Dear Chair, chere Gerda, Mesdames, Messieurs, bonjour,
Building upon previous interventions, I will consider four critical issues.
1, SDG 2 at the heart of Agenda 2030, not just for justifying session 5
Hunger and famine are cause and consequence of migration and conflicts. Crisis remind us that such
unbearable drama will be recurrent if we do not solve their causes. As food systems continue to
operate meanwhile, interventions should combine humanitarian emergency response and longer
term strategies, which require changes as suggested by Esther and Elizabeth. Beyond undernutrition,
SDG2 is however not the exclusive problem of developing countries. We are all affected by the triple
burden of malnutrition. No doubt about the interdependence of SDGs 1 and 2, but the link between
SDGs 2 and 3 also deserves attention: obesity related diseases have become the number one
problem in public health. HLPE reports all evidenced the tight links between food systems,
environment, climate, social justice, health and political stability. Each of them also shows examples
of policies and programmes that can inspire other countries. They demonstrate how food security
brings together all SDGs. How it imports to take into account causalities and consequences of actions
across countries and sectors, whether direct and indirect, short and long distance, short and long
term.
2. A revolution of food systems. Agriculture will be pivotal. Because most of the vulnerable people are
poor family farmers, as shown by panelists. Because agriculture is multifunctional and provides more
than just food: human and ecosystem health, decent jobs and income to billion of people, territorial
cohesion, peace and political stability. Because, although their transformation repressed the
Malthusian prophecy, food production systems are not sustainable! Let's not be shy to admit it! We
hear that these systems may move from being a problem to being part of the solution. Well, I
suggest to move further, and to consider addressing the whole agenda 2030 by looking at food
systems as a lever. But there are two conditions. First, a revolution is needed, not just incremental
change. Of the same magnitude as the green one, without succumbing to the illusion of blissful
optimism. Real change is needed I Paradigms, practices, governance, and controversies are central.
Secondly, agriculture will be a game changer if the transformation is considered within the wide
perspective of food systems, looking at consumption and production together.
3. A rainbow revolution. There is no "one-size fits all" solution. Let's look at this great pin we wear
today: every color accounts for one SDG and they all together constitute a comprehensive
framework. I will use this symbol. Contrarily to the green revolution, the needed revolution should
be based on pathways adapted to each local context. Yet, all the changes should contribute to a
global transformation. In reference to the pin, I suggest the need for a rainbow revolution of food
systems. Reframing their governance calls for consistent actions at different levels:
o We need local innovations for improving resource efficiency, strengthening resilience and
securing social equity and responsibility.
o we also need international frameworks, such as the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible
Governance of Tenure, the Paris agreement on climate, FSN oriented trade patterns.
o And we need inclusive and cross sectorial national policies to ensure the right to food, to
boost learning processes, to address trade-offs, to prevent risk.
4. Knowledge at the heart! Anticipating the unknown will be knowledge intensive, building upon its
different forms. This includes a huge investment in research, to deliver technology, but also to
understand dynamics, to provide relevant metrics, to elicit the rationales of disagreements, to
explore possible futures and to identify critical and emerging issues for food security and nutrition
(as recently done by the HLPE). As shown by the CFS through the mobilization of the HLPE, an
adapted sc!ence-policy interface is essential to structure the political debates.
