The Gambia will on Wednesday 19 May 2021 launch its Food Systems Summit Dialogue (FSSD) at the Kairaba Beach Hotel. The FSSD will be launched by Honourable Amie Fabureh, Minister of Agriculture who has been nominated by His Excellency Adama Barrow President of The Republic of The Gambia as Convenor of the summit. Musa Saihou Mbenga has been selected as Curator and will be supported by twos facilitators and a steering committee.
The summit is in response to the request for member states to initiate multi-stakeholder Food Systems Summit Dialogues in preparation for World Food Systems Summit which will be convened by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres in September 2021. It is part of the UN Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. The Summit will launch bold new actions to deliver progress on all 17 SDGs, each of which relies to some degree on healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems. The goal of the World Food Systems Summit (FSS) is to deliver a platform for leaders to ensure the transformation to a sustainable and healthy global food system for people and the planet.
All Member States are expected to attend and present a clear national pathway towards sustainable food systems. The pathway will align with the SDGs and indicate how the SDG goals will be achieved now against the end of 2030. The Summit will bring together key players from the worlds of science, business, policy, healthcare and academia, as well as farmers, youth organizations, consumer groups, environmental activists, and other key stakeholders. The objective is to bring about tangible, positive changes to the world’s food systems. The Gambia dialogue will bring together diverse actors from across the entire national food systems to share experiences and reflections, build on knowledge and wisdom. It is expected to contribute to efforts to build sustainable food systems by 2030.
The Gambia has chosen four themes for discussion. These include ensuring access to safe and nutritious food for all and shift to sustainable consumption patterns; boost nature-positive production and advance equitability in livelihood; build resilience to vulnerabilities, shocks and stress; and private sector participation in agriculture. Each of the themes has been assigned working groups that will engage in consultations.
The dialogue will take place in three stages at the national and regional levels. These consultations will culminate in the shaping of the directions of the pathway to sustainable Gambian food systems for the coming decade 2021-2030. The dialogue will also identify future actions to improve the functioning of the Food systems as well as make commitments for collective actions including defining few flagship projects. After the national pathway to sustainable food systems is prepared, it will then be presented at a Ministerial Pre-Summit in Rome, Italy in July 2021. After the pre-summit and before the Summit, itself, in New York in September 2021, there will be an opportunity to conduct additional Dialogues just to fine-tune the national pathway.
