The Minister of Agriculture, Egypt's food security, is an existential issue for the Egyptian people

The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today celebrated World Food Day 2021 this year under the theme "Our actions are our future. better production, better nutrition, better environment, better life "

The Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Mr. Al-Shair, said that the celebration of World Food Day was a time when the world was facing major challenges, especially in the face of the Corona pandemic, which had underscored the importance and need for the countries of the world to work together not only to cope with the pandemic but also to mitigate its economic, social and environmental consequences.

"Today, as we join the FAO in celebrating World Food Day, we aim to raise awareness of the suffering of the hungry and food shortages and to encourage measures to combat hunger and poverty.

It also encourages the participation of rural populations in decisions and activities that affect their living conditions. This approach has been adopted by the Egyptian State in all initiatives and projects, as well as in raising public awareness, promoting international solidarity in the fight against hunger, poverty and malnutrition, promoting the transfer of technology to the developing world and encouraging interest in agricultural production.

The Short said that food and agriculture were the main factors in achieving sustainable development goals. Everyone was therefore required to strengthen sustainable food and agricultural systems throughout the world to reduce the number of poor and hungry and reduce climate change while preserving our natural resources for future generations.

The challenges to the sustainability of food systems were numerous, complex, interrelated and varied in severity from region to region and from State to State. The Minister of Agriculture said that Egypt was one of the few countries with a population of over 100 million. It was also one of the countries that relied on food imports to meet a large proportion of domestic demand for basic foodstuffs, particularly wheat and maize. Egypt's food security and the sustainability of its food systems were an existential issue for the Egyptian people, especially given the many challenges to the provision of healthy, safe and nutritious food for all.