This meeting featured discussions ranging from food security, nutrition, and sustainability, as the aforementioned are essential in eliminating extreme poverty and eradicating hunger. In order to eradicate global hunger, a wide variety of stakeholders must collaborate with one another. The stakeholders needed for this partnership include, but are not limited to, both public and private sectors, small holder farmers, the community, members of academia and producers.

In order for this goal to be achieved, the World Food Programme believes integrating small holder farmers is key as it will stimulate growth, enrich the food quality, and lift rural communities out of poverty. The Food and Agriculture Organization suggested a facilitation of dialogue on multilevel platforms along with learning and knowledge transfer amongst the members of the partnership, seeing as a one size fits all system would not be beneficial due to the vast differences among the types of partners.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development took a distinct approach by commenting on the importance of education and calling for economic and social change in rural communities. Mr. Francesco Paolo Fulci spoke about Ferrero’s program where facilities are built in rural areas, such as Cameroon and South Africa, allowing residents to learn a new trade while providing for their families. In turn, the results pull families out of poverty. The UN Global Compact spoke about the importance of the impact of the private sector as well as the shift in approach from risk management to concrete, interactive actions. Additionally, the representative noted that the private sector serves as a positive force for change and sustainable development as expectations from the international community are high for companies to meet them.

Meeting: Italy’s Mission: Food Security, Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture through the prism of the Sustainable Development Goals: The Importance of a Multi-Stakeholder Commitment
Date & Location: 14 June 2015, 16:30-18:00; UN Conference Room 12, UN Headquarters, New York
Speakers: Representative of Ecuador; Representative of Georgia; Representative of Italy; South Africa; Representative of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO); Representative from International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); Representative from the World Food Programme (WFP)
Written By WIT Representative: Natalie Dell’Estate                                                                         Edited By WIT Representative: Parth Shingala