82 FOOD, AGRICULTURE & WATER
FAO DIRECTOR GENERAL’S
ADDRESS AT THE UNITED
NATIONS SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT
SEPTEMBER 25TH, 2015
José Graziano da Silva, Director-General, FAO
Mr. President, Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to start by congratulating
you all for adopting the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development.
We have given ourselves an enormous
task, that begins with the historic
commitment of not only reducing but
also eradicating poverty, hunger in a
sustainable way.
The new agenda clearly recognizes the centrality of
food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture
development.
The full range of Sustainable Development Goals cannot
be achieved without rapid progress in eliminating hunger
and malnutrition by 2030.
At the same time, reaching
the other SDGs will make easier the task of ending
hunger and extreme poverty.
We have made progress in the past years, but we still
have many challenges ahead.
The number of hungry people has dropped by over 200
million since 1990. Over 70 developing countries, out
of the 120 monitored by FAO, have met the Millennium
Development Goal hunger target. The combination of productive support
and social protection is the only way to
ensure the food and nutritio n security of
today´s hungry.
But there is much more to be done. The three Rome-based Agencies have
estimated the additional investment
needed to end hunger: only 160 dollars
per year per person living in extreme
poverty in the next 15 years.
Nearly 800 million people continue to suffer from chronic
hunger. This is unacceptable.
We can only rest when we achieve zero hunger. To do
so we must invest responsibly, responding to the needs
of the world´s poor population, and promote inclusive
growth.
Agriculture and rural development are central to this
effort, as over 70 percent of the world´s poor and food
insecure live in rural areas of developing countries.
This represents less than half percent of
the global income in 2014. And it is only
a small fraction of the cost that hunger
and malnutrition impose on economies,
societies and people.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
It is clear that we need to build more sustainable
agriculture and food systems, that are resilient to stresses We have an enormous task ahead of us.
and better able to cope with – and respond to the
But one that we can tackle successfully if
climate change impact
we work together.
But let me add that investing in sustainable agriculture is
crucial, but still not enough. FAO has supported the Post-2015
Development Agenda process.
Ending hunger also needs well-designed social
protection systems. FAO is committed to continue to be part of
this effort, by supporting governments and
working with non-state actors to achieve
the Sustainable Development Goals
This is the time to unite our forces to realize
the “Future we want”.
Thank you for your attention.