Celebration of World Food Day, Edition 2022

On october 25, 2022, Burundi joined other nations in celebrating the World Food Day 2022 under the theme: “Leave no one behind – Improve production, nutrition”. This event was highlighted by the Prime Minister Lieutenant General of Police Gervais Ndirakobuca.

Prime Minister Lieutenant General of Police Gervais Ndirakobuca who represented the Government said that the Government is aware of the importance of agriculture and livestock in the fight against poverty and malnutrition and to feed about 12 million of Burundian. It is in this perspective that to achieve its goals, the Government is in the process of carrying out projects and programs in various sectors, among others, soil fertilization, erosion control, distribution of selected seeds, restocking of livestock and the dissemination of new animal breeds, agricultural cooperatives, etc.

The Prime Minister also reiterated the commitment of the Government of Burundi to develop the agricultural sector so that the population has food and earns income.

In his speech, the FAO Representative in Burundi Mr Dadémanao Pissang Tchangaï who represented the Director General of FAO, Dr Qu DONGYU in the ceremonies first thanked the guests for having agreed to share the joy of this day with the Food Organization of the United Nations (FAO) despite their busy schedule. Mr. Dadémanao Pissang Tchangaï informed that the celebration of World Food Day coincides with the seventy-seventh anniversary of the United Nations Food Organization (FAO).

He indicated that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development must be achieved everywhere and for all human beings. He said that after three years of covid19 pandemic two things show impacts of covid 19. For him the impact of covid-19 is noticeable after three years of this pandemic, the inability of people to derive innovation and prosperity. He said that a large population cannot always afford healthy food in the world as well as the interconnection of lives and economies. Indeed, two out of three people living in a situation of extreme poverty are mainly in rural areas and depend mainly on agriculture to live and this has harmful effects on the future of children.

To face poverty, Mr. Dadémanao Pissang Tchangaï indicated that the FAO in collaboration with the whole world must activate solidarity and collective action to build a sustainable world where everyone has regular access to nutritious food in sufficient quantity and especially the most vulnerable.

The FAO Representative in Burundi informed of the opinion that FAO has continued to implement its mandate to support Burundi, in accordance with the 2019-2023 Country Program Framework signed with the Government in 2019 and high-level resolutions adopted by member states. He said that in collaboration with other actors in the field of food security and nutrition, several achievements have been carried out over almost the entire national territory.

The support provided by the FAO is multiple and is essentially focused on nine areas of intervention, namely agricultural production, protection and management of natural resources, livestock, fisheries, nutrition, value chains, studies, statistics and information on food security and nutrition, technical and organizational capacity building of implementing partners and direct beneficiaries.

The FAO Representative in Burundi Mr. Dadémanao Pissang ended his remarks by thanking the Government of Burundi for its effort to ensure the food and nutritional security of its population as well as its fruitful collaboration with the FAO.