Africa needs a Farm to Fork vision too, IFAD official says
Africa needs a ‘Farm to Fork’ vision to change its food systems in a more sustainable way and the EU can be at the centre of this transformation, according to a senior official of the United Nations fund for rural agriculture.
Dr Donal Brown is associate vice-president of the Programme Management department at the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). He spoke to EURACTIV’s journalist Gerardo Fortuna.
With its Farm to Fork strategy (F2F), the Commission aims to make the European food system a global standard for sustainability. Could this F2F model be exported in Africa too?
In Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown just how dependent the world is on small-scale farmers, while also highlighting the vulnerability of the food systems and of the lives and livelihoods of small-scale producers. A majority of them live in poverty and do not have food to put on the table.
Clearly, we need food systems in Africa that follow the Farm to Fork vision, that are sustainable, climate-adapted, that provide sufficient nutritious food for all, including those who produce it, and food systems that are efficient and resilient. Achieving this requires political will, knowledge and financial resources.
The Commission and the EU member states can be at the centre of the transformation of food systems in Africa providing leadership, transferring knowledge and nurturing local solutions, and providing ample financial resources to agricultural development, which would also contribute to eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
