Photo credit: United Nations
The likelihood that Papua New Guinea won't achieve its 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda is increased by figures indicating a drop in world food production.
Bir Mandal, the country representative and head of the office for the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), noted that in only two years, the number of people experiencing acute food insecurity worldwide increased from 135 million in 2019 to 193 million in 2021.
He claimed that harsher conditions are anticipated by 2022.
The Asia-Pacific Symposium for Agri-food Systems Transformation was held at the FAO Regional Office in Bangkok at the beginning of this month, and the Minister of Agriculture attended.
Our agrifood systems have structural flaws and poor levels of resilience as a result of the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the food, feed, fuel, fertiliser, and financial crises, popularly known as the 5F problem, as well as climate change and conflict.
Famine and starvation, according to Mr. Mandal, are killing people and endangering children's futures, which will seriously impede efforts to meet the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Agenda.
According to the FAO and its partners' most recent State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report, up to 828 million people would be chronically malnourished in 2021, which is 46 million more than in 2020 and 150 million more than in 2019, before COVID-19.
Papua New Guinea is not an exception to these 5F problems, according to Dr. Nelson Simbiken, acting secretary for agriculture and livestock.
The increase in food prices, feed costs for our livestock industry, including poultry, petrol expenses, fertiliser costs, and the opportunity costs of funding development programmes and investments may be restricted, according to Dr. Simbiken, and will have an immediate impact on PNG.
According to him, the Department of Agriculture would help the government on questions of policy and top priorities in order to protect the economy from potential threats and shocks.
“We are promoting the production of small livestock in the country like sheep and goats to be produced in the regional area or in the provinces,” Dr. Simbiken said.
“We also ensure that our meat production like village chicken and poultry is supported and at the same time we ensure that there are cassava, sago and all our traditional root crops must be grown.”
According to Dr. Simbiken, the department is coordinating with the provinces as part of the food security programme to guarantee that farmers have access to suitable seed programmes in all of the provinces and areas.
According to Mr. Mandal, FAO will keep working to increase farmers' access to early maturing, drought- and frost-tolerant seeds, which would boost output.
Qu Dongyu, director-general of the FAO, asked the government, business, academia, civil society, and all other relevant parties to collaborate and do their part in altering how food is produced, distributed, and consumed in order to empower the most vulnerable.
Reference: Wohi, Lorraine. Post-Courier (24 October 2022). “PNG At Risk Of Falling 2030 SDG Agendas”.
