A food official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality (LNV) in The Hague believes that Dutch agricultural counsellors at embassies abroad can play a role in organizing national dialogues about new sustainable food systems.
A large UN ministers' conference on the global food situation will be held next week in New York. For the Netherlands, Minister Sigrid Kaag (Foreign Affairs and Development Cooperation) will attend. As a result, she will not be able to participate in the General Debates following the Budget Day.
The meeting in New York is preceded by a range of activities, such as a previous conference in Rome. National dialogues have been conducted in numerous countries to clarify what is wrong with their own country’s food system and what solutions are needed.
A similar dialogue was also held in the Netherlands. Coalitions have been formed between companies, knowledge institutions, and social organizations, for example, to reduce losses in food supply chains.
According to Marcel van Nijnatten, food security coordinator at LNV, the UN conference is of crucial importance. Hunger in the world is increasing, the climate is changing, and plants and animals are increasingly threatened with extinction. Expectations are high, he said. Official notes state that the summit can also bring the UN Millennium Development Goals closer through a food transformation.
Three Dutch ministries are involved in preparing the summit: LNV, Foreign Affairs, and Health, Welfare and Sport. Van Nijnatten points out that the Netherlands is a major exporter and importer of food and has extensive knowledge about production and consumption. “We feel responsible and want to seek successful system changes together with other parties,” he said last week in an interview with Agroberichtenbuitenland.
He emphasized that differences between countries are very large, so solutions will also have to differ. “But one thing is certain, broad coalitions are needed to make the food system future-proof. Emergency aid is only a temporary solution; system change is necessary.”
The Netherlands can play an important international role, Van Nijnatten believes. For example, in making food supply chains function more efficiently, with higher yields and less use of water and chemical pesticides. The Netherlands is a frontrunner in this, but how do you share our knowledge and expertise with farmers, food processors and governments in developing countries?
A large number of countries have now established their own Food Systems Summit (FSS) action plans through national dialogues. These state which system changes are needed. Agricultural counsellors in each country can play a role in this, Van Nijnatten says. “Agricultural counsellors have a large network, both in the country where they work and here in the Netherlands. They can identify what support is needed and which Dutch parties have solutions for this.”