Source material and useful links for Food Security briefings

28/7/2021: After more than 20 years of negotiations, the World Trade Organization has moved a step closer to an agreement on ending harmful fishing subsidies. The deal would set new rules for the global fishing industry, eliminating subsidies for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and that contribute to overcapacity and overfishing.

Source: China Dialogue

Rival visions compete as UN gears up for summit to defeat hunger

26/7/2021: Debate is heating up on whether the famines of tomorrow will best be prevented by intensive production – driven by technology – or by smaller-scale, eco-friendly practices. Many activists and farmers’ groups are boycotting preparations for September’s first-ever UN Food Systems Summit.

Source: The New Humanitarian

FAO Director-General outlines pathways to end hunger

28/7/2021: The Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization has called for renewed global efforts to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030. There was broad agreement at the Pre-Summit to the autumn UN Food Systems Summit that current agri-food systems do not work for much of the world population – or indeed, for the planet.

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

iPES-Food withdraws from the UN Food Systems Summit

26/7/2021: Members of IPES-Food are stepping down from roles held within the UN Food Systems Summit process due to lack of resolution on a number of fundamental governance issues. Concerns raised by farmers’ organizations, social movements, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and independent scientists, have yet to be addressed by the organizers of the Summit.

Source: iPES Food

Philippines approves 'golden rice' for commercial production

23/7/2021: The Philippines has become the world's first country to approve commercial production of genetically modified "golden rice". The modification carries vitamin A which is essential for normal growth in children, the proper functioning of the immune system, and vision. Golden rice has faced strong resistance from environmental groups opposed to genetically altered food plants.

Source: CNA

A golden opportunity to end destructive fishing subsidies

14/7/2021: The Director-General of the World Trade Organization is calling on members to conclude an agreement to limit national fishing subsidies in time for the UN Biodiversity Conference in October. The depletion of fish stocks threatens the food security of low-income coastal communities and the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable fishers.

Source: Project Syndicate

Pandemic year marked by spike in world hunger

12/7/2021: A multi-agency UN report, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, estimates that around a tenth of the global population - up to 811 million people - were undernourished last year. This represents a dramatic worsening of world hunger in 2020, much of it likely related to the fallout of COVID-19.

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

2030 food security prospects for a growing world population

5/6/2021: The OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2021-2030 provides policy-makers with an assessment of the ten-year prospects for 40 main farm and fisheries products. Productivity improvements will be key to feeding a growing global population - projected to reach 8.5 billion by 2030.

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization

Global fishing subsidies harm food security in low income countries

6/7/2021: A new report shows that the world’s top fishing nations are using subsidies worth billions of dollars to exploit the waters of some of the world’s least-developed countries. The largest subsidies are provided by China, Japan and the European Union.

Source: Mongabay

Can millets ensure future food security in a warming world?

6/7/2021: Millet has been recognized for its climate-resilient characteristics, its potential to solve global nutritional insecurity, and as a sustainable alternative to major cereals. Can the dominant global staples of wheat, rice, and maize be changed?

Source: Devex

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