Global Food Policy Report released: 3 billion people cannot get health...

"Since 2015, the number of hungry people in the world has been on the rise.
The new crown epidemic in the past two years has exacerbated this dilemma.
More people are facing food insecurity, poverty and malnutrition.
How can they be solved in the future and how can food policies be promoted? The transformation of the global food system? This is related to the future of all people"
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On May 25, at the launch of the "2021 Global Food Policy Report" held by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, John Sweeney, director of the International Food Policy Research Institute, said

2021 Global Food Policy Report
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Photo courtesy of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

The world’s poor population may increase by 150 million

The new crown epidemic since 2020 has had a huge impact on the global food system and aggravated the growth of poverty and hunger.
According to estimates by the International Food Policy Research Institute, the number of poor people in low- and middle-income countries will increase by 20%
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Disruptions in the supply chain can also damage the quality and diversity of diets, leading to increased malnutrition, especially among vulnerable groups

“In fact, since 2015, the number of hungry people has been on the rise,” said John Sweeney, director of the International Food Policy Research Institute, at the press conference.
“The main reasons include climate change, economic downturns, and global issues.
Conflict
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In addition to hunger, malnutrition is also very common, with 3 billion people unable to get a healthy diet

John McDermott, one of the co-editors of the "Report", said, "Poverty and inequality are closely related.
We can see that under the impact of the epidemic, the poor have been more affected
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Most of them People mainly rely on manual labor, and their income spends more on food

What have we learned during the epidemic

However, in the process of responding to the epidemic, countries have also adopted many active policies, which are also the experience of future response, improvement and even resolution of the global food crisis
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John McDermott said, “Since the epidemic, countries have had many innovations in food policies, including supply chain innovations and digital platform construction
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"There are many technological innovations and organizational innovations that are taking place.
Public sector governments, whether they are central or local governments, have stepped up their efforts to make the situation better and make the food system effective even in very difficult situations.
Supply, this is a very valuable experience that will enable us to transform the global food system faster and develop a better future
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" John Sweeney said

Food system transformation goals
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Photo courtesy of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

The "Report" shows that among the 33 country samples studied by IFPRI, 23 countries set up working groups or committees at the beginning of the epidemic, including health, trade, transportation, foreign affairs, tourism, finance, and defense departments to jointly participate.
, Adopted a variety of countermeasures, including food problems
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“For us, the new crown epidemic is a wake-up call,” said Fan Shenggen, a chair professor at China Agricultural University and former director of the International Food Policy Research Institute.
“With the use of vaccines, the possibility that the epidemic will be contained in the future becomes more and more likely.
The higher we come, we should consider how to rebuild our agriculture and food systems
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Before the new crown pneumonia, agriculture and food systems were unsustainable on a global scale, using more water, more land, and losing more organisms.

The global agro-food system is facing transformation

How to rebuild a better agricultural food system? Professor Shenggen Fan proposed seven major transformations needed to reshape the agricultural food system in the future:

The first is to adjust the direction of agricultural technology research and development and give priority to the development of a multi-win technological innovation system
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Strengthen the promotion and application of agricultural low-carbon green development technologies to reduce carbon emissions from the agricultural food system and respond to climate change; give priority to the development of sustainable, intensive and nutrition-focused technologies, in order to improve the nutrition and health of residents while taking into account environmental sustainability
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The second is to reform the agricultural subsidy policy and innovate the financial policy support method
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Enhance financial support for nutritious, healthy, and sustainable food industries, impose taxes on unhealthy and unsustainable food; use part of the funds in fiscal stimulus policies to support the transformation of agricultural food systems, increase the supply of environmentally friendly food at the same time Improve the dietary quality of residents
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The third is to increase institutional innovation and build an efficient and inclusive food value chain
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Establish a cross-departmental coordination mechanism for agricultural production, ecological environment, food safety and nutrition, and financial support, and incorporate green, health and nutrition indicators into the performance appraisal system of governments at all levels
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The fourth is to increase investment in rural information and communication infrastructure to conform to the trend of industrial digitization
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Strengthen the construction of rural information and communication infrastructure, establish rural e-commerce knowledge and skills training mechanisms, train new farmers with e-commerce ideas and skills, and give full play to the role of e-commerce in the transformation of the agricultural food system
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Fifth, we must take the long-term prevention and treatment of agricultural non-point source pollution as the starting point, and promote the upgrading of agricultural production methods to circular agriculture, regenerative agriculture, and the cycle of agriculture-food-ecological system
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Stop extending agriculture and other activities to the natural habitats of forests and wildlife
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The sixth is to maintain unimpeded trade and enhance the ability of the agricultural food system to respond to the impact of uncertainty during the transformation of the agricultural food system
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At the same time, pay attention to the wind direction of global agricultural trade to avoid trade risks
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Seventh is to guide residents to change their behaviors to achieve a win-win situation for human health and the health of the planet
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Strengthen the promotion of healthy and sustainable diets, guide residents to healthy diets, increase consumption of whole grains, fruits and beans, reduce excessive consumption of refined grains and red meat; reduce food loss and waste, promote moderate diets, and reduce soil and water Resource pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
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