Rev. Faatafa Nefu;
Honourable Ministers;
FAO Director General, Mr Qu Dongyu
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Talofa Lava. It is a pleasure to deliver the opening remarks on this occasion for the Pacific SIDS Solutions Forum with the theme “Working together to leave no one behind” – bringing together our Blue Pacific family. I extend to you all a warm welcome to Samoa.
I acknowledge with appreciation, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s efforts in organizing this important forum for our Pacific small island states. I had the opportunity to participate at the previous SIDS Solutions Forum last year and I look forward to hearing of any progress we have made since the last forum in August 2021.
I welcome, once again the focus of this forum on SIDS specific innovative discussions and collective knowledge sharing that will lead to collective solutions for our islands in the areas of agriculture and food systems. Furthermore, we will be exploring the expansion of digitization of agri-food systems and creative approaches to food systems transformation.
Agriculture is the backbone of many if not all of our economies for food security and sustainable economic activities. However, we have experienced significant challenges, impacting our food systems and agriculture sectors. The impacts of Covid19 still linger over us and although our best efforts for post-Covid19 recovery have been successful, there still remain some challenges that require our further attention within the agriculture sphere. We experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic the impact of food shortages on our communities and remains a strong reminder to us of the importance of our traditional food systems.
The impacts of Covid-19 directly and indirectly on agriculture and food systems mean that we have had to be adaptive and be innovative in our responses. As such, we have had to place importance on areas, including digital technology to support increasing productivity of our local farmers and fisher folk.
Samoa Pathway and 2030 SDG Agenda
Agriculture and food security have, remained at the forefront of both international and regional discussions particularly through our priorities inscribed in the SAMOA Pathway. The call to accelerate action and strengthen partnerships to address the development challenges we face including those of food insecurity in our region, persist. The 2030 Agenda was a milestone movement towards achieving the world’s food security goals particularly under SDG2 – End Hunger.
We have made progress but there is a need for real transformational approaches to food systems to ensure availability and affordability of nutritious foods for all. Our expectation of this forum is that we will generate solutions out of our discussions and sharing to address the challenges of food insecurity and ending hunger.
To achieve significant transformational changes in our food systems, innovative changes, supported by enabling environments, institutions, policies and laws across all sectors of the economy are required. The trajectory of sustainable development identifies agri-food systems as a critical component. Moreover, evidence suggests that places and environments with stable food systems are linked to better health outcomes and lifestyles, highlighting how food systems have a significant role in shaping our societies from a socio-economic perspective.
Global Crises (food, fuel ,energy)
We are experiencing the impacts of rising fuel and food prices on our costs of living and the cost of doing business. The prices of imported foods and agricultural commodities and inputs to production have increased significantly. Similarly, costs for agricultural tools, fertilisers and seedlings are also on the rise; impacting our most vulnerable communities as well as disrupting supply chains to our region.
The global crises affect our small, medium enterprises and limit our efforts in creating and maintaining an enabling environment for business growth, trade and development. There is urgency for small island states to move forward with transformative food system approaches including government support towards building sustainable, resilient, and inclusive agri-food systems that fit our respective contexts.
(COP27 Loss and Damage impacts on food systems)
I have recently returned from COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt where Pacific voices resonated strongly on issues relating to climate change, particularly on the issue of loss and damage. This relates to the unavoidable consequences of climate change resulting from extreme climate related events and longer term climate variability. Loss and damage can have a significant implication for food security and disruption of agri-food systems in our countries.
The increase in global temperatures by one or two degrees can mean 4 to 5 million tonnes of staple crops that can be lost, and climate change risks can damage key natural resources such as land and water not to mention our traditional livelihoods and traditional knowledge.
We can no longer avoid the impacts of climate change. The scientific evidence is irrefutable and we as SIDS are already living the climate crisis. The thread that links climate change impacts to agri-food systems and production is a fragile one that can have colossal impacts on the lives of our people. We must look at ways in which to address and mitigate these challenges.
As we progress throughout this important forum, I am very much interested in hearing from our Ministers and senior officials, on your experiences in your respective countries. Equally important is the information sharing and collective discussions to formulate key innovative solutions for agri-food systems in our region.
I am told that you have had an opportunity yesterday to visit some of our local farm projects and I hope that you all managed to engage with those directly involved and shared experiences. I am a strong believer in solutions oriented forums and I hope that this year’s SIDS solutions forum is another successful one to provide assurances to our people that we will leave no one behind.” SOIFUA
