President Gotabaya Rajapaksa expressed the hope that more countries would be inspired by Sri Lanka’s bold approach to sustainably transform its agricultural system to organic agriculture in order to ensure food security and nutrition for future generations.

The President made these remakes addressing the virtual session of the Pre-Summit of the UN Food System Summit, yesterday (July 26). In partnership with the Government of Italy, the Pre-Summit takes place in Rome from 26 - 28 July 2021.

Leaders from a number of countries are taking part in the three-day summit, which is chaired by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The conference will discuss the impact of food systems on achieving the desired sustainable development goals by 2030.  Representatives from a wide range of fields, including young people, farmers, indigenous people, civil society activists, and researchers, are joining the conference with a new approach.

The Right to Food is a fundamental human right, the President said and added that though the governments act individually to safeguard this right for their people, they must broaden their understanding of the complexities of the global food system.

Sri Lanka in inherent with agriculture deeply entwined with a long-lasting, ancient, and yet highly advanced irrigation system. Therefore, sustainable organic agriculture is not new to this country. The President said measures will be taken to revitalize historic practices with new scientific advances and management techniques.

Transformation of the food system is an essential part of the adaptations that governments must execute for the survival of mankind and the planet. The COVID-19 pandemic was a wake-up call that made us realize we are all sharing a world that is deeply interconnected.

Although mankind is socially, politically, and economically diverse, the challenges they face are universal. Addressing the summit, President Rajapaksa said that these challenges could not be faced alone and that collective action was needed to overcome them.

The Heads of State who addressed the conference yesterday (26) focused on food security, mitigation of climate change, strengthening of environmental protection, and prevention of biodiversity loss.

The full text of the President’s address to the Food Systems Summit:

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s address to the UN Food Systems Summit 2021 by Adaderana Online on Scribd