Miller Magazine Issue: 155 November 2022

NEWS 53 MILLER / NOVEMBER 2022 WORLD FOOD DAY EVENTS World Food Day is also an occasion to celebrate people whose actions are making a difference, such as FAO’s Food Heroes and the recipients of the FAO Awards, which showcase successful initiatives that support the realization of FAO’s man- date and the goals set out in its Strategic Framework 2022-31. The first-ever such award was handed to the Kirisia Community Forest Association (CFA) in Kenya, for their successful restoration of the Kirisia forest. In addition, a Junior World Food Day event was held with a host of food heroes including Pesquet, renowned Chef Joan Roca and Lebanese media professional and FAO Regional Goodwill Ambassador for the Near East and North Africa, Darine El Khatib. FAO-led or co-organized events designed to raise awareness about the global fight against hunger will continue to take centre stage in the coming week, with the second edition of the World Food Forum, which comprises the WFF Global Youth Forum, the FAO Science and Innovation Forum and the FAO Hand-in-Hand Investment Forum. The aim is to foster dialogue and debate among relevant stakeholders, including young people, farm- ers, small-scale producers, Indigenous Peoples, policymakers, agri-investors and scientists, who will be tuning in from the four corners of the world with one common goal: to move the needle of food security to achieve a better food future for all, leaving no one behind. CALL FOR ACTION Leaving no one behind means working on many fronts at the same time. For FAO, it includes Hand in Hand initiative, which is designed to accelerate agrifood systems’ transformations by eradicating poverty (SDG1), ending hunger and malnutrition (SDG2), reducing inequalities (SDG10), promoting decent rural employment and services, fostering gender equality, ensuring social protection, ending child labour, supporting local food pro- duction for vulnerable populations in food crisis countries, and supporting rural and Indigenous Peoples, who are the custodi- ans of much of the earth’s biodiversity. More should be done to assist small-scale farms, which pro- duce more than a third of the world’s food but represent 80 per- cent of the world’s producers. They are one of the foundations of the world’s agrifood systems, yet they are too often trapped in cycles of poverty and food insecurity and excluded from oppor- tunities in systems dominated by large producers and retailers. This requires transforming current agrifood systems to provide equal opportunities for all producers and helping smallholders gain access to newmarkets. Investments in training, incentives, science, data and innovation can go a long way in placing smallholders at the centre of this transformation and become active and equal agents of sustainable development. Finally, governments must in- tegrate a pledge to leave no one behind into their strategies, plans and budgets for achieving the UNSustainable Development Goals. 4B GROUP Open Belt Conveyor Closed Belt Conveyor Chain Conveyor www.go4b.com Silos Bucket Elevators SMART SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR PLANT CHECK OUT OUR 3D ANIMATION