Harvesting rice in the Central Highlands Province of Đắk Nông. — VNA/VNS Photo Hưng Thịnh

HÀ NỘI — More than 100 countries will participate in the fourth Global Conference of the One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food Systems Programme (SFS Programme), which will be held in Hà Nội on April 24-27, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in a press conference held on Tuesday.

The food systems programme is an annual ministry-level conference, first held in 2017, that is a platform for dialogue to drive change in the food system.

Việt Nam hosts the conference in the context of its agriculture sector implementing the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy for the period 2021-2030, based on three pillars: “ecological agriculture”, “modern countryside”, and “smart farmers”.

In response to the call of the UN Secretary-General at the summit on Food Systems in 2021, the Prime Minister has issued the "National Action Plan for Transforming the Food System” with the ambition for a transparent, responsible and sustainable food system in Việt Nam by 2030.

“Hosting the conference this year, Việt Nam promotes being a transparent, responsible and sustainable food supplier,” Nguyễn Hoàng Hiệp, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said at a meeting to announce the upcoming event.

“Việt Nam also wants to show as a responsible member for global issues, including food and energy security, climate change and emerging pandemics."

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The press conference announcing the fourth Global Conference of the One Planet Network’s Sustainable Food Systems Programme (SFS Programme) will be held in Hà Nội on April 24-27. — VNA/VNS Photo

​According to Nguyễn Đỗ Anh Tuấn, director of the agriculture ministry's International Cooperation Department, the conference will review difficulties and challenges related to the transformation of the food system.

It will roll out solutions, focusing on issues including models and global architecture of the food system, national policies and governance on food systems, consumption patterns and ways to implement food system transformation.

The conference expects to welcome 300 delegates, with 200 foreign delegates from 100 countries around the world.

The official added that models of food system transformation in several countries and international initiatives would also be introduced.

Việt Nam's agriculture sector is moving towards multi-value integrated development in the direction of high technology, diversity, sustainability, low emissions, rational use of resources, protection of the ecological environment and conserving biodiversity, Tuấn said.

Several sessions and a range of sideline events will be held within the framework of the conference, including a meeting at the ministerial level hosted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with MARD on April 25.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will coordinate with the Switzerland government, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations (FAO) and the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub in hosting the conference.

The One Planet Network is an open partnership chaired by the United Nations Environment Programme, aiming to promote sustainable consumption and production.

SFS is a global programme led by the UN, intending to accelerate the transition of food systems towards a more sustainable one through capacity building, synergies and strengthening cooperation between partners at all levels. — VNS