Addis Ababa is deliberating on the most pressing global issue of creating a world without hunger.
The city that is a seat of historical and prestigious continental and international organizations as well as foreign missions of various countries has brought together over 1,500 high-level stakeholders that included Heads of State/Government, Ministers, UN agencies, the private sector, financial institutions, donor community, DFI/IFI, civil society, non-governmental organizations, academia, and media will be present.
According to the UN, the November 4-7, 2024 conference deliberates on the gravest challenges of our time, solution-oriented technical sessions, an investment forum, and a high-level political forum that will result in a Conference Declaration to achieve Zero Hunger.
Accommodating eight billion populations, the earth has to address global hunger crisis, effects of climate change, drought and the likes that have in one way or another attributable to hunger and poverty.
The global pressing challenges have to be overcome by amalgamating states’ capacities, production opportunities, and human resource assets, among others. Ethiopia is a case in point in this regard. The government has focused on sustainable investment in agriculture and manufacturing, as such a thematic move is at the heart of its actions if the country is to achieve the sustainable development goals, which are part of the objective of a world without hunger.
Basically, it looks an unattainable option to come up with the planet without hunger, but achievable one by working with countries like Ethiopia, which can potentially be a basket of bread if all its resources are manageably and resolutely exploited.
The conference, which is being held this time, serves as a critical platform to renew commitments and address vital topics such as agribusiness policy, infrastructure for agriculture, digital innovation, climate resilience, and fair trade practices as the topical hindrances in fighting hunger are highly associated with economic slowdowns, climate change impacts, and conflicts, be they are sporadic or recurrent ones.
Undeniably, investing in countries like Ethiopia, which are endowed with untapped wealth, has well attested to be essential for sustainable agricultural practices and resilient food systems. Hence, the role Ethiopia would play in meeting the global zero hunger targets is untold.
Unequivocally, Ethiopia has made significant strides in the fight against hunger and malnutrition. The various initiatives that inspired and mobilized both the urbanites and rural communities are cases in point in this regard. The summer wheat irrigation, expansion of rice farm practices and the bounty of the basket have brought significant results. The latter for instance has helped produce large amount of poultry, dairy and other products. Ethiopia also started exporting wheat to the neighboring countries.
As experience would have it and the reality on the ground attests well, hunger and food insecurity require coordinated international efforts with a view to overcoming the tiresome global defies.
The concrete efforts have brought about wheat self-sufficiency and are contributing to reducing hunger. Yes, its allegiance to food self-sufficiency and nutrition promotion has earned international recognition. For instance, the ground-breaking approach of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D) toward wheat self-sufficiency, amid testing conditions, has been globally praised, to mention but a few, the world Food and Agriculture Organization in January this year awarded the prestigious FAO Agricola medal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Taking Ethiopia’s progress as a milieu, the conference aims to inspire and implement sustainable solutions that will have a lasting impact on global hunger via of course getting the world much closer towards achieving food security.
In a nut shell, a well organized, unified and reinvigorated international collaboration has to be exercised towards achieving the mission global zero hunger goals.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2024
