China News Service, Beijing, February 27th (Liu Liang) Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, recently attended the 2nd China-Latin America and Caribbean Agriculture Ministers Forum, and at the same time announced that he would start a project to promote digital technology in Latin America and the Caribbean. Applications.
In his speech, Qu Dongyu pointed out that the new crown epidemic has exacerbated the growing inequality in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the fight against hunger in the region faces the risk of a 20-year setback.
He praised the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) for seeking cooperation with other regions to jointly tackle this challenge, and appreciated China’s firm commitment to further advance economic cooperation, promote common prosperity, protect the environment and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. .
Through its COVID-19 Comprehensive Response and Comprehensive Recovery Plan, FAO supports CELAC in overcoming the impact of the crisis. The first measure is to provide an impact analysis to determine the sustainability of the food system and effective supervision methods for food security.
Countries that benefit from this measure include Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela, and the small island states of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States.
Qu Dongyu announced at the meeting that during Mexico’s chairmanship of CELAC, FAO, with the support of the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Trust Fund, will support the agricultural and food systems of 12 countries in the region through a large-scale plan To achieve restoration, the plan has now entered the final stage of approval.
He said: "This project will promote knowledge sharing and development experience exchange based on China's advanced experience in the field of digital agriculture."
"In addition, the project will support the FAO Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean in the design and establishment of the LAC-China-FAO Digital Agriculture and Rural Development Center, laying a technical and knowledge foundation for the promotion of digital solutions in the region. "
He also emphasized that CELAC countries, as food producing countries (accounting for 13% of world food production) and exporting countries (accounting for 45% of global food exports), have great potential, and pointed out that trade can increase farmers’ productivity and income. Encouraging farmers to participate in the market and value chain will help improve the efficiency of natural resource utilization.
Data show that in low-income countries, investment in the agricultural sector has a greater impact on poverty reduction than investment in other sectors, which is particularly prominent in households and small-scale agriculture.
He pointed out that the FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean held in October last year reached an agreement on the organization’s regional work priorities, clarifying four main interrelated areas of work: innovation, international and inter-regional trade, and strengthening and private sector Partnerships and adaptation to climate change.
In this regard, he pointed out that innovation is not only about new technologies, but also about financing, network relationships and new business formats that promote accelerated transformation, and private sector investors will play a key role in this process.
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