Statement by President Akufo-Addo at the United Nations Food Systems Summit

 
H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
President of the Republic of Ghana
UN Food Systems Summit at the General Assembly’s seventy-sixth session.
United Nations, New York City 09/23/2021                                            

AS DEIVERED

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO, AT THE UNITED NATIONS FOOD SYSTEMS SUMMIT, ON THURSDAY, 23RD SEPTEMBER 2021, AT THE UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK, NY USA

 

Excellencies,

 

Ghana recognises that access to safe, nutritious and affordable diets is central to the health and well-being of our population, and critical for removing the scourge of hunger, poverty, malnutrition, and morbidity bedeviling our people. It is, however, acknowledged that our current food systems are not delivering on safety, equity, sustainability, and health, and, thus, have to be transformed.

 

After extensive dialogues on food systems across the length and breadth of our country, we are committing to achieving the following targets by 2030:

 

  1. increasing by 40% the production of climate-resilient varieties of diverse vegetables and legumes, fruits, and bio-fortified staple crops using sustainable agricultural practices;

 

  1. developing and implementing food-based dietary guidelines by 2022;

 

  1. updating and consolidating local food composition databases, and developing a nutrient profiling system to facilitate implementation of food-based policies;

 

  1. developing and implementing well-structured training programmes for agricultural extension workers in nutrition and sustainable agronomic practices;

 

  1. increasing women’s empowerment in agriculture index by 20%;

 

  1. supporting increased production of fruits and vegetables by expanding the proportion of land area under irrigated agriculture from 24% to 30%;

 

  1. promoting seed security, breed security, and land security for Ghanaian farmers, especially women and youth in agriculture; and

 

  1. strengthening the integration of essential nutrition actions into the primary healthcare system.

 

As President of the Republic of Ghana, I commit to providing the required leadership to strengthen food systems governance, including the integration of these commitments into our planning and budget cycle; generating relevant data and research for monitoring and evaluating progress over time; ensuring policy, legal and institutional coherence, multi-sectoral and inter-ministerial co-ordination and sustainable financing of under-funded areas of the food system.

 

Thank you for your attention.

 

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