Global food security, already severely tested by climate change and the pandemic, is today seriously compromised by the war in Ukraine and the consequent surge in food prices. According to the United Nations, the number of people who today cannot afford a healthy diet is in fact almost 3.1 billion. Following the Italian proposal accepted by the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, the Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed and the Deputy President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani, during their meeting today, announced that the UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment will take place in Rome from 24 to 26 July 2023, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This is the second UN Summit on food systems, after the Food System Summit in September 2021, for which Italy had hosted a preparatory event in July 2021: the Pre-Food System Summit in Rome. During the Food System Summit, more than 50,000 people, including 77 heads of state and government from 193 countries, pledged to accelerate the transformation of food systems in a sustainable key, in line with the 2030 Agenda.
The Food Systems Stocktaking Moment will be held in Italy exactly two years after the Rome Pre-Summit. Heads of State and Government and Ministers of UN member countries will take part, as well as its main agencies – in particular, in addition to FAO, the World Food Program (WFP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) – and numerous interlocutors from all over the world, including food producers, the private sector, representatives of civil society, researchers, indigenous peoples and the youth world.
The aim will be to offer countries the opportunity to report on the progress made at the national level since the 2021 summit and on their contributions to achieving the 2030 Agenda, in a profoundly changed global context compared to two years ago. During the event, the central role of food systems and their transformation for the progress of the SDGs will also be particularly highlighted in view of the Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals in September 2023.
As host country, Italy will play a fundamental role there in conducting the collective discussion on the fight against food insecurity, and at the same time will be able to present the most relevant projects and collaborations that our agri-food chain implements on the global stage, with the aim of assisting the effort of the international community.