Healthy food systems key for peoples’ wellbeing

Wednesday, 16 October 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Every year on 16 October, World Food Day is observed around the world to celebrate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) as well as to increase awareness and focus attention on topical issues concerning the world’s food supply.

“Sustainable Food Systems for Food Security and Nutrition” will be the focus of ‘World Food Day’ in 2013. The official World Food Day theme announced at the start of every year by FAO gives focus to World Food Day observances and helps increase understanding of problems and possible solutions in the drive to end hunger. Today almost 870 million people worldwide are chronically undernourished. Unsustainable models of development are degrading the natural environment, threatening ecosystems and biodiversity that will be needed for our future food supply. A food system is made up of the environment, people, institutions and processes by which agricultural products are produced, processed and brought to consumers. Every aspect of the food system has an effect on the final availability and accessibility of diverse, nutritious foods – and therefore on consumers’ ability to choose healthy diets. What is more, policies and interventions on food systems are rarely designed with nutrition as their primary objective. Addressing malnutrition requires integrated action and complementary interventions in agriculture and the food system, in natural resource management, in public health and education, and in broader policy domains. What would a sustainable food system look like? Is it possible to get from here to there? What would need to change to move us in that direction? World Food Day 2013 is an opportunity to explore these and other questions, and help bring about the future we want. This year too Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) join hands with the Ministry of Agriculture to mark World Food Day in Sri Lanka on Tuesday 15 October at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH). The official ceremony is inaugurated under the patronage of the Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena. Others present at the ceremony which was attended by high level ministry officials, UN Agency heads, donors, officials from NGOs and private sector partners etc. The seminar covered key messages from the FAO Representative Beth S. Crawford and the WFP Deputy Country Director Mads Lofvall on behalf of Country Director Ismail Omer and other high level government officials. Technical presentations on the 2013 theme and dance performances added further interest and diversity to the event.

In Sri Lanka the FAO is committed to ensuring people have regular access to enough high quality food to lead active and healthy lives. FAO helps Sri Lankans improve their food production capacity, food security and livelihoods through support for agricultural and livestock development, and fisheries and forestry management while WFP provides food assistance to 325,000 women, men and children through various safety net programs, such as provision of nutritious school meals, health and nutrition programs to pregnant and lactating mothers and malnourished children, resettlement packages of in-kind or cash vouchers for resettling internally displaced people, resilience building to climatic shocks via food for work and asset creation activities and through local food procurement and injecting cash to the local markets. These programs are directed towards assisting the Sri Lankan Government for achieving its goals on food security and nutrition for the people of Sri Lanka.