Private sector engages with FAO on improving food security and agriculture sector sustainability

Brussels/Istanbul/Budapest 

Private sector organizations from Europe and Central Asia are preparing to make a collective statement to the upcoming Thirty-fourth Session of the Regional Conference for Europe and Central Asia (ERC34) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which will be hosted by the Republic of Moldova at FAO headquarters in Rome, 14 to 17 May. 

The Regional Conference is the biennial governing body session of FAO Members from the region, and includes participation from representatives of United Nations agencies, observers from intergovernmental and non-governmental sectors, research and academia, civil society, and the private sector.

The private sector organizations engaged in discussions to draft their statement to ERC34 during consultations led by FAO in Brussels, and hosted by Copa-Cogeca, for those organizations based there on 15 April, and a second FAO consultation in Istanbul on 18 April, hosted by the Federation of Food & Drink Industry Associations of Türkiye, for non-EU-based private sector organizations, and met again collectively on 7 May to formulate their statements to the conference and select three spokespersons to present those statements on topics of the agenda of the conference The three speakers are: 

Alexander Anton, Secretary General of European Dairy Association, Pinar Erdil, Deputy Secretary General of Izmir Commodity Exchange, and Tobias Gras, Senior policy Advisor of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. 

For FAO, as the UN technical agency for agriculture and food security, private sector engagement requires finding where the Organization’s priorities align with those of the private sector and building upon available expertise and resources to implement successful projects and programmes. FAO–private sector dialogues such as those recently held are important fora for the exchange of perspectives, experiences, and goals. FAO also recognizes and emphasizes that strong interfaces between science and practice, public and private sectors are vital to the transformation of agrifood systems to be more environmentally sustainable, more equitable, provide more adequate livelihoods and ensure food security for all. This is the vision of the 2030 Agenda, and its deadline for achieving this goal is fast approaching. 

“The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 calls for broader, deeper, and more efficient engagement of the private sector, while at the same time, respecting FAO’s core values and its neutrality and integrity,” commented Darya Alekseeva, FAO’s Regional Partnership Development Officer.

To reach the 2030 Agenda, the private sector’s capacity to mobilize resources for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable agrifood systems transformation must be integrated into the process of improving the agriculture sector, but it remains one of the challenging ones in terms of diversity of the sector and its priorities. Regional and country context should also be considered, while creating synergies and establishing ways to cooperate with businesses.

The meetings were attended by the representatives of various sectors, from banking industries to agrifood companies, to processing, and packaging. Private sector representatives underlined the need for more involvement of FAO in policy formulation, digitalization, and innovation, creating enabling environment for more financing and investments in the agrifood systems transformation, as well as support to farmers’ and rural development, both in the EU-and non-EU countries. To optimize financing towards SDG2-related investments, various mechanisms such as blended partnerships and innovative approaches are the way forward. Climate change adaptation policies and investments were emphasized at each meeting as crucial for sustainable management of natural resources, biodiversity, and resilience of agriculture sector. 

A comprehensive and collaborative approach and multi-stakeholder initiatives or public-private sector partnerships, whereby the private sector is included as one of the main actors, are strongly encouraged by FAO. These partnerships are one of the drivers of long-term sustainability, but the recent meetings highlighted the need to be more strategic and targeted in terms of joint activities and outcomes.

The private sector participants also voiced the challenges in creating, developing, and implementing partnerships from its perspective. Collaboration and cooperation are an organic process, in constant evolution, and can only thrive and be effective if such partnerships are mutually beneficial.

“We have enjoyed fruitful cooperation with FAO throughout the years and looking forward to developing it further in the future,” said Patrick Pagani, Deputy-Secretary of Copa-Cogeca. “Current challenges in food and agriculture, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, scarce water resources, food security rural development require collaboration on all levels, via multistakeholder initiatives and joint work.”

“The dialogue with FAO and other private sector representatives in the region allows us to underscore a wider perspective on the current issues and challenges in the area of food and agriculture, as well as possible joint activities to accelerate sustainable agrifood systems transformation,” said Demir Sarman Chairman of the Federation of Food & Drink Industry Associations of Türkiye. “Participation of the private sector representatives at the Regional Conference gives further emphasis to the role private sector can and will play in driving sustainable transformation in the food and agriculture sector.”