The United Nations Fund for Agricultural Development has praised India for refocusing on millets and selling 1.8 million tonnes of wheat to 18 nations that experienced a severe food scarcity last year due to Ukraine’s war. The head of IFAD, Alvaro Lario, stated that India’s G20 presidency could “transform” global food systems because several of New Delhi’s priority sectors overlap with those of the UN organisation.

Lario, a well-known development finance specialist, said that Indian knowledge may help other nations in the Global South with agricultural and rural development.

He said that they value India’s 1.8 million tonnes of wheat shipments to 18 nations experiencing a severe scarcity last year as a result of the Ukraine conflict. Lario was in India for the G20 conference of agriculture ministers.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development is a UN specialised agency that has been concentrating on supporting initiatives in various poor and vulnerable countries to help them combat poverty, hunger, and food insecurity.

India has also demonstrated wise leadership in South-South cooperation. Lario said he appreciates India’s emphasis on millets regeneration, for example. He went on to say that they’ve discovered that millets are an important crop for farmers to adapt to climate change since they’re drought resistant, as well as to assure nourishment in some of the world’s poorest and most isolated areas.

According to the IFAD president, India can play a worldwide role in transforming global food systems as the G20 president. The G20 presidency of India has the ability to revolutionise food systems. According to him, a food system comprises all elements of feeding and nourishing people, such as planting, harvesting, packing, processing, transporting, selling, and consuming food.

Food systems have been jolted to their core in recent years, with cumulative shocks reversing years of development and exposing their vulnerabilities, he noted.

The Covid-19 outbreak, the conflict in Ukraine, and climate change have all had a significant influence on global food security, resulting in a food crisis in African nations.

India has been emphasising the impact of the Ukraine crisis on food, energy, and fertilisers in the Global South or developing countries.

The conflict in Ukraine has resulted in a humanitarian disaster. It has resulted in rising food and gasoline costs worldwide, affecting the world’s most vulnerable people, according to Lario.

In addition to reducing grain supply, it also limits economic access to electricity and fertilisers. This has proved disastrous for small-scale farmers, who produce at least one-third of the world’s food, as well as their capacity to reach markets, he added.

Ukraine has been a significant global producer of wheat, and the Russian invasion resulted in a global food crisis as supplies were severely disrupted.

Lario stated that the “ripple effects” of the Ukraine war, together with other continuing crises, serve as a reminder of the necessity to invest extensively in medium to long-term growth in order to prevent getting caught in a similar “costly crisis” in the future.

The key areas recognised by the Indian G20 presidency for food system transformation, he said, are ensuring worldwide access to food and nutrition; encouraging climate-smart agriculture; developing inclusive and pro-poor value chains; and utilising digital technology to create smart solutions.

Lario also praised India’s overall performance in transitioning from a food shortage to a food surplus.

India has been a significant partner for IFAD for many years; it is a founding member, our largest borrower, and one of our top 15 contributors. He believes that India’s amazing transformation from a food deficit to a food surplus country may obviously serve as an example for other countries experiencing similar difficulties.

According to the IFAD president, at New Delhi’s invitation, IFAD has helped India deepen its focus and share its expertise with local production systems, market development, and resilience.

It is predicted that they will require between USD 300 billion and USD 350 billion per year to overhaul food systems. According to Lario, this is less than 3% of the money wasted each year due to inefficiencies in the present global food systems.

It accounts for less than 0.5% of world GDP. He believes that the IFAD’s experience and long-standing collaboration with governments may help make public investment more efficient and food systems more appealing to private investors.

Small-scale farmers make up to 70% of the food consumed in poor and middle-income countries, and they often face the burden of climate change and other natural catastrophes, according to the IFAD president.

Lario stated that climate financing is required both to reduce emissions and to assist economies in adapting to climate change. The present rate of action is insufficient to satisfy the Paris Agreement’s global obligations.

Small-scale producers got just USD 10 billion, or 1.7% of climate money, between 2017 and 2018, he stated.

Conclusion.

According to the IFAD president, India can play a worldwide role in transforming global food systems as the G20 president. The G20 presidency of India has the ability to revolutionise food systems. According to him, a food system encompasses all elements of feeding and nourishing people, including planting, harvesting, packing, processing, transporting, selling, and consuming food.