On November 6th, the 16th Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum was successfully held in Shanghai as a concurrent event of the 6th China International Import Expo. The forum was hosted by the State Administration for Market Regulation and co-organized by the Shanghai Municipal Administration for Market Regulation, the Development Research Center of the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum.
Zhang Zhongjun, Chargé d'affaires of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered a speech
Distinguished leaders, guests, ladies, and gentlemen,
Good morning, everyone!
I am honored to participate in the 16th Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum. First, let me express, on behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO) Representation in China, my heartfelt gratitude for the invitation from the organizers and warm congratulations on the convening of this forum.
The FAO is committed to advancing ecological agriculture and elevating food safety standards. The high-quality supply of agricultural products is essential not only for our daily lives but also profoundly impacts global food security and sustainable development.
In the past seven years, the global level of hunger has been steadily increasing. According to the FAO-led ‘The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World’ report for 2023, it is estimated that between 691 and 783 million people worldwide will face hunger in 2022, and nearly 600 million people are projected to remain undernourished by 2030. In 2021, over 3.1 billion people couldn't afford a healthy diet, representing 42% of the world’s population.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Technological innovation presents new opportunities to achieve a world free of hunger. It is transforming our agricultural and food systems, including the realm of food safety. The FAO's forward-looking report, ‘Thinking about the future of food safety,’ released in 2022, explores how factors like climate change, new food sources and production systems, and technological innovations might affect global food safety in the future.
Whether it’s new foods like jellyfish, edible insects and cell-based meat, or new technologies like blockchain, artificial intelligence and nanotechnology, the future promises exciting opportunities for feeding the world. However, the time to start preparing for any potential safety concerns is now.
For instance, smart packaging that extends shelf life, blockchain technology ensuring traceability along the supply chain, and 3D printers using plant-based materials to ‘print’ candy and even meat-like textures. As with all emerging technologies, there are both opportunities and challenges. Humanity must prepare for potential food safety risks. The key lies in promoting the development of standards and best practices, using reliable and well-designed reference databases, exchanging experiences, and transparent data sharing among stakeholders.
To further promote green innovation, the FAO launched ‘The Global Action on Green Development of Special Agricultural Products: One Country One Priority Product’ (2021-2025), aimed at creating green and sustainable value chains for special agricultural products, supporting small farmers and family farms to fully share global market returns, ultimately driving the transformation of the agricultural food system towards sustainable development goals. Zhang Zhongjun, Chargé d'affaires of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered a speech
Moreover, the FAO is advancing the ‘Digital Villages’ initiative globally, supporting sustainable development in the agricultural food system through digital agriculture, digital services for farmers, and digital transformation in rural areas. Currently, ten digital village cases in China have been selected. The FAO is collaborating with the Chinese government, research institutions, and the private sector to share China's experiences in rural revitalization and sustainable development enabled by technology through South-South and tripartite cooperation in Belt and Road countries.
In the future, the FAO will continue to work with all parties, focusing on technological innovation, promoting the development of ecological agriculture, improving food safety standards, fully unleashing the potential of the agricultural food system, and driving its transformation towards greater efficiency, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability, achieving better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
Lastly, I wish the forum a great success.
Thank you all.
The theme of the forum is, ‘Deepening the Belt and Road Cooperation in Agriculture and Food: Jointly Creating a Better Life for Humanity.’ Leaders from the State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, National Health Commission, General Administration of Customs, as well as leaders from Shanghai, Henan, Hainan, and other provincial governments, representatives of provincial market supervision departments, representatives of relevant United Nations organizations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and embassies of South Africa, the Netherlands, Colombia, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Senegal, among others, along with over 400 delegates from domestic and international enterprises, participated in the forum. Guests collectively deliberated on agricultural cooperation and food industry development, contributing insights and strategies for the high-quality development of agriculture and food industries in the Belt and Road Initiative, highlighting the role of the forum as a platform for policy interpretation.
2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative and the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Eco-Agriculture and Food Safety Forum. Over the past decade, the forum has been successfully held for 15 sessions within the framework of the National Food Safety Publicity Week and the China International Import Expo. The forum has solidly promoted high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, extensively conducted exchanges and cooperation in the agricultural and food industries, played a significant role in the development and safety of agricultural food industries in the countries along the route, and facilitated smooth international trade among the Belt and Road countries.
