DUBAI- Dr. Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, has said the world celebrated the World Food Day to raise awareness of the importance of food and agriculture, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

World Food Day is observed every year on 16th October in remembrance of the day when FAO was founded in 1945.

In an exclusive statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Torero, said, "We celebrate World Food Day at Expo 2020 Dubai, and we highlight the importance of changing food systems to ensure a better life." "We are facing major challenges today, as we have up to 811 million people living in chronic, persistent hunger, that is 160 million more people than in 2019, and therefore we have to do a significant change in our agri-food systems.

"When we talk about food systems, we are not only talking about food, but also health, the environment, sustainability and climate. Everything we do to achieve zero hunger will positively impact other sectors," he added.

He explained that one of the main challenges is to put on track the changes until reaching the goal of ending hunger by 2030. He pointed out that around US$40 billion to US$50 billion are needed every year until 2030 to make changes in agri-food systems to end hunger by 2030.

With its theme ‘Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life,’ World Food Day at Expo 2020 Dubai is being celebrated by a joint programme from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), SDG2 Advocacy Hub and Expo 2020 Dubai.

 

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