Africa-Press – Angola. The Angolan Government discusses with national and international partners aspects related to the validation of the second National Food and Nutritional Security Strategy, with a view to strengthening the value chain and increasing local productivity.
The discussion of the strategy, called “ENSAN II”, takes place during a workshop opened this Monday, in Luanda, by the National Director of Agriculture and Livestock, Manuel Dias.
In his speech, the person responsible highlighted the importance of the document whose creation is based on promoting equitable access to food in quantity and quality, optimizing the use of financial and environmental resources in production, processing, as well as ensuring the availability of therapeutic nutritional products and supplements in nutritional treatment units.
It stated that it will allow the consumption of sustainably produced food.
According to the director, with this initiative, the Government responds to the new challenges of food and nutritional security, which makes it possible to articulate the programs and actions underway in the various ministerial departments, the private sector, academia and civil society, as strategic guidance measures, to a framework for consultation and maximizing results, making food security a collective responsibility.
He considered that the meeting takes place at a time when the country is facing risks, persistent environmental shocks, resulting from hydrometeorological phenomena, including droughts, floods and diseases that have caused damage to arable arable land and pastoral regions.
Data indicates that the country officially launched dialogues on food systems and regional public consultations to prepare ENSAN II in July 2021.
The process involves institutions, academia, civil society and partners with the aim of promoting a sustainable food system capable of eradicating hunger and feeding Angolans adequately.
For his part, the interim representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Paulo Dias, considered the workshop a significant milestone that demonstrates the high commitment of the Government and its partners in facing the complex challenges related to promoting security food and nutrition and improving the quality of life of Angolans.
He recalled, on the other hand, that the recent Report on the Situation of Food Security in the World, published in mid-2023, shows a gloomy picture, and mentioned that currently around 735 million people are hungry, an increase of 122 million compared to to the period before the Covid-19 pandemic.
As for the African continent, he said that the number of people affected by food insecurity is increasing, with one (1) in every five (5) people going hungry.
“Faced with this situation, we have no other option than to redouble our efforts to transform food systems and take advantage of them to eradicate hunger and poverty and achieve the goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 2)”, he stressed.
The validation workshop for the 2nd National Food and Nutritional Security Strategy (ENSAN II) takes place in harmony with the policies of the communities of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP ) and Southern African Development (SADC), as well as the United Nations (UN ).
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