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Today is World Food Day when the global community devotes attention to the most critical issue in the life of every human being and every creation of nature every day – food.

Without food there would be no life as we know it, nay, we shall cease to exist. That is why the theme of this year’s event soundly resonates with this stark reality. The day serves as a reminder of the need to ensure food security and access to nutritious food for all.

Celebrated on 16 October every year, this is the day the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) was founded in 1945. First commemorated by FAO in 1979, the day aims to promote healthy diets and eradicate hunger by 2030.

World Food Day 2023’s theme, ‘Water is Life, Water is Food. Leave No One Behind’, aims to highlight the critical role of water for life on earth and water as the foundation of our food. It is the fulcrum of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) main aim of ending extreme poverty by 2030.

It also seeks to raise global awareness about the importance of managing water wisely as rapid population growth, economic development, urbanisation and climate change threaten water availability. Ahead of the event, FAO hosted the Global Symposium on Soils and Water.

Water retention

“The relationship between soil and water is deep and the foundation of our agrifood systems, our environment and our very existence,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu told the symposium.

“Our soils are under pressure. The world faces a global, collective challenge of preserving the critical balance of soil and water,” he added. He described soils as a kind of “virtual” SDG, deeply intertwined with many of the objectives and underscoring the many and complex balances to which the foundation of healthy terrestrial ecosystems contributes.

The symposium included more than 35 presentations on topics including the impact of chemicals and wildfire on soil water retention capacity to better governance, integrated management and conservation of natural resources.

Soils are symbiotic with water, the central theme of this year’s World Food Day, the core topic of the recent FAO Conference and central to FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-2031. QU Dongyu was re-elected for a second term at the conference.

FAO member-states agreed to increase the organization’s budget for the biennium (2024-25) and to strengthen FAO actions and initiatives in integrated water resources management.

As the world marks this important day, Kenya has become centre stage for discussions to address critical issues facing humanity today — action for the future of food, people and the planet.

This week, governments from around the world are meeting in Nairobi to recommend science-based measures to support the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted last December.

The 25th Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA-25) meeting will support the implementation of the framework through detailed discussions on providing “robust scientific and technical inputs to move agreement to actions towards our common vision of living in harmony with nature,” according to its chair, Hesiquio Benitez.

Last week, the Nairobi-headquartered Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) staged the largest hybrid conference on local solutions to the global climate and biodiversity crises.

Biodiversity crises

Thousands of scientists, activists, women leaders, indigenous leaders, financiers, policymakers, practitioners and private sector representatives gathered for the Global Landscapes Forum (GLF) Nairobi conference.  The GLF is the world’s largest knowledge-led platform on integrated land use. It is led by CIFOR-ICRAF collaborating with 33 charter members, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Bank.

CIFOR-ICRAF CEO Eliane Ubalijoro said the climate and biodiversity crises are directly affecting communities in Africa and other regions in the Global South whose livelihoods are closely linked to natural resources. The hybrid event proved an ideal forum to discuss local solutions ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, UAE next month.

The Nairobi conference focused on sovereign solutions and how Africa can create a prosperous and sustainable future and how the continent can pay keen attention to its vulnerabilities relating to poverty, gender inclusivity and equity, youth unemployment and food insecurity.

It also sought to address climate, highlighting ways to craft a ‘Survival Guide for a Planet in Crisis’ covering rural development and green jobs, women in landscapes, youth, environmental justice and rights, sustainable finance and locally led landscape solutions.

As the world marks World Food Day today, FAO is warning that with population growth, urbanization, agriculture, and climate change, our water resources are becoming increasingly stressed. Focusing on water is more urgent than ever amid the climate crisis.

It is, therefore, crucial to understand the links between food systems and water use. Only about 0.5 percent of the planet’s total water is fresh and available to drink. And nearly three-quarters of that small percentage goes to agriculture.

Today, one in four people worldwide don’t have access to safe drinking water at home. And even those who have these resources already face water shortages. If we don’t course-correct, two-thirds of the world could face water scarcity by 2025.

Water access isn’t just about drinking: Fresh water is also vital to sanitation, hygiene, and disease prevention. About 3.6 billion people, or nearly half the global population, lack adequate sanitation services at home. Inadequate water access can also make existing challenges like malnutrition significantly worse.

“This year’s World Food Day can spark important global action around water. Just like nutritious food, clean water is a human right,” says Danielle Nierenberg, a world-renowned journalist-researcher, speaker and advocate on issues relating to our food system and agriculture.

She is also the President of the non-profit Food Tank. This World Food Day, Food Tank is co-hosting the official North America World Food event around the theme ‘Water is Life’ in collaboration with among other partners the International Fund for Agriculture (IFAD) in Vancouver, Canada.

Speakers are covering topics such as water management for food systems, building environmental resilience into business, the private sector’s role in transforming water use and steps policymakers are taking to improve water conservation. These topics were discussed at the Africa Food Systems Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania last month which explored the pathways and actions needed to accelerate and steer the continent towards food systems transformation under the theme ‘Recover, Regenerate, Act’.

The summit highlighted and unlocked the political, policy and financial commitments and innovations the continent has made and working towards achieving productive, nutritious, inclusive, resilient and sustainable food systems.

Sustainable practices

Coinciding with the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, the forum elaborated the call for impactful outcomes to bolster Africa’s role and influence in addressing pressing challenges in the climate change discourse before COP28.

It reinforced the Nairobi declaration on the need to redouble efforts to boost agricultural yields through sustainable agricultural practices to enhance food security while minimizing negative environmental impacts.

The Dar Summit renewed political commitment to amplify the roles of women and youth in constructing climate-resilient food systems across Africa.

African Union (AU) Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Development Josefa Sacko, quoting a Malagasy proverb, says: “Water is the king of foods. Water and soil form the bedrock of our survival, our economy, and our future.

FAO is helping the AU draft a harmonized legal framework to ensure the continent has a solid foundation for safeguarding its soil and water resources.

On Saturday, the World Bank officially expanded its mission to include climate change, while pushing ahead with reforms that could unlock funding and cheaper loans for green projects.

New President Ajay Banga says a set of measures to stretch its balance sheet could allow the bank to increase lending by up to $15.7 a year. The new funding would support the implementation of the bank’s new vision statement.