27 March 2014: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have recommended five targets on food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture for the post-2015 development agenda.

Launched during the High-level Roundtable on ‘Food and Nutrition Security through Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems in the Post-2015 Agenda’ in New York, US, on 27 March 2014, the targets are: 1) All people have access to adequate (safe, affordable, diverse and nutritious) food all year round; 2) End malnutrition in all its forms (under-nutrition, micro-nutrient deficiencies and overweight/obesity), with special attention to ending stunting; 3) All food systems become more productive, sustainable, resilient and efficient – minimizing adverse environmental impact without compromising food and nutrition security; 4) All small food producers, especially women, have secure access to adequate inputs, knowledge, productive resources and services, to increase productivity, sustainability, and improve their income and resilience; and 5) More efficient post-production food systems (harvest, handling and storage, processing and packaging, transport and consumption) that reduce the global rate of food loss and waste by 50 percent.

The High-level Roundtable is being hosted by the Government of Benin, the Biovision Foundation and the Millennium Institute, with support from the Government of Switzerland through the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

Elisabeth Rasmusson, WFP, introduced the targets, and said they seek to translate the UN Secretary-General’s Zero Hunger Challenge into an agenda for sustainable development. Rasmussen also noted that attention to food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture are not enough to achieve the “world we want,” calling for support to adopt a post-2015 sustainable development agenda that includes complementary goals. [IISD RS Sources] [Biovision Press Release, 27 March] [Roundtable Website]