YouSaid · the spoken record

Qu Dongyu

lines on the record: 27
first: 2020-04-29
most recent: 2022-05-19
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“They wrote, “[t]he Food and Agriculture Organization is born out of the need for peace as well as the need for freedom from want. The two are interdependent. Progress towards freedom from want is essential to lasting peace.” Much has changed since then, 79 years later, but one thing remains a constant. The world needs enough food, good food and better food for all. Investing in our agrifood systems is more relevant than ever. Let us work together effectively and coherently. I learned from the Secretary-General when he switched from English to French. Now I will say my final words in Chinese. There are six official United Nations languages, so I wrote a special poem for the President. (spoke in Chinese) The mountain is high, and people depend on food to survive.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“We can invest more in innovation and new technologies, especially water management, irrigation systems and high-quality agricultural inputs, including fertilizer, and in more transparent market information systems. Agricultural systems provide food, feed, fibre and biofuels, including biogas. So agriculture not only provides food, feed, fibre crops and biofuels, which are truly renewable sources of energy, it also supports the future of people on this small planet — the farmers. On 19 May 1943, our predecessors convened the first United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture in Hot Springs, Virginia, in the United States. Was it destiny? Was it a coincidence? What is today’s date? Today is 19 May. Seventy-nine years later, let us recall that our founders saw that FAO had a vital role to play in the quest for peace.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“That is similar to the yields with hybrid rice, where we see 30 to 50 per cent increases, and hybrid corn, which can have increases between 30 and 40 per cent. Mr. Villalobos is an expert breeder. The technology is there. The tools are there. We need a strong political commitment and responsible investment. We must work together with the private sector and get every key partner on board. That is why we must stress the importance of hand-in-hand initiatives. States can put policies in place that both increase productivity and protect natural resources. We always say that we should produce more and better with less, but less what? Is it less impact, less input or less negative impact on the environment? The solution is technology and good policies and management.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“In Asia, it is 48 to 60 per cent; in Europe, it is 12 per cent; in Africa, it is only 3 per cent; and in Latin America, it is about 20 per cent. I therefore strongly encourage all States and partners represented here to improve their water management and irrigation systems. Yields depend not on God alone but rather on our technology and investment in infrastructure. That is why we need to unleash the potential of innovation, science and responsible investment. For so many years, in both developed and developing countries, investment in agriculture in rural areas has been left behind. I strongly recommend that Mr. Blinken and others look at those issues, such as soy and other bigger issues. We need at least 10 to 20 years of looking at soy science. With quality soy seeds, the seed yield can improve by 20 to 30 per cent.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“So there is great potential. I sincerely hope that States will continue to provide the necessary aid to mitigate food insecurity globally, allocate new resources to sustain agricultural production in challenging contexts and recognize and support the role of agriculture in food security and peace and the contributions of international organizations such as FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme. Based on my professional knowledge and experience, I believe we can feed the world sufficiently and sustainably with our existing tools if we all play our part. In this great country of America, irrigated land can produce two times more than land that is unirrigated and naturally rain-fed. Only 18 of per cent of arable land in this country is irrigated.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“Members urgently need to transform their agrifood systems so that they are more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable, in order to achieve better production and nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind. In the past three months I have been to Bangladesh, where farmers are using innovation to improve their rice yields. Earlier this month, I travelled to Azerbaijan to see young farmers, who are producing seven tons per hectare of winter wheat, using a new variety of wheat and irrigation systems and appropriate fertilizer. The yield this year has doubled. Yesterday I met Mr. Villalobos Arámbula, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of Mexico, where the corn yields in some provinces have doubled through the use of new corn varieties, new fertilizer and irrigation.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“In Ethiopia, despite access challenges, the seeds and planting materials provided by FAO and agriculture cluster partners enabled local farmers to produce 900,000 tons of food — five times more than the humanitarian and commercial food supplies that entered the region. Yet despite the critical importance of agriculture to food availability and access in crisis contexts, only 8 per cent of total funding for the humanitarian food security sector goes to agriculture. We must protect people, agrifood systems and economies against future shocks. To prevent conflicts from worsening food insecurity, we must increase sustainable productivity, strengthen capacities to deliver relevant services and commodities and provide access to innovative financial tools and digital services.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“In 2021, FAO reached more than 30 million people worldwide with emergency agricultural assistance and resilience-building programmes. For example, in Afghanistan we reached 3 million people, including with wheat cultivation packages, which cost just $160 each and meet the staple cereal requirements for a family of seven for an entire year. In local markets, the cost of the same amount of food is six times higher. Our support helped livestock farmers increase milk production equivalent to a level that would enable every Afghan child to have one glass of milk a day for at least five months.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“FAO does that through our Integrated Phase Classification analysis, which is widely accepted, our co-leadership of the Global Network Against Food Crises and our co-leadership of the Global Food Security Cluster. We must prevent the acceleration of acute food insecurity trends in the coming months and years. Food production at the country level must be expanded. We need to provide cash and critical inputs for cereal and vegetable production and to protect livestock with treatments, vaccinations, feed and water. Agrifood supply chains and value chains must be strengthened with the engagement of the public and private sector in support of smallholder farmers and households. That is what FAO has been doing in Ukraine, Afghanistan and other countries.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“Ukraine and the Russian Federation together export 30 per cent of the cereals and 67 per cent of the sunflower seeds in the world. The increase in energy and fertilizer prices is putting the next global harvest at risk. According to our most recent scenarios, it could increase chronic undernourishment by an additional 18.8 million people by 2023. We are neighbours on this small planet-village. What happens to one affects us all. FAO will continue to fully align with the Secretary-General’s call to end the war, restore peace and save lives. We must strengthen the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. We must analyse the root causes of acute food insecurity, including conflict and climate change, and apply those lessons to our actions.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“From our cutting-edge analysis, normative work, global and national policy guidance and life-saving aid, FAO helps people, communities and Governments cope with growing uncertainty. Yet more needs to be done together. Conflict remains the single-greatest driver of hunger. Between 2018 and 2021, the number of people in crisis situations in countries in which conflict was the main driver of acute food insecurity increased by a staggering 88 per cent, to just over 139 million people. As the world began to recover from COVID-19, another conflict with far-reaching effects broke out. The war in Ukraine revived concerns about historically high food and energy prices and their impact across the world. The war has disrupted exports and logistics and seriously affected food availability.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“Agriculture is one of the keys to lasting peace and security. Over the past five years, we have seen yet another spike in the global level of acute hunger. According to the Global Report on Food Crises, released on 4 May this year, in 2021 approximately 40 million more people experienced acute food insecurity as compared to 2020, thereby bringing the total to 193 million people in 53 countries and territories. Worryingly, the projection is for further deterioration through 2022, including in places with catastrophic food insecurity. There is a risk of famine in Yemen, Somalia, South Sudan and Afghanistan. FAO has stepped up its efforts to strengthen agrifood systems, save lives and protect the agricultural livelihoods of the world’s most vulnerable.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“Mr. Qu Dongyu: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) deeply appreciates the opportunity to speak to the Security Council on this important topic and the continued attention placed on the issue of conflict and food security. Two years ago, I briefed the Council on the multiple risks facing global food security at the start of the pandemic (see S/2020/340). Today we gather again for people, peace, prosperity and the planet to discuss several overlapping crises in the area of food security, such as health security, climate change, food insecurity, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and conflict. Worldwide, prosperity is being reversed. There is less food security, less health security, less income and greater inequality. My message today is more relevant than ever before.”
2022-05-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9036 (2022) · source
“I firmly believe that the Council can play a pivotal role in addressing the threat of conflict-induced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels by advancing dialogue between parties to find political solutions and innovative approaches to end conflict and violence. This would allow us to scale up urgent life- and livelihood- saving operations and to deliver better-integrated humanitarian and development responses that address the multiple drivers of acute food insecurity. Once again, let me assure the Council of the FAO’s continued support through policy advice, technical assistance, our Big Data platform and concrete services on the ground.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“Agrifood systems can perform a more sustainable function for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life. The good news on major harvested crops in 2020 is that we will have a bumper harvest globally. The FAO estimates we will have an all-time high year, and 58 million tonnes above the 2019 outturn. This is thanks to enabling policies; innovation — new cultivars, agri-inputs and marketing channels; investment; and the hard work of millions of famers. Lasting peace and harmony can be achieved through good policies and investment in agriculture infrastructure and capacity-building in rural development, especially in conflict areas.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“Worldwide, those hardest hit include the urban poor, informal workers and pastoral communities, as well as people who are already particularly vulnerable — children, women, the elderly, the sick and people with disabilities. We need first and fast aid to stop hunger, we need prevention and production locally, we need political will, and we need collective action, as the forecasts for food security in 2020 continue to worsen. To be effective in combating acute food insecurity, we need to put a package of solutions in place. Humanitarian-development-peace actions must be well coordinated and complementary. Our actions must be mutually reinforcing across global, regional, national and local levels. Humanitarian actors can provide first aid.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“This is particularly visible in areas where conflict and other factors, such as economic turbulence and extreme weather, are already driving people into poverty and hunger. In Somalia, 3.5 million people faced crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity between July and September 2020. This increase of 67 per cent, as compared to the 2019 peak, is due to the triple shocks experienced this year — COVID-19, floods and the desert locust upsurge. While much progress has been made in controlling the locusts, the FAO is making every effort to sustain control operations. In the Sudan, the number of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance rose by 64 per cent between June and September 2020, reaching around 9.6 million people, the highest level ever recorded in the country, with serious floods further exacerbating the situation.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“We are deeply concerned by the most recent Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis, which shows that the Democratic Republic of the Congo now has the highest number of people experiencing crisis, or worse levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded in a single country. Today 21.8 million people are unable to access enough food on a daily basis. In northern Nigeria, between June and August 2020, the number of people in crisis and emergency levels of acute food insecurity increased by 73 per cent as compared to the 2019 peak figure, and reached almost 8.7 million people. Tragically, there are many more situations where conflict and instability, now also exacerbated by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), are drivers for more serious hunger and acute food insecurity.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“Since we spoke five months ago, the situation has not improved, and the risk of famine looms over Yemen, South Sudan and other countries due to natural and man-made disasters, including conflicts. In Yemen, the continued presence of desert locusts has further threatened food availability. The FAO urges all those concerned to work towards granting access for control operations to prevent the pest from further worsening the deteriorating situation, in Yemen and beyond. We note with great alarm the situation in Burkina Faso, where the number of people experiencing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity has almost tripled.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“I thank you, Mr. President, for your invitation to brief the Security Council today. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) greatly welcomes the Council’s engagement on this subject and its continued recognition of the relationship between conflict and food production and supply. As Council members will recall, Mark Lowcock, David Beasley and I briefed the Council on this topic in April (see S/2020/340). Many members emphasized the value of early warning with early action. Well-established agrifood systems are crucial for durable peace, as has been proven by the great success of green revolutions and the adoption of proper policies in many parts of the world.”
2020-09-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/930 (2020) · source
“That will facilitate the Council’s timely action to avert food crises. Non-traditional security will be an unavoidable problem closely related to food system. My appreciation goes to all Council members for their continued attention to the direct link between conflict and food security, along with rural development.”
2020-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/340 (2020) · source
“We need prevention, as the forecasts for food security in 2020 look bleak: conflicts, extreme weather, desert locusts, economic shocks and now COVID-19 are likely to push more people into acute food insecurity. However, by closely monitoring the evolution of those shocks, we can rapidly intervene to mitigate their impact. We are committed to rising to that challenge and have mobilized our organizations in ways not seen since the founding of the United Nations. Because the evidence is clear: widespread conflict and instability lead to food insecurity; therefore, limiting or preventing conflict reduces and prevents hunger. FAO will continue supporting the Security Council by providing professional consultation with up-to-date information and analysis on food security in conflict contexts.”
2020-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/340 (2020) · source
“But the marginalization and neglect of pastoral communities, as well as the depletion of the natural resources on which they rely, has left them exposed. In many areas, the relationship between farmers and pastoral herders, which was once cooperative, has become confrontational as they compete over the same scarce resources. FAO and other agencies are strengthening the resilience of those communities, with a focus on cross-border areas, such as in the Liptako-Gourma region of Mali, Burkina Faso and the Niger, where insecurity and fragility are particularly acute. Conflict prevention and acting early to reduce the impact of conflict are highly effective steps that can be taken to avert and reduce acute food insecurity.”
2020-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/340 (2020) · source
“That goes to the essence of the Sustainable Development Goals, which we are working to achieve by 2030. For example, in the Sahel, more than 12 million people experienced acute food insecurity last year. Unfortunately, we expect that number to rise to over 17 million during the coming lean season. Despite large-scale, internationally backed efforts, peace remains fragile, particularly for pastoral and agropastoral communities, whose livelihoods have been increasingly eroded in the Sahel and elsewhere. Pastoralism represents one of the most viable livelihood options in the drylands, making enormous contributions to social, environmental and economic well-being. In West Africa and the Sahel, livestock production contributes up to 44 per cent of agricultural gross domestic product.”
2020-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/340 (2020) · source
“In South Sudan, for instance, where over 6 million people — more than half its population — are expected to face crisis levels of food insecurity or worse. That will likely deteriorate further between May and July, to almost 6.5 million people. In Yemen, which remains the world’s worst food and malnutrition crisis in 2020, the number of acutely food-insecure people is expected to exceed 17 million. The risk of famine persists, particularly if port operations are disrupted by the conflict. Coherent actions are needed among humanitarian, development and peace actors to address the root causes of acute food insecurity. FAO’s experience shows that interventions supporting livelihoods and food security contribute to local peace and broader peace processes because they address not only the symptoms but also the root causes of conflict.”
2020-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/340 (2020) · source
“Today I will focus on three central elements, namely, the 2020 Global Report on Food Crises and how it clearly shows the link between conflict and rising levels of acute food insecurity; the connection between livelihood interventions and peace processes; and the importance of early warning and quick action to pre-empt food insecurity caused by conflicts. Earlier today, we — FAO, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the European Union and 13 other partners — launched the 2020 edition of the Global Report on Food Crises. According to the Report, 135 million people in 55 countries experienced acute food insecurity in 2019. That is a substantial rise over the past four years. Almost 60 per cent of all those people did so in contexts of conflict or instability.”
2020-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/340 (2020) · source
“I thank you, Mr. President, for your invitation. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) greatly welcomes the Security Council’s engagement on this subject and its continued recognition of the relationship between conflict and hunger. While addressing the Council today, it is of course impossible to ignore the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its impact on food security. Let me assure the Council that FAO is working at all levels to reduce the risk of the pandemic disrupting food systems and causing a global food crisis among our members.”
2020-04-29 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2020/340 (2020) · source