August 2021
SIDS Solutions Forum 2021
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is convening a high-level forum of leaders from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in a major push forward to help its Members regain their momentum toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), badly affected by the global pandemic, triple-dimensional malnutrition and increasingly extreme natural hazards related with climate change.
The forum, will be convened virtually by FAO’s Subregional Office in the Pacific Islands, its Headquarters in Rome and its Regional Office in Bangkok. Heads of States and Governments from SIDS in the Pacific will also be joined by representatives from SIDS countries in the African and Latin American regions. Ministers holding key government portfolios related to agriculture, food, nutrition, environment, health and ICT, are expected to participate and play leading roles – as is the private sector – in sharing replicable solutions.
Why are innovations and digitalization so important to SIDS’ solutions?
SIDS, in particular, share challenges such as frequent natural disasters, limited arable land, dependence on small-scale agriculture, and high-priced imports. The mobility of digital technologies are transforming agri-food systems, and while this is an important development for food systems everywhere, this mobility is of great importance to remote areas, such as SIDS. The spread of mobile technologies, remote-sensing services and distributed computing are already improving smallholders’ access to information, inputs and markets, increasing production and productivity, streamlining supply chains and reducing operational costs.
In the real world, robotics together with artificial intelligence are examples of how digital innovation supports the farmer in the management of herds and crops while real-time information helps with water and soil needs.Digital innovation holds the potential to unlock employment opportunities, bridge the rural divide and empower youth and women to access information, technology and markets.
Sharing these rapidly evolving digital innovations will accelerate progress toward achieving the SDGs in SIDS. Therefore, the SIDS Solutions Forum will launch a knowledge exchange platform to incubate, promote, scale up and replicate locally grown ideas to accelerate the achievement of agriculture, food, nutrition, environment and health.
Registration to the forum is now open.
View the original statement and more about the forum here