79th Session of the Second Committee of the UNGA, Joint Discussion of agenda items 22. Eradication of poverty and 24. Agriculture development, food security and nutrition

Additionally, climate change acts as a poverty multiplier. It is projected to push an additional 32 to 132 million people into extreme poverty by 2030. Rural poor populations experience higher risks and vulnerability to climate change due to factors such as reliance on climate-sensitive livelihoods, fragile infrastructures and limited means to cope with shocks.

Not only are the impacts of climate change unequal and unjust, climate action can also impose disproportionate burdens on the poorest. Adaptation measures require resources that poor rural households do not have and risks that poor rural households may find difficult to take. Climate mitigation policies often increase the cost of essential goods such as fuel, housing and land. These concerns have coalesced into a focus on the need for a just transition.

Eradicating rural poverty is possible but it requires concerted strategies to address the environmental, economic, social and institutional challenges that perpetuate rural poverty.

The committee could recommend that Member States:

• First, develop and implement, in close collaboration and consultation with the communities involved, comprehensive human rights-based policies that address both rural poverty and climate change, protecting rural communities from shocks and increasing their resilience to future crises.
• Second, boost climate finance for smallholders, family farmers and for rural areas to enhance adaptation across sectors, including agriculture, water and sanitation, energy, tourism, housing, waste management, roads and transport and public services, such as health care, education and social protection, noting that smallholders receive only 1.7 per cent of global climate financing for adapting to, mitigating and addressing loss and damage.
• Third, adopt a systems approach that emphasizes synergies across multiple sectors to address the diverse constraints experienced by the rural poor.

Distinguished Delegates,

I am now drawing your attention to the report of the Secretary-General on agriculture development, food security and nutrition.

With only six years left to deliver on the 2030 Agenda, progress across SDG2 and the SDGs and targets is far off track. While we strive to realize the right to food, the path to sustainable development intertwines inseparably with climate and social justice actions.

Between 713 million and 757 million people, or 1 out of 11, may have faced hunger in 2023. Conflict, climate extremes, economic slowdowns and downturns, lack of access to and unaffordability of healthy diets, and persistent inequality continue to drive food insecurity and malnutrition worldwide.

The situation varies across regions: while hunger continues to rise in Africa, it has remained relatively unchanged in Asia, and decreased in Latin America. Africa remains the most affected by hunger with 20.4 percent of its population impacted, compared to 8.1 percent in Asia, 6.2 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 7.3 percent in Oceania. However, Asia accounts for more than half of the world's hungry population.

Climate change is a major factor slowing progress in food security. While agricultural productivity has increased, climate change has negatively impacted global productivity in mid-latitude regions over the past 50 years. Rural women and rural poor are disproportionately affected by climate-related events.

The convergence of conflict, economic shocks, financial constraints, extreme weather, and inflation poses significant risk to food security in 2024, with crises in Sudan and Gaza requiring immediate action.

Distinguished delegates,

The Report emphasizes a systemic approach to bring results at scale connecting all sectors, actors, activities, and adjusting outcomes to specific contexts; leveraging partnerships and collaborations, mobilizing complementary financial and other resources, enabling access to and dissemination of technologies and expertise are among gamechangers.

It calls for more effective re-purposing and mobilization of finance from a range of sources, particularly for small holders and family farmers.

It calls for applying a targeted true cost accounting assessment of the environmental, social, health and economic costs and benefits generated by agrifood systems, which can generate insights into how to manage trade-offs with foresight on the outcomes of policies in terms of efficiency, as well as equity, nutrition, health and environmental quality.