The UN has declared 2021 as the “International Year of Fruit and Vegetables (IYFV)”. With the FAO as leading agency, the aim is to raise awareness on the important role of fruit and vegetables in human nutrition, food security and health, as well as in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The activities will focus on 4 areas: advocacy and awareness raising, knowledge creation and dissemination, policy making and capacity development and education. For more information and material, please visit the dedicated website.
The official kick-off event and the launch of the website took place on the 15th of December and served as an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss the future of food systems. Highlights from the event include an intervention from Qu Dongyu, Director-General FAO, who stressed that the IYFV will help focus on the availability and affordability of fruit and vegetables for consumers and the high level of food loss and waste of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Furthermore, António Guterres, Secretary General UN said that by declaring 2021 as the year of fruit and vegetables the world food community will take a closer look at this critical sector and work towards more holistic approach to transforming the food system.
Moreover, the UN Food Systems Summit, which will take place in autumn 2021, will call on all stakeholders to intensify efforts to make food systems more inclusive and sustainable. Several other stakeholders from various countries’ Ministries, civil society organizations and the business sector expressed the need for transformative and bold actions and collaboration to raise awareness and foster systemic change in the food and agriculture sector. This is urgently needed in order to be able to ensure safe and nutritious food for everyone, while at the same time producing more sustainably and safeguarding our planet’s resources.
