Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I EUROPEAN SEED I 37 occur, FAO is quick to support the affected countries with emergency provision of agricultural inputs — including seeds — so that farming can be restarted as soon as possible. FAO also works with disaster-prone countries to develop effective seed security regimes — in order to cushion the effects of disasters and improve post-disaster recovery. ROLE FOR THE PRIVATE SECTOR FAO promotes the continuum approach to the management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. That means matching germplasm conservation, plant breeding and seed delivery. In practical ter ms, plant breeder geneticists are allowed access to the widest range of well-characterized and evaluated sources of heritable variations that are used to generate desired crop varieties. FAO’s work also helps introduce these elite varieties to seed delivery systems. “The private sector has a critical role to play in providing quality seeds and planting materials to farmers at reasonable prices. In developed countries of the world — and increasingly in developing regions also — private sector entities also breed the varieties they market,” Yeves notes. In some cases, varieties are bred by public sector institutions and made available to the private sector under some licensing agreements, as part of a public-private partnership mechanism. Here, the role of the public sector is restricted to the development and enforcement of regulations, especially with regard to quality control. “In some other situations, the private sector is largely absent and the public sector must continue to bear the burden of developing and making available different seed varieties, along with their quality control. In the near future at least, marketing the seeds of many food security crops of developing countries, e.g. cassava which is planted with bulky stakes, is unlikely to be an attractive business venture for private enterprises”. The official celebration of World Food Day will coincide with a meeting of mayors from over 100 cities across the world at FAO headquarters. In October 2015, these mayors all committed to the “Milan Urban Food Policy Pact”, the first international protocol that calls for cities to develop sustainable food systems that grant healthy and accessible food to all, protect biodiversity and reduce food waste. During the World Food Day ceremony at Expo Milan 2015, the Pact was presented to the UN’s secretary-general. This year at FAO, mayors will unite for a second time to discuss their collaborative efforts in developing sustainable food systems in cities worldwide, and share experiences and best practices. FAO and the Municipality of Milan are joining forces to bolster the implementation of the pact and FAO is supporting this initiative by helping to establish indicators that will measure the Pact’s impact, and by exchanging best practices among cities. This important pledge to promote fairer and more environmentally-sound food systems in urban areas has so far been signed by 116 cities ranging from Abidjan to Zurich. “We hope, of course, to see that number grow fast,” Yeves says. This year, the official World Food Day ceremony will be celebrated on Oct. 14 at FAO headquarters in Rome. A number of events will take place during the week including the official World Food Day ceremony, a meeting of mayors committed to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact from cities across the world, and an exhibition. The Zero Hunger Run will take place once again this year on Oct. 16. As the name implies, World Food Day is celebrated around the globe. FAO country offices are currently organising local campaigns and outreach events, many of which will enjoy the support of in these regions. “World Food Day is the perfect moment to call people to action, especially this year — 12 months on from when countries committed to ending hunger by 2030,” Yeves says. “Everyone has a role to play in raising awareness of the critical challenges the world faces today: combatting the effects of climate change, increasing food production sustainably, and investing in smallholder farmers who make up the majority of the world’s poor and hungry people.” There are a number of actions that citizens can take to help, he adds. By being conscientious or ethical consumers and changing simple day-to-day decisions — for example, by wasting less food or enjoying more diverse diets like nutritious pulses — we can reduce our environmental footprint and make a difference. “Helpi n g to recog n i ze ou r ow n responsibilities, FAO has created different materials covering how food and agriculture must adapt to a changing climate in order to feed a growing population in a sustainable manner,” says Yeves. By using and sharing promotional materials available at the World Food Day website and on social media, users can increase their awareness and understanding of the important link between climate change and food security, and hopefully be inspired to join the World Food Day celebrations around the world and become an active supporter of the Zero Hunger Generation. http://www.fao.org/world- food-day/2016/home/en/ “The private sector has a critical role to play in providing quality seeds and planting materials to farmers at reasonable prices.” – Enrique Yeves