CIFTIS 2022 - International Forum for Development and Investment of Modern Supply Chain of Food

A recording of these remarks can be found on YouTube and Tencent Video

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen

I thank the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges, and the China National Association for Grain Sector for the invitation to address the 2022 International Forum for Development and Investment of Modern Supply Chain of Food.

Economies worldwide are striving to recover from the damaging consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, which left many people struggling to regain employment and re-establish businesses, against the backdrop of ongoing macroeconomic challenges in many countries and territories experiencing food crises.

In 2021, the number of people affected by hunger globally rose to as many as 828 million, an increase of 150 million since the outbreak of COVID-19.

The already fragile food security situation was further exacerbated by the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in early 2022. I quote UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who said, “For people around the world, the war [in Ukraine], together with the other crises, is threatening to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake. No country or community will be left untouched by this cost-of-living crisis.”

With the Russian Federation and Ukraine being among the most important producers of agricultural commodities in the world, the crisis has sent shockwaves through global markets.

Supply chain and food security analyses by the World Food Programme (WFP) underscored that the conflict upended global food and energy markets and piled further pressure on food and fuel prices. These pressures have seen the number of people facing acute food insecurity grow from 282 million at the beginning of the year to around 345 million people across 82 countries today.

Looking ahead, it is hard to be optimistic, as global economic growth is projected to slow significantly this year and next, from 6.1 per cent in 2021 to around 3.6 per cent in 2023 and 2024, affecting the public finances and international cooperation budgets of countries.

And yet, we must confront these challenges and redouble our efforts in order to get the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) back on track and realize the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Building resilient agri-food systems is an important part of these efforts. The UN Food Systems Summit convened last September issued a strong call for countries to take concrete measures to build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress.

Similar calls were issued by the UN’s Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG), the initiative established to tackle the interconnected challenges of food security, energy and financing. The GCRG recently launched the Black Sea Grain Initiative to allow for significant volumes of commercial food exports to depart from three key Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea, and paved the way for the first shipment to leave the port of Odesa on 1 August 2022. Indeed, this is a “beacon of hope,” as the Secretary-General said.

Ladies and gentlemen, Climate change, extreme weather, urbanization, conflicts, demographics and shifting diets have long cast a shadow over food systems globally.

With just 9% of the world’s arable land, China feeds 1.4 billion people. China has important lessons to share with the rest of the world. China plays a vital role in securing the global food supply chain, adopting digitally innovative means under the framework of South-South Cooperation. As an integral part of the food value chain, digital innovations like e-commerce have already demonstrated great potential in dealing with the interruptions caused by the pandemic in China, benefiting both supply and demand. In the transition of agri-food systems towards greater sustainability, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) could play a crucial role in bridging the knowledge gap to help achieve the SDGs in China and around the world.

The UN is committed to providing its expertise to promote cooperation between developing countries, including by establishing e-agriculture as a platform for knowledge exchange and sharing related to ICTs for agriculture.

For instance, WFP, known for its supply chain experience and support, enables partners to reach those in need through common services, helping to stabilize national food systems, by diversifying supplier bases, promoting local food procurement, and supporting local agricultural markets through emergency assistance and resilience-building projects.

Moreover, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the International Fund for Agricultural Development have joined forces to foster inclusive and sustainable family farming as a cornerstone for vibrant, productive and profitable agriculture across the Near East and North Africa.

The UN system in China stands ready to help connect, convene and catalyze further cooperation between China and other stakeholders, through established UN mechanisms and the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2021-2025).

Around one-third of global agricultural and food exports are traded within a global value chain. In our ever-interconnected world, we must come together to ensure market value chains that foster more sustainable economic, social and environmental outcomes. 

In this rapidly evolving market environment, we should leave no one behind and redouble efforts to include smallholder farmers in modern food value chains, thus securing rural incomes and food security in rural and urban areas.

I wish you productive deliberations at the forum today. Thank you.