FAO focuses on food security at conference in Khartoum

The conference with the theme of ‘Sustainable development of agriculture and food systems in Africa: improving the means of production and the creation of decent and attractive employment for youth,’ is an important forum for policy dialogue and debate on the future direction of food security and nutrition, agricultural transformation in Africa as well as setting priorities for the regional governance of FAO actions in the 2018-2019 biennium.

Bukar Tijani, assistant-director general and regional representative for FAO Africa, said that the goal of ending hunger can be achieved by scaling up joint efforts and fostering partnership towards resource mobilisation, including the promotion of South-South cooperation.

He noted, “FAO is strongly committed to support the African Union (AU) Malabo Declaration and the commitment to end hunger by the year 2025.”

The discussions will focus on improving the business environment, providing young people with the right skills and education and increasing their active participation in policy processes.

Tijani further mentioned that the main recommendations of the last ARC came in five main areas:

· Value chain development, youth employment and agri-food system development

· Promotion of sound institutional and policy and regulatory frameworks

· Disaster management/resilience building

· Resource mobilisation from Green Climate Funds (GCF)

· Country programming frameworks (CPFs) contributing to the achievement of FAO’s Strategic Objectives as well as the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development and its goals (SDGs) and Malabo Declaration

He further encouraged all stakeholders across the region and beyond to work together to create more synergies, consolidate existing collaborations and forge new alliances for an inclusive growth and a shared prosperity in Africa, as envisioned by the AU Agenda 2063.