The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly called for a collective action to end hunger by 2030 during the kick-off ceremony of the 2019 World Food Day (WFD) at the DA Central Office on October 14, 2019.
The two agencies urged everyone to think about their actions following the theme of this year’s celebration, “Our Actions are Our Future. Healthy Diets. For a #ZeroHunger World.”
DA Undersecretary for Operations Ariel Cayanan, on behalf of Agriculture Secretary William Dar said that the WFD theme is a “call for a stronger, global, national, and multi-sectoral effort to fight hunger and malnutrition and feed the planet in a sustainable way.”
He added that agriculture has a unique and critical role in improving the world’s nutritional status.
“For DA, it means helping the agri-fishery sector to produce more food, raise rural incomes, ensure environmental sustainability, and thus contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” Cayanan said.
According to the FAO, achieving Zero Hunger is not only about addressing hunger, but also nourishing people, while nurturing the planet.
“This year, World Food Day calls for action across sectors to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible to everyone. At the same time, it calls on everyone to start thinking about what we eat,” FAO Programme Assistant Jasmine Magtibay said.
Studies say that unhealthy diets have become the leading risk factor for disease and death worldwide. In the Philippines, health and nutrition concerns remain a widespread problem.
DA Undersecretary for Special Concerns Waldo Carpio said that much still remains to be done, because hunger and malnutrition are complex problems.
“This celebration serves as a reminder for us to be continuously aggressive in our efforts to build a global movement to end hunger and fulfill our moral obligation to provide available and affordable food for the Filipino people,” he said.
For Cayanan, working together with a greater urgency and commitment will help overcome the challenges.
He encouraged everyone to join the FAO and about 130 countries across the globe to celebrate the World Food Day and unite to free the world of hunger and poverty. ### (Gumamela Celes Bejarin, DA-AFID)
