Launch of new SIDS and new GIAHS initiatives mark milestone in FAO’s partnership with China
©FAO/Lis Sánchez
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu launched two important initiatives during his official visit to China, both of which mark an important step forward in FAO’s partnerships with China and, he emphasized, show how the Organization works with countries to deliver practical solutions at scale.
“Together, these two projects reflect a clear direction: We must scale up what works., while continuing to innovate for the future,” he said at the launch event held Tuesday in Sanya in China’s Hainan Province.
The first project launched was the FAO-China South-South Cooperation Programme (SSC) Project for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which focuses on transforming agrifood systems in the face of the particularly intense challenges faced by countries that are often isolated, with limited sources and high exposure to climate risks.
The $5 million FAO-China SIDS initiative is designed as a practical, catalytic investment focusing on areas where impact can be scaled up, such as digital agriculture, climate-resilient practices and sustainable value chains. “SIDS are not only vulnerable, they are also sources of innovation,” the Director-General said, pointing to their significant contributions to biodiversity management and ocean-based economies.
The overarching goal goes beyond technical support and aims to enable countries to adapt and apply solutions in their own contexts, Qu said. “South-South and Triangular Cooperation is one of FAO’s most effective programmes for delivery,” he added.
A key project target is to improve efficiencies in the fisheries sector of SIDS, which due to local circumstances and capacities are subject to considerable loss and waste of aquatic foods and resources.
Amplifying GIAHS networks
The second initiative launched in Sanya aims to advance the second phase of FAO’s Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) Programme.
GIAHS, a model that links biodiversity, food diversity, traditional knowledge and rural development, along with sustainability and resilience, often in contexts of remarkable beauty, “reminds us that transformation is not only about new technologies … (but) also about learning from systems that have sustained communities for generations,” the Director-General said.
The new $3 million phase for GIAHS, one of FAO’s flagship initiatives, will strengthen governance, expand the global network and deepen knowledge exchange among countries so that the heritages they embody continue to evolve as living systems and not merely relics of the past.
There are now 104 designated GIAHS sites across 29 countries, including 25 in China, one of the pioneers. Several countries have also rolled out Nationally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems programmes on a national scale.
A FAO-Hainan Programme Cooperation Office has been established as a platform for delivery, acceleration and upscaling of both initiatives. The Director-General expressed appreciation of the Government of China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the Hainan Provincial Government for their leadership, partnership and funding in the ventures.
BOAO Forum for Asia
The Director-General wrapped up his visit with two days at the BOAO Forum for Asia, a regional nonprofit that hosts high-level forums for leaders from government, business and academia.
Participating in a session on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Qu called for bold acceleration and exponential transformation to close the gap of food and agriculture-related SDG indicators that are still far from being achieved by the 2030 target date.
He underlined facing interconnected challenges that no one could handle on their own. “As an independent specified agency within the UN system, FAO respects Members and cherishes its partnership with others. All parties must strengthen collaboration and broaden partnership,” he said.
The Director-General pointed out that, in order to achieve the SDGs, commitments are important, but actions really matter. “Actions speak much louder than words. At FAO, we always walk the talk, never talk the walk,” he said. “Only actions deliver concrete results, which is what our members expect.”
He hailed precision agriculture, satellite monitoring, digital platforms and mobile financial services as key elements for how science, technology and innovation can contribute. That is one of the three pathways needed, Qu said, adding that the second is to put farmers, especially smallholders, women and youth, at the center of the process, and that the third is “Vitamin M - Money”.
“Financing for agrifood systems remains inadequate, fragmented and often mis-aligned,” he said, calling for public resources to act as strategic catalysts to de-risk projects, crowd in private capital and support innovation across entire value chains.
At another high-level event at the Forum, the Director-General hailed how efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems “are critical for injecting certainty into an uncertain world” and allow for growth and sustainable to mutually reinforce each other rather than represent competing priorities.
Moments of uncertainty can divide nations and weaken cooperation, generating fear and hesitation, or they can inspire unity and renew leadership, motivating bold action and innovation, the Director-General said.
Opening of the new FAO Office in Beijing, and more
Earlier in his visit, Qu attended, along with senior officials from the Government of China, the opening of FAO’s new Representation Office in Beijing. The new premises on the campus of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences marks a new starting point and a renewed commitment in FAO’s longstanding partnership with China.
Since establishing the Representation Office in 1982, FAO has implemented 518 projects across the country. Since the inception of the FAO-China SSC Programme in 2006, China has deployed over 1,100 long-term experts and technicians in 28 countries around the world and contributed $130 million to the apposite trust fund financing these activities.
During his visit to China, the Director-General held a number of bilateral meetings with high-level host country officials and Boao Forum participants, including Sun Meijun. Minister and Secretary of CPC Committee of the General Administration of Customs, the Governor of Hainan Province Liu Xiaoming, Zhang Jun, Secretary-General of Boao Forum for Asia, and Kishore Mahbubani, a former president of the UN Security Council.
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