G20 India Daily Updates
G20 Summit 2023 : India praised for focusing on millet and exporting wheat to 18 countries
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) President Alvaro Lario said India’s G20 presidency has the potential to transform global food systems as some of the areas New Delhi is focusing on are the UN body’s priorities. are in line with.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) President Alvaro Lario said India’s G20 presidency has the potential to transform global food systems as some of the areas New Delhi is focusing on are the UN body’s priorities. are in line with.
The United Nations Fund for Agricultural Development lauded India for refocusing on millets and exporting 1.8 million tonnes of wheat to 18 countries last year facing severe food shortages in the wake of the Ukraine war.
Alvaro Lario, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), also said that India’s G-20 presidency has the potential to transform global food systems as some of the areas New Delhi is focusing on, the UN body are in line with the priorities of
Noted development finance expert Lario said in an interview to news agency PTI that Indian expertise can support agricultural and rural development of other countries in the global south. We also appreciate India’s export of 1.8 million tonnes of wheat to 18 countries that were facing severe food shortages last year in the wake of the war in Ukraine, he said. Lario was in India to attend the G-20 Agriculture Ministers’ meeting from June 15 to 17.
IFAD is a specialized agency of the United Nations focusing on funding projects to help fight poverty, hunger and food insecurity in many poor and vulnerable countries. India has shown thought leadership in South-South cooperation, Lario said. I appreciate it very much. One of these examples is India’s re-focus on the revival of millets. He said, we have seen that millet is an important crop for farmers to adapt to climate change. Given that farmers are battling drought and ensuring nutrition in some of the poorest and most remote parts of the world, millet is a good option.
The IFAD President said that India under its G-20 chairmanship can play a global role in transforming global food systems. India’s G-20 chairmanship has the potential to transform food systems, he said. Their food system includes all aspects of feeding and nourishing people – growing, harvesting, packaging, processing, transporting, marketing and consuming food.
Food systems have been completely transformed over the past few years, he said, reversing years of progress and exposing their vulnerabilities. The COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war and climate change have seriously threatened global food security. This has seriously affected the food crisis in African countries.
The IFAD president also said that small-scale farmers produce up to 70 percent of the food consumed in low- and middle-income countries and that they often bear the brunt of climate change and other natural disasters. We need climate finance to reduce emissions and help economies adapt to change. The current pace of action is not sufficient to meet global commitments under the Paris Agreement. He noted that between 2017 and 2018, small-scale producers received only US$10 billion, or just 1.7 percent of climate finance.
