APN | Cairo –  Zoom

4 June 2023

 

Razan Zuayter, APN Chairperson of the Board, actively participated in the 9th meeting of the Sub-Committee for the Eradication of Hunger in the Arab Region, affiliated with the League of Arab States (LAS), a part of her regular attendance at these meetings. During the meeting, there were panel discussions on the "Working Paper on Legislation related to Food Loss and Waste," as well as presentations on the outcomes of the session on transforming food systems to achieve food security, which was held at ESCWA during the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development in March 2023. The discussions also included the Arab strategy for food security presented by the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD).

During her interventions, Zuayter emphasized the significance of differentiating between "food loss" and "food waste" and stressed the need to address the underlying causes of each, particularly focusing on food loss, which is more prevalent in Arab countries due to inadequate infrastructure and facilities related to agricultural production, storage, and transportation, as well as challenges in the early stages of the agricultural process. She underscored the importance of enacting legislation that safeguards the interests of small-scale farmers and advocated for government policies that support and promote the agricultural sector.

In another intervention, Zuayter emphasized the necessity of adopting strategies to tackle food insecurity in the context of climate change challenges, taking into consideration the variations between the Global North and Global South. She underlined the significance of acknowledging the responsibility of all stakeholders involved in global food issues, instead of placing the burden solely on marginalized, impoverished, and resource-constrained countries.