Ensuring food security in spite of pandemics and climate change: 13th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA)
Federal Minister Julia Klöckner welcomes over 80 fellow ministers from around the globe to the virtual Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference
The coronavirus pandemic is also making the global fight against hunger more difficult. According to international estimates, the number of people with too little to eat will increase by a further 150 million. Even before the crisis, nine per cent of the world’s population was suffering from hunger. The situation is being exacerbated by climate change which hits the poor especially hard. For this reason, Julia Klöckner, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, has focused the 13th Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) on this topical and urgent issue. On this unique multilateral platform, which is hosted annually by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, around 2000 actors from industry, science, civil society and politics will be discussing the following question from 18 to 22 January 2021: “How to Feed the World in Times of Pandemics and Climate Change” This year, the event will be held virtually.
The Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference is the climax of the GFFA. This Friday, 22 January, Federal Minister Julia Klöckner will welcome around 80 agriculture ministers from across the globe and numerous high-level representatives from international organisations to this conference. These include:
- David Beasley, Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme (2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)
- Dr Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the FAO
- Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO.
- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will open the conference with a welcoming message.
Federal Minister Klöckner has defined the following key questions for the debate:
- How can food systems emerge stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic?
- How can the agricultural sector contribute to preventing further pandemics?
- How can food systems become more climate-resilient?
- How can food systems contribute to climate change mitigation better than before?
The ministers will adopt a joint communiqué at the conference.
Media representatives are cordially invited to report on the GFFA and the Agriculture Ministers’ Conference: All public events can be followed live on the Internet at: www.gffa-berlin.de .
Agriculture Ministers’ Conference
| 11.40 hrs via livestream at: www.gffa-berlin.de and https://twitter.com/bmel | Doorstep briefing by Federal Minister Julia Klöckner |
| 12– 12.30 hrs via livestream at: www.gffa-berlin.de | Opening of the Agriculture Ministers’ Conference Subject: “How to Feed the World in Times of Pandemics and Climate Change” |
| 14.45 – 15.15 hrs via zoom and livestream at: https://twitter.com/bmel | International press conference during the Agriculture Ministers' Conference
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Other events during the GFFA:
Expert Panels
A total of 17 expert panels will be held during the GFFA. They combine discussions and presentations featuring actors from politics, science, industry and civil society. The panels are being organised by renowned international organisations and institutions such as the FAO, World Bank, European Commission and the OECD.
They include the following panellists:
- Norbert Lins, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
- Joachim Rukwied, President of the German Farmers' Association
- Christiane Lambert, President of the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations in the EU (COPA)
- Michael Fakhri, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food
- Lord Goldsmith, UK Minister of State, Minister for Pacific and the Environment
- Thanawat Tiensin, Chair of the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS)
- Martien van Nieuwkoop, Global Director for Agriculture and Food Global Practice at the World Bank
| 11 – 12 hrs virtually at www.gffa-berlin.de | FAO’s High Level Panel "How innovation can help strengthen the sustainability of food systems and prevent future pandemics”
Federal Minister Julia Klöckner will deliver the welcoming address |
| 11 – 12 hrs virtually at www.gffa-berlin.de | European Commission's High Level Panel "Climate change – what’s agriculture got to do with it!?”
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| 11 – 12 hrs virtually at www.gffa-berlin.de | Science Slam At this competition, ten-minute science slams will be delivered on this year’s GFFA subject "How to Feed the World in Times of Pandemics and Climate Change”. Four young scientists from Argentina, Kenya, Austria and Oman will explain how flies or rock flour, for example, can contribute to ensuring global food security |
Further information on the GFFA and the conference programme is available at: www.gffa-berlin.de