Platform for African – European Partnership in Agricultural Research for Development

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

VIRTUAL EVENT: FAO Regional Conference for Europe and Central Asia

2-4 November 2020. In light of the upcoming UN Food Systems Summit 2021 the FAO Regional Conference for Europe and Central Asia ERC focused on the Sustainable Food Systems and Healthy Diets in Europe and Central Asia as one of the main topics.

2 November

The debate in the first Roundtable outlined the status of nutrition and sustainable food systems, identifying the interlinkages and the related challenges and opportunities in the region and the contribution of the ERC to the UNFSS. The assessment of existing public policies related to nutrition and the sustainability of food systems provide the basis of region-specific recommendations and pathways to transition to more sustainable food systems for healthy diets.

Linked to a food systems approach another main topic for discussion on the first day of the Conference was “Solutions for Youth, Employment and Developing Rural Areas in relation to the United Nations Decade of Family Farming”. The discussion underlined that smallholder and family farms are an integral part for ensuring long-term food security, rural poverty reduction and social and environmental sustainability in Europe and Central Asia. A situation analysis of smallholders, family farms and rural youth in agriculture was presented under this agenda item, including a review of strategies that can potentially foster the revitalization of rural areas in the region. Finally, the roles for FAO and member countries in developing family farms and youth was explored.

3 November

No comments:

Post a Comment