APN | Baghdad

7 February 2022

 

APN Chairperson of the Board, Razan Zuayter, delivered a statement on behalf of civil society organizations on the first day of FAO’s ministerial meeting held in Baghdad on 7 February 2022.

"As the world's largest food importer, we as 99 men and women from 24 countries and 66 organizations and networks, and members of national and regional platforms consisting of farmers, pastoralists, fishermen, consumers, workers, NGOs, and movements that include women, youth and academics, declare a genuine political will embodied by our right to establish our food systems commensurate with our environmental, economic, social and political conditions." the statement said.

Zuayter added, "We meet today for the first time in several years in our great Arab homeland. The symbolism of our meeting today in Iraq is great and inspiring, where we planted the first wheat fields in history. It was in Iraq, the first transition in humanity from collecting fruits and hunting to agriculture and stability, and the first documented presence of palms. Just as Iraq embraced the first agricultural revolution in history, we all hope that today will mark the beginning of a new start for us to end hunger and help the 141 million hungry people in our countries."