BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – The Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku has addressed delegates at the 1st UN Food Systems stocktaking moment in Rome Italy.
He highlighted the country’s PATHWAYS in food security. He has also met Italian under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Giorgio Silli on the sidelines of the meeting
“The food security situation in Eswatini has improved due to the favourable seasonal performance as compared to the previous season. Crop production registered a 27 percent increase in total maize yield,”
“The key drivers for the prevailing food security situation include the post Covid-19 effects and the impact of the fuel price increase on food prices. The current period of analysis (June to September 2022) has significantly improved from the IPC findings of the July –September 2021 period of the previous analysis, where 22 percent of the population was in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or above, a 6 percent decrease in IPC Phase 3 (Crisis) or higher,” he said.
The DPM then met FAO -Food and Agriculture Organisation, Director General Dongyu QU this was at the FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy.
The DPM is at the United Nations Food Systems Summit in Rome Italy where he is representing His Majesty King Mswati III in the Summit.
The UN Food Systems Summit+2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2) kicked off on Monday at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) headquarters in Rome with a high-level opening ceremony attended by over 20 heads of State and Government, and a strong call for accelerating action to transform global agrifood systems.
The three-day high-level event is convened by the United Nations Secretariat and hosted by Italy, in collaboration with the Rome-based UN Agencies (FAO, IFAD, WFP), with the objective of taking stock of the progress achieved since the first UN Food Systems Summit in 2021.
The opening ceremony was led by the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni.
In his opening speech, FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu, highlighted that the UN Food System Summit process has made it clear that agrifood systems hold huge power and potential in contributing to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
He noted the progress achieved in identifying the solutions that agrifood systems can provide for better production, better, nutrition, a better environment and a better life such as sustainable farming practices, efficient water management, responsible packaging, reforestation and reduced food waste and underlined that these depended on transforming global agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.
“In the face of increasing uncertainties and multiple crises, we need to urgently undertake this transformation to fulfil the high expectations we have from our agrifood systems,” he underscored.
