With FAO’s support, the United Nations General Assembly adopts resolutions related to agrifood systems transformation

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted resolutions on agriculture development, food security and nutrition, eradicating rural poverty, agricultural technology for sustainable development, and sustainable mountain development. FAO supported the processes for these resolutions in the UNGA's Economic and Financial Committee (Second Committee) processes for these resolutions offering technical inputs for the Secretary-General reports that informed United Nations Member States' discussions and providing Secretariat support during informal consultations, together with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).  

The resolution on agriculture development, food security and nutrition specifically highlights the concerning statistics on hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition contained in FAO's State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. The resolution was informed by the Report of the Secretary-General and proposes solutions to the aforementioned challenges through the transformation of agrifood systems.

The resolution on eradicating rural poverty to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development stresses the importance of bridging the financing gap to end hunger and some forms of malnutrition and to increase the affordability of healthy diets. The resolution was informed by the Report of the Secretary-General, which reviews global progress in reducing rural poverty and has a focus on rural youth.

With regards to agricultural technology for sustainable development, the resolution spotlights the potential of digital technologies in agriculture. The resolution was informed by the Report of the Secretary-General, which highlights the potential of agricultural technologies to accelerate transformative changes in agrifood systems and emphasizes the need to ensure that new technologies are accessible and affordable in all countries and benefit rural communities, women, young people and Indigenous Peoples, leaving no one behind.

The resolution on sustainable mountain development was informed by the Report of the Secretary-General which was co-drafted by the FAO-hosted Mountain Partnership Secretariat and DESA. The resolution encourages UN Member States to take a long-term vision and holistic approach to sustainable mountain development by incorporating mountain-specific policies into national sustainable development strategies and increasing efforts to end poverty and address food insecurity and malnutrition.

The 80th session of the Second Committee also considered the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028, UNDFF), based on a report co-drafted by FAO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) that provide the joint secretariat of the observances. The report informs that 16 countries have adopted national action plans for family farming. Since the start of the decade, the process has involved more than 2 625 relevant actors, including 1 853 family farmers' organizations and federations.