A leading official of the Food and Agriculture Organisation has calledon private companies to further contribute to the worldwide effortagainst the widespread food shortage.
"Many of thecompanies that are here today are present in many countries. This isimportant because what you do locally against hunger can quickly becomeglobal", said FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva in a privatesector partnerships meeting held on October 10.
Atthe meeting, the official announced that FAO has set up a multi-donortrust fund to allow private sector companies to financially contributeto the organization's work and support FAO projects and programmes. "Iwelcome and encourage you to join this partnership and kick start thisnewly established fund," he said.
He explained thatFAO members approved the Strategy for Partnerships with the PrivateSector, which focuses around five main strategic objectives. "These arethe areas where I would like us to work together."
Hakan Bahceci, Chairperson of the Private Sector Mechanism (PSM) at theUN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome, thanked FAO DirectorGeneral for giving representatives of more than 10.000 companies theopportunity to meet and share priorities. He also expressed his supportfor the undergoing transformation in FAO to enhance cooperation with theprivate sector. "We share the five strategic objectives that FAOholds," he said.
This is the second of a series ofmeetings with the private sector that started last year and an effort tostrengthen the working relationship that includes the approval of astrategy and takes place in the framework of the Committee on FoodSecurity (CFS).
The dialogue between FAO and theprivate sector has made significant progress, including recentagreements with Rabobank Foundation and Grameen Foundation to supportsmallholder farmers. Collaborations with long-term partners such as theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation are also expanding.
Graziano da Silva underlined that although the new hunger figuresrecently released show that undernourishment continues to fall and thelatest estimates signal there are nearly 26 million fewer hungry peoplein the world in 2013, "we will need an exceptional level ofcollaboration between the public and private sector to bring the hungernumber down to zero and we need to work together to make a significantchange".
"Working with the private sector isnot only about receiving financial support, but also benefiting fromyour dynamism, innovation and entrepreneurship at the global, regionaland national level," said Director General to representatives ofagri-food stakeholders ranging from trade, investment and finance, foodprocessing, livestock, bioenergy and crop production. He stressedthat the private sector was a key actor in building the politicalconsensus necessary to support the fight against hunger and highlightedthe importance of the sector's participation in the Committee on WorldFood Security.
The Director-Genral recalled thatlast year the CFS approved the Voluntary Guidelines on the ResponsibleGovernance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context ofNational Food Security and expressed his hope that a similar agreementcould be found on the Principle for Responsible AgriculturalInvestments. He noted that the Second Ministerial Meeting on Food Pricesheld on October 7 had stressed the need to increase investment inagriculture and the urgency of agreeing on the principles.
"Eradicating hunger is about joining forces to scale up successfulprogrammes and linking actions for better results. In doing so, we needto work with small-scale producers, helping them increase theirproduction and productivity and linking them to value chains and tofunctioning markets," he said.
Graziano da Silvainvited the private sector to support the upcoming International Year ofFamily Farming in 2014 through joint advocacy, outreach andcommunications campaigns with FAO. He pointed out that farmersthemselves are an important part of the private sector worldwide.-VNA
"Many of thecompanies that are here today are present in many countries. This isimportant because what you do locally against hunger can quickly becomeglobal", said FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva in a privatesector partnerships meeting held on October 10.
Atthe meeting, the official announced that FAO has set up a multi-donortrust fund to allow private sector companies to financially contributeto the organization's work and support FAO projects and programmes. "Iwelcome and encourage you to join this partnership and kick start thisnewly established fund," he said.
He explained thatFAO members approved the Strategy for Partnerships with the PrivateSector, which focuses around five main strategic objectives. "These arethe areas where I would like us to work together."
Hakan Bahceci, Chairperson of the Private Sector Mechanism (PSM) at theUN Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome, thanked FAO DirectorGeneral for giving representatives of more than 10.000 companies theopportunity to meet and share priorities. He also expressed his supportfor the undergoing transformation in FAO to enhance cooperation with theprivate sector. "We share the five strategic objectives that FAOholds," he said.
This is the second of a series ofmeetings with the private sector that started last year and an effort tostrengthen the working relationship that includes the approval of astrategy and takes place in the framework of the Committee on FoodSecurity (CFS).
The dialogue between FAO and theprivate sector has made significant progress, including recentagreements with Rabobank Foundation and Grameen Foundation to supportsmallholder farmers. Collaborations with long-term partners such as theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation are also expanding.
Graziano da Silva underlined that although the new hunger figuresrecently released show that undernourishment continues to fall and thelatest estimates signal there are nearly 26 million fewer hungry peoplein the world in 2013, "we will need an exceptional level ofcollaboration between the public and private sector to bring the hungernumber down to zero and we need to work together to make a significantchange".
"Working with the private sector isnot only about receiving financial support, but also benefiting fromyour dynamism, innovation and entrepreneurship at the global, regionaland national level," said Director General to representatives ofagri-food stakeholders ranging from trade, investment and finance, foodprocessing, livestock, bioenergy and crop production. He stressedthat the private sector was a key actor in building the politicalconsensus necessary to support the fight against hunger and highlightedthe importance of the sector's participation in the Committee on WorldFood Security.
The Director-Genral recalled thatlast year the CFS approved the Voluntary Guidelines on the ResponsibleGovernance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context ofNational Food Security and expressed his hope that a similar agreementcould be found on the Principle for Responsible AgriculturalInvestments. He noted that the Second Ministerial Meeting on Food Pricesheld on October 7 had stressed the need to increase investment inagriculture and the urgency of agreeing on the principles.
"Eradicating hunger is about joining forces to scale up successfulprogrammes and linking actions for better results. In doing so, we needto work with small-scale producers, helping them increase theirproduction and productivity and linking them to value chains and tofunctioning markets," he said.
Graziano da Silvainvited the private sector to support the upcoming International Year ofFamily Farming in 2014 through joint advocacy, outreach andcommunications campaigns with FAO. He pointed out that farmersthemselves are an important part of the private sector worldwide.-VNA
