BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – Deputy Prime Minister Themba Nhlanganiso is attending the UN Food Systems Summit which is taking place in Rome, Italy until July 26, 2023.
Masuku is there on behalf of the His Majesty King Mswati III. The Summit is hosted in collaboration with the Rome-based UN Agencies (FAO, IFAD, WFP), the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub and the wider UN system.
Worth mentioning is that the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment will build on the momentum of the 2021 Food Systems Summit and create a conducive space for countries to review progress on the commitments to action and identify successes, enduring bottlenecks and priorities in order to close the implementation gap by effectively and efficiently utilizing the Means of Implementation for food systems transformation.
It will also be an opportunity to further socialize the powerful role of sustainable, equitable, healthy and resilient food systems as critical SDG accelerators and advocate for urgent action at scale, building on the latest evidence that sustainable food systems contribute to better and more sustainable outcomes for people, planet and prosperity leaving no one behind.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General convened a Food Systems Summit on September 23, 2021, to launch bold new actions as part of the UN’s Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The stated goal of the Food Systems Summit was to transform the way the world produces, consumes and thinks about foods within the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to meet the challenges of poverty, food security, malnutrition, population growth, climate change, and natural resource degradation. See the UN Food Systems Summit website for more information on the Summit.
At the Summit, the United States announced its commitment to $10 billion in multi-year initiatives to strengthen food security and nutrition for all, accelerate climate change mitigation and adaptation, and expand inclusive food systems at home and abroad, especially for the most vulnerable. USDA highlighted $5 billion in planned domestic investments, half of the $10 billion announced, and several steps it has taken to advance the goals of ending hunger and malnutrition and building more sustainable, resilient and inclusive food systems.
USDA Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh headed the United States delegation at the Pre-Summit Ministerial of the Food Systems Summit, held in Rome, Italy from July 26-28, 2021. Deputy Secretary Bronaugh and other U.S. government officials, many of whom participated virtually in the Pre-Summit, promoted U.S. priorities for the Summit and laid the groundwork for meaningful Summit outcomes (news release).
In the lead-up to the UN Food Systems Summit, USDA hosted three National Food Systems Dialogues to facilitate inclusive dialogue on sustainable food systems.
More than 200 stakeholders took part, including farmers, food industry representatives, environmental groups, nutrition and food security advocates, unions and advocates for farm and food systems workers, and researchers.
