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Tag: Mario Lubetkin

  • A Regional Commitment Is Underway For Food Security and a Sustainable Future

    A Regional Commitment Is Underway For Food Security and a Sustainable Future

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    Official photograph captured during the proceedings of the 8th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) convened in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Credit: CELAC
    • Opinion by Mario Lubetkin (santiago)
    • Inter Press Service
    • Mario Lubetkin is FAO Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean for Latin America and the Caribbean

    SANTIAGO, Mar 05 (IPS) – The regional commitment to fight hunger and malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean has made significant progress thanks to the update of the Food Security, Nutrition and Hunger Eradication Plan of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) for the period 2024-2030, known as the CELAC FNS Plan.

    This update was approved and ratified during the VIII Summit of Heads of State and Government of CELAC, held on March 1 in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

    This commitment evidence Latin America and the Caribbean’s significant contribution to accelerating the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals, aimed at achieving societies free of hunger, poverty, and inequality in the region.

    Our latest estimates show that, in 2022, 6.5 percent of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean suffered from hunger; this represented 2.4 million fewer people than in 2021. But the situation remains critical; hunger continues to affect 43.2 million people in the region.

    Likewise, limited access to resources and services, poverty, the aftermath of the pandemic, and conflicts as well as climate-related disasters, among other factors, are affecting the ecosystems on which food production and the livelihoods of farming communities depend and threaten efforts to ensure food security, nutrition and the sustainability of agrifood systems.

    In this scenario, the CELAC FNS Plan 2024-2030 is a concrete initiative, reflected in a unanimous response from more than thirty countries, which, at a ministerial level, agreed to update this document to address the challenge of hunger and food insecurity in the region.

    The new plan -developed in coordination with the Pro-Tempore Presidency, currently led by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the thirty-three CELAC countries, included broad participation and analysis with technical assistance from FAO, ECLAC, IICA, and ALADI- has become a benchmark for other regions of the world. Its implementation represents a milestone example of the consensus and political commitment of Latin America and the Caribbean.

    This plan, structured into four pillars, includes a conceptual basis to guide the countries concerning legal frameworks, sustainable production, access to healthy diets, and agrifood systems resilient to climate change.

    2024 could represent a decisive year for Latin America and the Caribbean to make progress in combating hunger and malnutrition and achieving more resilient and sustainable production systems. During 2023, we have consolidated a deep process of alliances, consensus, and dialogue that will soon be part of the FAO Regional Conference.

    We are in the final stretch of preparation for our Regional Conference to be held in March in Georgetown, Guyana, where we will facilitate exchanges and discussions that will be essential to guide FAO’s technical cooperation in the design and implementation of plans and projects tailored to the needs of the countries, and in line with the priorities defined by governments at the highest political level.

    In this regard, the reflections and resolutions arising from the updating and subsequent approval of the new CELAC FNS Plan also represent a significant contribution to the FAO Regional Conference.

    The preparation of the Regional Conference includes an extensive consultation process involving different stakeholders, such as the private sector, academia, civil society, and parliamentary groups; and of course, the participation of government officials from the thirty-three FAO Member Countries; as well as the presence of Heads of State and Ministers of Agriculture and other sectors committed to the search for more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.

    We hope that the results of the Conference, translated into FAO’s mandate, will be consolidated as a tangible response. The success of these efforts will depend on the collaboration of all to make the hope of a world without hunger a reality.

    © Inter Press Service (2024) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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  • Shared Responsibility: Eradicating Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean

    Shared Responsibility: Eradicating Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean

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    6.5% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean suffers from hunger, or 43.2 million people. Credit: FAO
    • Opinion by Mario Lubetkin (santiago)
    • Inter Press Service

    SANTIAGO, Nov 10 (IPS) – Mario Lubetkin is FAO Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the CaribbeanThe figures published by the latest Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023 are cause for great concern. The document is clear: hunger continues to significantly affect Latin America and the Caribbean.

    The reasons are varied; consequences of the pandemic, armed conflicts, climate crisis, economic slowdown, rising food inflation, and income inequality have all generated a difficult scenario that requires immediate action.

    Our region has an opportunity that we must not miss. Only with stability and peace will it be possible to achieve development and resolve food insecurity.

    According to the Regional Overview 2023, although Latin America and the Caribbean registers a slight drop of 0.5% in hunger levels when compared to the previous measurement, it is essential to remember that, despite this progress, we are still 0.9 percentage points above the hunger levels of 2019, prior to the outbreak of COVID-19.

    But hunger does not affect the region uniformly. In South America, there was a reduction of 3.5 million hungry people between 2021 and 2022, but there are still 6 million additional undernourished people compared to the pre-COVID-19 period. In Mesoamerica, the prevalence of hunger has barely changed, affecting 9.1 million people in 2022, representing 5.1%.

    The situation is worrisome in the Caribbean, where 7.2 million people experienced hunger in 2022, with an alarming prevalence of 16.3% of the population. Between 2021 and 2022, hunger increased by 700,000 people, and compared to 2019, the increase was 1 million people, with Haiti being one of the most affected countries.

    While hunger figures continue to concern us, overweight in children under five years of age continues to rise, exceeding the global estimate, and a quarter of the adult population lives with obesity.

    FAO recognizes the urgency of addressing this issue and is committed to updating the CELAC FNS Plan for food and nutritional security. The recent Buenos Aires Declaration of the VII CELAC Summit reaffirmed the commitment of the 33 member states to food security, agriculture, and sustainable development.

    This declaration emphasized the importance of updating the plan in accordance with the new international context and the challenges facing the region, with the technical assistance of global organizations like FAO and regional organizations such as ECLAC, IICA, and ALADI, to achieve a comprehensive solution.

    The update of the food plan takes into account national commitments related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, evidence-based policies and good practices in the region, providing a mechanism that contributes to the eradication of poverty, hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

    Eradicating hunger is a shared responsibility, and together we must redouble our efforts to ensure that no citizen of Latin America and the Caribbean goes hungry. Food security is essential for the well-being of our communities and the sustainable development of the region, and we must continue to work together, leaving no one behind. FAO is fully committed to this challenge.

    © Inter Press Service (2023) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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  • Food Loss and Waste: An Unacceptable Reality

    Food Loss and Waste: An Unacceptable Reality

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    When addressing food insecurity, it’s clear that insufficient food production isn’t the problem. According to FAO estimates, Latin America and the Caribbean could feed over 1.3 billion people, twice their population. Credit: Riccardo De Luca / FAO
    • Opinion by Mario Lubetkin (santiago)
    • Inter Press Service

    SANTIAGO, Sep 29 (IPS) – Mario Lubetkin is FAO Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the CaribbeanIn recent years, the population of Latin America and the Caribbean has seen a worrying increase in hunger figures, especially among the poorest in the region.

    When we talk about food insecurity in our region, as in the rest of the world, we realize that this problem does not stem from deficient food production. According to FAO estimates, Latin America and the Caribbean could feed more than 1.3 billion people, twice its population.

    Thus, where does this problem arise? A relevant factor in this matter is food loss and waste, which prevention is fundamental in the development of agri-food systems.

    In 2019, the United Nations General Assembly first established 29 September as International Food Loss and Waste Awareness Day, recognizing the positive impact of reversing FLW can have on people’s food and nutrition security.

    Four years after the declaration of this day, we must take stock of what we have achieved, look ahead and take immediate action to reverse a complex scenario with economic, social, environmental, and moral costs.

    According to FAO figures, 13% of the world’s food is lost in the supply chain, from post-harvest to retail, and a further 17% is wasted in households, food services, and retail. The highest levels of losses occur in nutrient-rich foods such as fruit and vegetables (32%), meat, and fish (12.4%).

    Inefficiencies along the food chain and in consumption also have a significantly impact on the environment. Therefore, preventing food loss and waste can help to combat hunger and the consequences of climate change through greenhouse gas emissions.

    Current scientific evidence points to innovative solutions that support family farming, distribution and supply systems, drive circular bio-economy actions, and target investments and funding to develop monitoring and early warning systems to prevent FLWs, as well as comprehensive legal frameworks aimed at prevention. But it is still not enough.

    At the end of August, the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean organized a discussion on how to prevent and reduce food losses and waste in the context of food security and nutrition, with the participation of the Holy See, representatives of the Chilean government, and FAO.

    This conversation explored ideas and solutions to move from reflection to action and to understand that ending the phenomenon of food loss and waste has a direct impact on the lives of individuals and society as a whole.

    The way forward is clear: to address this situation it is imperative to work in a coordinated and multi-sectoral way to achieve results quickly. Governments, businesses, civil society and academia must join forces, to generate evidence, investments in infrastructure and technology, and other measures to address this situation.

    Much needs to be done. Food loss and waste must be addressed from an ethical, political and scientific perspective. We are all responsible for this challenge.

    © Inter Press Service (2023) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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  • New Challenges in Agriculture in the Face of the El Ni񯠐henomenon

    New Challenges in Agriculture in the Face of the El Ni񯠐henomenon

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    If production decreases due to El Niño, there will be less food availability, and the income of the most vulnerable households that live and eat on what they produce will be reduced. Credit: Ligia Calderón / FAO
    • Opinion by Mario Lubetkin (santiago)
    • Inter Press Service

    SANTIAGO, Sep 01 (IPS) – Mario Lubetkin is FAO Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Latin America and the CaribbeanThe climatic phenomenon known as “El Niño” is intensifying its presence worldwide. Projections are not favorable for the countries of the Latin America region. Below-normal rainfall is expected in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, northern Venezuela, Colombia, Bolivia, inland Peru, Guyana, and Suriname.

    In addition, above-normal precipitation is projected for the northern coast of Peru and Ecuador associated with the “El Niño Costero” phenomenon.

    If production decreases due to El Niño, there will be less food availability, and the income of the most vulnerable households that live and eat on what they produce will be reduced.

    In case of rainfall deficit, food security will be affected, reducing the cultivated area, with effects on harvests and increased death, malnutrition, and diseases in livestock.

    On the other hand, excess rainfall associated with El Niño will also lead to crop failure. It will also deteriorate soils, cause death and disease in animals, and damage key infrastructure.

    It is critical to act now to reduce potential humanitarian needs. Protecting agriculture will directly impact food security and help prevent the escalation of food crises in the region.

    Meeting this challenge requires a robust strategy that addresses risks in the broader context of global climate change.

    FAO is implementing proactive actions to reduce potential humanitarian hardship in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador in the Dry Corridor in Central America.

    These actions include support for water management, storage, and harvesting; micro-irrigation systems; safe seed storage systems; use of resistant varieties; prophylaxis and livestock feed, among others. In this way, we have protected the 2023 post-harvest agricultural season. A similar program will soon be initiated in Bolivia, Venezuela and Colombia.

    In Ecuador, we will be supporting the implementation of drains and mechanisms to evacuate excess water from crops and prevent landslides, as well as providing equipment for seed and crop conservation, conservation of artisanal fishing production, and facilitating vaccination for livestock to mitigate the effects of El Niño Costero.

    FAO recently launched a response plan to raise US$36.9 million to assist vulnerable communities in Latin America. The initiative, announced as part of Humanitarian Assistance Month, aims to support 1.16 million people in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela.

    Without these efforts to reduce risk and act early, there will be a perpetual need for urgent humanitarian action and a growing risk of deterioration into new emergencies.

    With a more coordinated effort by international organizations, governments, the private sector, regional organizations, civil society, and communities, we can cope with events like El Niño and better protect livelihoods and food security, leaving no one behind.

    © Inter Press Service (2023) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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