On the first day of the 29th session of the Committee of Agriculture, the organization is addressing the urgent need to transform agri-food systems to tackle a high number of global hunger. The hybrid meetings opened yesterday at the Food and Agriculture of the United Nations (FAO) Rome headquarters. 

The COAG is a Governing Body of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with over 130 Member Nations, that guides agriculture-related policies, reviews global agricultural issues and trends, and advises on emerging topics.

Its key roles include providing technical advice on issues ranging from sustainable crop and livestock production to how to manage land and water resources in a changing climate.

In the 2024 sessions to come, delegates will discuss a broad range of topics pertinent to agriculture and climate change like the sustainable management of plastics in agriculture, land, and water resources, bio-economy, agriculture and forestry linkages, the status of women in agri-food systems, and others.

With just six years left to achieve the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the organization reports that food insecurity around the world remains a major concern.

Hunger affected more than 730 million people in 2023, and about 2.8 billion people continued to be unable to afford a healthy diet.

The Director-General, QU Dongyu, recalled his attendance at the recent UN Summit for the Future and the UN General Assembly in New York, where global leaders met to reaffirm our collective commitment to leave no one behind, and to build a better future for all.

The Pact for the Future, created after the Summit of the Future, recognized the critical need to transform global agri-food systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient, and more sustainable, he said.