Government Discusses Food Security at FAO Council Meeting

49 Board Member Countries Including Korea Attend... COVID-19 Response and Strategy Through 2031

On the afternoon of February 18, before the government supplied an additional 60,000 tons of government rice to stabilize rice supply and demand, an official is seen inspecting the condition of stored rice at a public reserve rice storage warehouse in Ochang-eup, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 2nd that it attended the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Council for five days starting from the 26th of last month to discuss food security and international agricultural cooperation measures in the post-COVID-19 era. The FAO Council includes 49 member countries such as Korea, as well as the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the World Health Organization (WHO). This FAO Council meeting is the second since the outbreak of COVID-19 and is scheduled to be held three times this year.

The meeting, held via video conference, was simultaneously attended by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the Embassy of Korea in Italy. The member countries received reports on the FAO’s 2022-23 business budget adjustment plan and the activities of its subsidiary committees, and discussed 'FAO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic' and the mid-to-long-term roadmap, the '2022?31 Strategic Framework.' These two agenda items are expected to be finalized at the 42nd FAO General Conference next month, reflecting the opinions of the member countries.

Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General, requested support from the member countries for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in his opening remarks and shared the mid-to-long-term strategic framework and FAO’s pandemic response cases to be pursued over the next decade. The SDGs are a plan implemented jointly by the UN and the international community from 2016 to 2030.

The member countries highly evaluated FAO’s efforts to establish sustainable food systems and implement recovery programs to achieve the SDGs amid the global impact of the pandemic. Our side emphasized that "the mid-to-long-term vision presented by FAO for achieving the SDGs is a very important task," urging to "strengthen the linkage between the 2022?2031 Strategic Framework and the SDGs." Additionally, it was mentioned that "to achieve the SDGs, cooperation with academia, research institutions, and others should be expanded based on the '2021?25 Private Sector Cooperation Promotion Strategy.'"

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