By Abbas Nazil
The Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Qu Dongyu, has called on world leaders to accelerate the transformation of global agrifood systems by increasing investment, leveraging innovation, empowering youth, and anchoring change in rights-based approaches.
Speaking at the UN Food Systems Summit +4 (UNFSS+4) Stocktaking Moment in Addis Ababa, Qu urged urgent and coordinated action to tackle the world’s interlinked challenges of hunger, climate change, environmental degradation, and inequality.
He stated that while transformation is already underway in several countries, the current pace and scale of efforts must increase significantly to meet global targets.
The summit, co-hosted by the Governments of Ethiopia and Italy, marks four years since the inaugural 2021 UN Food Systems Summit.
It aims to evaluate progress and renew collective commitments toward transforming food systems in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Qu acknowledged that since the first summit, many nations have moved from making commitments to implementing policy reforms, realigning investments, and adopting integrated planning models.
He cited Ethiopia’s success, supported by FAO, in reducing post-harvest grain losses by up to 40 percent in some areas, thereby improving food security and livelihoods.
The Director-General outlined three main drivers of agrifood transformation.
First, he stressed the critical role of youth in reshaping food systems.
Referring to FAO’s inaugural global assessment on youth in agrifood systems, Qu emphasized the need to close the gaps in education, employment, and leadership opportunities for young people, especially young women.
He stated that empowering youth could contribute as much as \$1.5 trillion to the global GDP, with agrifood systems delivering nearly half of that total.
Second, Qu called for scaling up innovation and technology to address structural barriers in food systems.
He highlighted the World Food Forum and FAO’s Agrifood Systems Technologies and Innovations Outlook (ATIO) as essential tools to drive innovation, such as digital agriculture, artificial intelligence, and precision farming.
He also praised the growth of the Hand-in-Hand Initiative, which uses geospatial data to guide investment to the most in-need areas.
The initiative has expanded from \$1.5 billion in 2022 to \$4.5 billion in 2024, indicating growing global interest and donor engagement.
Third, Qu emphasized that food systems transformation must be rooted in the Right to Food principle to ensure transparency, participation, accountability, and inclusion.
He pointed to FAO’s support for the Global Alliance Against Poverty and Hunger, launched under the G20 Brazil Presidency, as a platform for coordinated financing and technical assistance aligned with national development priorities.
Qu reiterated FAO’s commitment to supporting more than 120 countries with integrated solutions, policy expertise, scientific tools, and investment frameworks.
He mentioned flagship initiatives like One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) and Digital Villages, which help smallholder farmers connect with markets and improve productivity and incomes.
He called on governments, investors, academia, civil society, and the private sector to act boldly and work hand-in- hand to make food systems transformation the new global norm.
