World Food Day and International Day and National Week for the Eradication of Poverty 2021

Your Excellency Mr. Thongphath Vongmany, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,

Distinguished Government Representatives and colleagues from Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry,

Dear Development Partners,

Mr. Nasar Hayat, FAO Representative to Lao PDR

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Sabaidee and Good Morning

It is my pleasure to welcome you to mark World Food Day 2021 and the International Day and the National Week for the Eradication of Poverty.

These annual events surrounding the United Nations Day bring together the international community and governments worldwide to promote awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, chiming in, and giving prominence to this year's shared vision and theme of Recovering Better for an Equitable and Sustainable World.

The World Food Day will help draw attention once again to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global food systems, the loss of livelihoods, increased food insecurity and inequality, and consequently the need to recover and transform agri-food systems in a sustainable manner.

The way we currently produce, consume, and yes, waste food exacts a heavy toll on our planet, putting pressure on our natural resources, environment, and climate and deprive, in particular, from those who have less. Unsustainable food production is short sighted as it degrades or destroys natural habitats, decreases the productivity of land and contributes to long-term food insecurity.

It exacts a human cost through exposing and expanding inequalities and injustices, and a financial cost running into trillions of dollars.  With more than 3 billion people (almost 40% of the world’s population) who cannot afford a healthy diet, while obesity is on the rise in all regions, we must all do better in order to turn these trends.

Today's event also marks the International Day and Lao PDR’s National Week for the Eradication of Poverty, celebrated annually to present, and promote concrete actions that address poverty and destitution. Both occasions call for action to ensure healthy, sustainable, affordable and accessible nutrition to all.

The Poverty Profile[1] published jointly last year by the Lao Statistics Bureau and the World Bank showed that Lao PDR has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty over the past 25 years, but also -- that many of the recent and hard-won development gains now are threatened by the impact of the pandemic on people, their livelihoods and the Lao economy.

The report shows that rising farm incomes have driven poverty reduction. Since 2013, farming households have accelerated the move from subsistence rice cultivation toward the commercial production of cash crops. In parallel however, the recent disappearance of off-farm jobs, has now slowed poverty reduction. 

The impact of COVID – 19 on the Lao economy is yet to be fully measured but preliminary assessments show that farm incomes, as well as off-farm employment both have been seriously affected, and we will need to redouble our recovery efforts to offset the negative impact on poverty eradication to ensure that we leave no one behind.

Today’s event presents an opportunity to focus our attention on individual capacity as agents of transformative and sustainable change. A healthy population, making healthy choices, is key to the development of any country -- and in Lao PDR with the eradication of poverty.

Well into our second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed a range of challenges, from a significant disruption of agri-food systems and a global economic recession to an increase in food insecurity and inequality worldwide.

The pandemic has exposed the fragility of our societies, but it has also shown how people can come together and work towards a common goal. As a global community, we need to strengthen the resilience of those most vulnerable to crisis and economic hardship if we are to overcome these challenging times, -- and build back for a better and more sustainable development pathway, for ourselves and for future generations.

To ensure that Lao PDR remains on its path to graduating from LDC status, and the stepping stone this entails to further prosperity, the country must stay the course in poverty eradication continue to lead in the transformation of its agri-food systems.

Earlier this year, Lao PDR enthusiastically joined the UN Food Systems Summit Dialogue and a Food Systems Assessment to determine the solutions needed to address and transform the agri-food systems in the country’s rural, peri-urban and urban areas as well as to make agri-food systems more profitable for all stakeholders, from source and producer to end user.

Whether international or national civil servant, farmer and producer, or private person in civil society as user and consumer, we all have a role to play in the transformation of food systems and poverty eradication.

As public and private citizens we are socially responsible to ensure that

• Private companies support public health goals and sustainable investments.

• Civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations provide a vital link for individuals and communities to be heard and help evidence-base public policy. They can help shape and advocate for fair, legitimate and transparent government policy while mobilising campaigns, events and networks that help smallholder farmers, indigenous peoples, women, youth and marginalized groups to be active in legislative processes and policy making.

• Farmers - men and women in agriculture, fisheries and forestry - are our primary sources for nutritious foods. As the guardians of the planet’s natural resources, their decisions lie at the roots of transforming agri-food systems. Innovative technologies and training, finance, incentives and social protection can help farmers to provide sustainable healthy diets locally and globally.

• Research and academic institutions have the tools to support decision makers in the world’s agri-food systems. Knowledge, innovation and capacity building are the path to change.

FAO, the United Nations agencies and development partners gathered today have a unique role to play in this effort. Together, we remain committed to supporting the Lao PDR by investing in livelihoods and building more resilient rural and urban communities. We continue to work to ensure that food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture, poverty alleviation and rural development are addressed as major parts of the solution to the global challenge of zero hunger under the 2030 Agenda. Ending extreme poverty remains at the heart of the world’s efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and building an inclusive and prosperous future for all.

Excellencies, I would like to conclude by extending a very warm thanks for marking the World Food Day and the International Day and National Week for the Eradication of Poverty. 

Our Actions are Our Future -- therefore, let every one of us commit to eradicate poverty and to finding a pathway for sustainable development that Leaves No One Behind by transforming our agri-food systems into a more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable food system that contribute to Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment and Better Lives for all.

I want to take this opportunity to once again thank our key partners, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, as well as the other UN agencies contributing to make this event successful. 

Thank you very much.

[1] The Poverty Profile in Lao PDR and Poverty Assessment 2020: Catching Up and Falling Behind, Lao Statistics Bureau and the World Bank, 2020.