World Food Day 2018
On October 16, an event dedicated to World Food Day was held at the Baku Congress Center, jointly organized by the IDEA Public Union, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the Food Safety Agency of Azerbaijan (FSA).
This year, World Food Day was dedicated to the theme "Our Actions are our Future. A #ZeroHunger world by 2030 is possible."
First, the guests of the event visited an exhibition at the Baku Congress Center featuring photographs on the theme #MyActions, as well as publications and booklets presented by the organizers. Representatives of Women’s Development Groups from the districts of Masalli, Aghdam, Lankaran, Ismayilli, and Balakan also contributed their handicrafts to the exhibition organized within the framework of the event. It should be noted that these groups were established under the Second Agricultural Investment Project of Azerbaijan, implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan and jointly financed by the Government of Azerbaijan and the World Bank. The main purpose of creating such groups is to improve the well-being of the population through the establishment, development, management, and expansion of businesses in rural areas.
The event began with the screening of a short film on food waste (Sustainable Development Goal 12 – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns), prepared within the framework of the collaboration between IDEA and FAO.
Following this, the guests were shown a video message on World Food Day by FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva.
The event featured speeches by the Minister of Agriculture Inam Karimov, the Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev, the Head of FAO’s Partnership and Liaison Office in Azerbaijan Melek Cakmak, and the Chairman of FSA Goshgar Tahmazli.
The event continued with panel discussions on “Supporting Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development” and video stories about farmers’ success in agribusiness.
October 16, the day FAO was founded in 1945, is celebrated as World Food Day in more than 150 countries around the world. The main purpose of events dedicated to this day is to raise awareness about issues of hunger and poverty worldwide.
