agri-food systems in order to provide food security and better nutrition for all, making them efficient, economically sustainable and inclusive, with a positive effect on the climate and the environment.

"Building green and inclusive agri-food systems is one of the most powerful ways to recover from the current crisis by Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment and a Better Life," the Director-General said.

He also highlighted the potential of CELAC countries as food producers (13 percent of the world's food) and exporters (45 percent of global net food exports), and noted that trade can boost farmers' productivity and income, encouraging their participation in markets and value chains, and contributing to greater efficiency in the use of natural resources.

"Data show us that, in low-income countries, investment in agriculture - especially family and small-scale farming - has a greater impact on poverty reduction than investment in other sectors," Qu said.

The Director-General noted that the recent FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, held in October 2020, had agreed to prioritize four highly relevant areas: innovation, international and interregional trade, strengthening partnerships with the private sector, and adaptation to climate change.

In this context, he stated that innovation is not just about new technologies, but also about financing, networking and new business models to accelerate the transformation process, highlighting the key role of private investors.