CIHEAM Press Review

The Coronavirus pandemic has revealed the fragility of our food systems, affecting all dimensions of food security and nutrition across the world. It has highlighted how deeply our world is interconnected and the importance of better recognising and understanding the interconnections that are intrinsic to these systems and their key role in pursuit of the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda. There is now, more than ever, a stronger need for a “route change” towards a common action on food systems transformation.

As we well know by now, climate change and other environmental issues are not any one person’s concern. They are all of our concerns. That’s why recent coverage of climate change has been calling for international cooperation on all sides. It’s not America’s issue; it’s not the UK’s issue. The scope of climate change and threats to our environment are much greater than that: It’s an international issue.

Resilient Communities is bringing civil society, business and the local government for the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
SOS Malta and CORE Platform are embarking on this pilot project that aims to raise awareness on the SDGs while shedding light on how you can take action in Malta.

Initially developed in the early sixties, the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has undergone several waves of reforms – the latest one of which was decided in 2013 and implemented in 2015. Since then, the context has changed significantly. Against this new background, the European Commission believes that “the CAP must be modernised, simplified, and made even more coherent with other EU policies to maximise its contribution to the ten Commission Priorities and the Sustainable Development Objectives.” The Commission thus decided to carry out a public consultation on the simplification and modernisation of the CAP.

When examining the Sustainable Development Goals of The United Nations; zero hunger, responsible production, and climate action are three of the main focal points. In order to take on these goals, we can focus on food loss on farms.
 On top of the environmental impact, there are also societal implications. There is a layered relationship with small-hold farmers and food loss.
Smallholder farmers produce more than 80% of the food required by developing countries. These farmers have a difficult time securing capital in order to build a more robust and sustainable supply chain, but the issue deepens when these farmers are women.

The World Bank is pleased to release the 2017 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals. With over 150 maps and data visualizations, the new publication charts the progress societies are making towards the 17 SDGs.

he majority of the world’s extremely poor—about 800 million people—depend almost entirely on agriculture for their livelihoods. Smallholder farmers produce much of the world’s food, yet are highly vulnerable to hunger, financial hardship, and climate shocks. So when UN Member States adopted a set of goals aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity for all by 2030, it made sense that agriculture featured prominently among them. And agricultural businesses are key in reaching those goals.