FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu highlighted the role of innovation and partnerships in achieving the Four Betters, on his first visit to South Africa as head of the UN agency.
The Director-General started the mission on 19 April by meeting Ambassador Francis Moloi, Chief Director at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa (DIRCO). The two discussed deepening the partnership between FAO and South Africa for agrifood systems transformation.
He then met the Minister of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Angela Thoko Didiza. Qu began by giving his condolences for the lives lost in recent flooding in South Africa.
The two discussed the role of innovation in advancing agrifood systems transformation in South Africa, and the country’s leading role in advancing transformation across the southern Africa sub-region through the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Director General also shared with the Minister the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative, and discussed the opportunities it can provide to the country.
They also discussed exploring opportunities for furthering the collaboration between FAO and South Africa, and amplifying the partnership to achieve the Four Betters as set out in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.
During the meeting, the Minister emphasized the country’s strong innovation ecosystem and the importance of digitalization in agriculture, including precision farming, GIS-based applications and mobile-based systems.
They also discussed FAO’s 1000 Digital Villages initiative and the potential for collaboration to provide digital services to farming communities.
Later in the day, the Director-General visited laboratories at the Vegetable, Industrial and Medicinal Plant (VIMP) Institute at the Agricultural Research Council, a leading scientific research institution in South Africa. He toured the facilities and met scientists and academics from a range of institutions and discussed possible areas of collaboration in economics, statistics, data, research development, and innovation for efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems. Research institutions and academia are key in providing science and evidence based innovative solutions that can help develop capacity and knowledge of smallholder farmers in South Africa and beyond.
On Wednesday, the Director-General met representatives of private sector organizations in South Africa, including the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (AgriBiz), the potato industry (Potato SA), and the South African Avocado Growers Association (SAAGA). The group discussed strategic partnerships for agrifood systems transformation. Strengthened collaboration between FAO and the private sector is instrumental to accelerating sustainable agrifood systems transformation.
The day concluded with a meeting with the Director-General of the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries of South Africa, Nomfundo Tshabalala. The two discussed how to strengthen cooperation between FAO and the Department in the areas of environmental management, conservation and protection.
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations