Uniting innovators and stakeholder from the global food value chain at Expo 2020 Dubai’s Food, Agriculture and Livelihoods Week, from 17th to 23rd February, to spotlight food systems that are productive, inclusive of poor and marginalised populations.
Environmentally sustainable and resilient, and deliver healthy and nutritious diets for all.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the vulnerability of global food systems, with resilient food systems lying at the heart of the Sustainable Development Goals, which call for major transformations in food systems to end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition by 2030.
With this in mind, the Theme Week, held in collaboration with Expo 2020, the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, and PepsiCo, the Official Beverage and Snack Partner of Expo 2020 Dubai, will feature numerous expert panel discussions, including the Food, Agriculture and Livelihoods Business Forum (21st February) and flagship event Good Food for All (20th February), both at Dubai Exhibition Centre, Expo 2020 Dubai.
Spotlights on Africa - Climate-Resilient Solutions for Greater Food Security in the Sahel (22nd February), raises awareness on the challenges and opportunities in Africa’s Sahel region regarding climate action and food security efforts. It will also showcase the Great Green Wall initiative, alongside other climate change and food security-focused projects led by youth, women, smallholders, herders and social entrepreneurs.
Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Director-General, Expo 2020 Dubai, said,
"As an unassailable pillar of human dignity, food security has always been a priority for the UAE and its leadership, anchored in our Bedouin roots long before the nation was founded 50 years ago. Indeed, the way we cultivate food through our interconnected agriculture systems, against a backdrop of an ever-expanding global population, must also honour our shared duty to preserve and protect our planet – seeking out an equitable system that rewards responsible and productive practices, while protecting lands and the communities that call them home."
Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, said,
"Enhancing food security and addressing related challenges should be at the front and centre of the world’s agenda. Despite global hunger eradication efforts, 2020 saw between 720 and 811 million people facing hunger, highlighting the urgent need to transform our food systems into resilient and sustainable ones to feed the fast-growing global population. Expo 2020 Dubai’s Food, Agriculture and Livelihoods Week provides an ideal platform to spur the conversation, source solutions from stakeholders across the global food value chain, and help put the world back on track to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero Hunger by 2030."
Eugene Willemsen, Chief Executive Officer, Africa, Middle East, South Asia at PepsiCo, said,
"As a global food and beverage company that does business in more than 200 countries and territories and uses more than 25 crops sourced from 60 different countries, we have an opportunity and a responsibility to leverage our size and global scale to help build a more sustainable food system; one that preserves the planet and positively impacts the people and communities we work with and serve. We are proud to take positive steps, as part of our PepsiCo Positive (pep+) framework, towards tackling the global hunger crisis and helping to create a more sustainable future for all."
Speakers across the week’s extensive programme also include Andres Valenciano, Minister of Foreign Trade, Costa Rica; Natasa Pilides, Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Cyprus, and Damien O’Connor, Minister of Agriculture, and Minister for Trade and Export Growth, New Zealand Government.
Alongside Willemsen, others set to feature include Cristina Bowerman, world-renowned chef at Michelin Star restaurant Glass Hostaria in Rome, TedX speaker and author; Nigel Hughes, Senior Vice President, Global Innovation and Research and Development, Kellogg Company, and Enock Chikava, Deputy Director, Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
This is the ninth of ten Theme Weeks held throughout the six months of Expo 2020 Dubai, forming part of the Programme for People and Planet, as an exchange of inspiring new perspectives to address the greatest challenges and opportunities of our time.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
