The National Youth Delegation of Uzbekistan participated in the World Food Forum held from 17 to 21 October 2022 at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Headquarters in Rome. The World Food Forum is the Flagship event hosted annually by FAO, serving as an inclusive and engaging platform for discussions of the priorities and solutions on the way forward to catalyze the transformation of agrifood systems. Under the 2022 theme “Healthy Diets. Healthy People”, this year’s Flagship event brought together more than tens of thousands of people from across the globe together, with over 2000 people attending the event.

The Forum consisted of three action tracks: The Global Youth, Science and Innovation and the Hand-in-Hand Investment forums. The week-long event facilitated dialogues on global food system challenges among various audiences and stakeholders: the youth, farmers, agricultural producers, policymakers, academia and the private sector.

According to the FAO, conflicts, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic are among the main causes of the global food crisis. The data provided in the 2022 edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, suggests that as many as 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021 – 46 million people more than a year earlier. 

The forum highlighted the great potential of youth from all over the world, who can be the co-creators of a global movement to tackle acute food system challenges. As Vladimir Rakhmanin, Assistant FAO Director-General noted in his welcoming speech: “Too often young people are not fully involved or even excluded from the decision-making process that affects their future. Today's leaders should listen to the opinion of the younger generation. Youth energy is critical to transforming our food systems and today's youth must be at the center of decision-making”.

The Forum convened young people to discuss the most effective ways to tackle the growing global food crisis through innovation and technology. Among them were the members of the National Youth Delegation of Uzbekistan: Nargizakhon Khujaeva, Youth focal point of the FAO Country Office in Uzbekistan, Sayidjahon Khasanov, Ph.D. Researcher of the Tashkent State Agrarian University and Ummatoy Yuldasheva, head of start-up projects on sustainable development. The Uzbekistan side-event at the World Food Forum on “Meaningful Opportunities for Youth: Agri-culture, Digital Tools and Innovations” was hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Italy. The event brought together the active youth of Uzbekistan providing them with the opportunity to present their activities and experience in tackling challenges related to agri-food systems.

“Uzbekistan’s Pathway to transforming efficient and sustainable food systems by 2030 includes milestones and targets indicated in the Strategy for the development of the agri-food sector of the Republic of Uzbekistan for 2020-2030. The document is set to develop a competitive, market and export-oriented agri-food sector that will increase farm incomes, create new jobs, enhance food security and ensure the sustainable use of natural resources. The majority of residents in rural areas of Uzbekistan today are young people under the age of 30. This information once again highlights the importance of rural youth, and especially the opportunities we can create together for a better and sustainable future», Nargizakhon Khujaeva, Youth focal point of the FAO Country Office in Uzbekistan, highlighted in her speech.

During the consultations within the framework of the Global Youth Forum, the Uzbekistan delegation emphasized the importance of creating educational opportunities for all starting from kindergartens and schools as well as of better food education in schools (which means not just learning about consumption or agriculture, but also about proper nutrition and healthy diets) and advocating for representation of youth in agriculture and rural areas.

UzA