An exclusive interview with Wen Kangnong, the representative of FAO in China and North Korea
Date:11-14-2024 Number of visits:4450 Font size:T|T
In recent years, under the influence of multiple factors such as the COVID-19, extreme weather, and supply chain obstruction, international food prices have hit new highs several times, the number of poor and hungry people has risen sharply, and global food security is facing unprecedented impacts. In the face of many food security challenges, as an important agricultural power in the world, is China still the "stabilizer" of global food security? Looking ahead to this year, what new situations will global food security face? Recently, Carlos Watson, the representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in China and North Korea, received an exclusive interview with reporters from the China News Agency and answered the above questions. What is the situation of grain production in China? Last year, in the face of the severe situation of multiple shocks such as the overlapping of epidemic and disaster situations and the sharp fluctuation of international grain prices, China's grain production withstood the pressure and stabilized at more than 1.3 trillion kilograms for eight consecutive years. Wen Kangnong said that he was pleased to see that with the increase of grain production, the income of Chinese farmers is also increasing steadily. "In 2022, the per capita disposable income of Chinese farmers will exceed 20000 yuan (RMB) for the first time. Considering the various challenges in 2022, including the impact of climate change such as epidemic, high temperature, and increased production costs, this is a very remarkable achievement." "The continuous harvest shows that China's agricultural development policies and measures taken over the years are effective. For China and the world, the strong development momentum of China's agricultural grain production has laid a solid foundation for maintaining global food security," Wen Kangnong said. Looking forward to this year, he is full of confidence in the prospects of China's grain production in 2023, and also looks forward to another bumper harvest of China's grain in 2023. "This is not only the premise for China to achieve food security, but also an important stabilizer of global food supply." What is the global food security situation? In recent years, affected by epidemic and other factors, the global food security situation is not optimistic. Wen Kangnong stressed that at present, the world is facing an increase in poverty and food insecurity. Supply chain disruptions, climate change and natural disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic, financial austerity and regional conflicts have had an unprecedented impact on the global food system. According to FAO data, the global hunger population in 2021 will be between 702 million and 828 million. The proportion of people with serious food insecurity in the global population has risen sharply from 10.9% in 2020 to 11.7% in 2021, and many people have fallen into the plight of serious food insecurity. "In the long run, population growth and urbanization development, poverty and inequality, geopolitical tensions and conflicts, and climate change are causing serious damage to the socio-economic and environmental systems." He pointed out that there is an urgent need to transform to a more sustainable, more resilient and inclusive agricultural and food system, including governments, consumers, enterprises All stakeholders, including academia and the international community, took immediate action. What has China done for global food security? Over the years, China's agriculture has made remarkable progress. In Wen Kangnong's view, China's agricultural development achievements are a rare experience wealth for other developing countries. "China's successful experience in agriculture can provide other developing countries with rich agricultural development solutions, including knowledge, good practices, policies, technologies, etc. In the future, FAO hopes to continue to deepen cooperation with China and accelerate the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals," Wen Kangnong said. At present, China plays an indispensable role in addressing global food security issues. Wen Kangnong stressed that from a global perspective, China is an important producer, consumer, exporter and importer of agricultural products in the world, with strong food supply, reserves, trade and consumption, which has played an important role in the stability of the international food market and global food security. At the same time, China's development has also promoted global development and South-South cooperation. He pointed out that at present, China has provided US $130 million to the FAO - China South-South Cooperation Plan to reduce poverty and improve food security. China's contribution to international agricultural development has promoted agricultural innovation and experience exchange among developing countries and made positive contributions to global food security. (End)
(Editor: HBA)