The theme of the World Food Day 2015 will be “Social protection and Agriculture.”
This year World Food Day 2015, 16 October, will be observed for the 35th time. This auspicious occasion will also mark the 70th Anniversary of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The theme for World Food Day 2015 is “Social Protection and Agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty”, which aims to underline the role social protection plays in reducing chronic food insecurity and poverty by ensuring direct access to food or the means to buy food. Social protection is, moreover, a viable alternative for stimulating agricultural production and local economic activity.
Farmers are of the key actors in the process of fighting hunger and finding concrete remedies that address issues affecting food security and nutrition.
Farmers, in fact, have the task of producing quality safe food in order to achieve the goal of food security for everyone. As FAO has stated, agricultural production must increase by 60% globally to meet the food demand that will be required to feed the 9.2 billion people who will inhabit our planet in 2050.
In order to guarantee this result and face this challenge, it is crucial to ensure that farmers have access to infrastructures, credit and functioning markets. Farmers also need to have access to science, innovation and knowledge, which are essential for the development of the agricultural sector.
“As a farmer, I must know what food provide proper nutrition to human beings and women should be aware of what we produce and what are the specific characteristics thereof”, WFO Acting President Evelyn Nguleka stated in a recent interview. “I think technology and innovation should work together to produce the quality food that we need to survive.”
WFO is looking forward to the next World Food Day as another great chance to highlight the vital role of farmers in feeding the planet and producing energy for life.
Leaving aside October 16th, farmers play a global role on every other day of the year.
Mrs Shilpa Mittal
Nutritionist and Diet Consultant Founder Shilpsnutrilife – Diet and lifestylemakeover