16 Oct 2012

ROME / WORLD FOOD DAY

The United Nations today marked World Food Day by highlighting agricultural cooperatives as vital weapon in the war on poverty and hunger. FAO

Posted at: October 16, 2012 12:48 pm

Duration: 03:58

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: ROME / WORLD FOOD DAY
TRT: 3.58
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 16 OCTOBER 2012, ROME, ITALY

SHOTLIST:

1. Close up, UN Flag 
2. Wide shot, FAO Headquarters in Rome
3. Wide shot, conference
4. Wide shot, audience
5. SOUND-UP (English) José Graziano da Silva, Director-General, FAO:
""I declare now open this 32nd World Food Day, which coincides with the 67th anniversary of the founding of FAO."
6. Cutaway, audience
7. SOUNDBITE (English) José Graziano da Silva, Director-General, FAO:
"Nearly 870 million men, women and children still go hungry every day, and in Africa and Near East the number of undernourished people is still growing. We cannot allow that in a world of plenty, we already produce enough food for every human being."
8. Cutaway, audience
9. SOUNDBITE (English) David Nabarro, Special Representative on Food Security and Nutrition: 
"The theme of this year's WFD - "Agricultural Cooperatives:  Key to feeding the world" - draws inspiration from the observance of the International Year of Cooperatives 2012. Agricultural cooperatives play a vital role in improving food and nutrition security, owned by their members, they can generate employment, alleviate poverty and empowerment of poor and marginalized groups in rural areas, especially women, to drive their own destiny."
10. Cutaway, audience
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Kanayo F Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
"The maximization of cooperative advantage, where motivation of collective interest overshadows self-cantered interest, has shaped human societies and economic activity for thousands of years. Today cooperatives produce about 50% of global agricultural output. Some of our largest financial institutions have their roots in farmers' cooperatives."
12.Cutaway, audience
13.SOUNDBITE (English) Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Program:
"When we collaborate for the people we are here to serve, we each perform our mandates better. We increase stakeholder value for money by bringing down the costs of food assistance, through cheaper local prices, reduced storage periods and shorter distances between points of distribution and points of purchase. And we grow autonomy and resilience in rural communities, improving livelihoods, empowering the poor to take control of their future, a future in which strong cooperatives and strong communities will be there to deliver their own social protections safety nets." 
14. Cutaway, photographers
15. Wide shot, press conference
16. Med shot, journalists
17. SOUNDBITE (English) José Graziano da Silva, Director-General, FAO:
"We can and we will face problems like drought, floods and other climate events in the future, but that's not necessary brings to food crisis, if we could avoid every country to take unilateral measures, like putting bans on others – measures that we have seen in the past – we can calm down markets and avoid crisis."
18. Cutaway, journalists
19. Wide shot, press conference ends

STORYLINE:

Amid economic crises, climatic shocks, and high and volatile food prices in a world of plenty where nearly 870 million people still go hungry, the United Nations today marked World Food Day by highlighting agricultural cooperatives as vital weapon in the war on poverty and hunger.

At the commemorative event at FAO's headquarters in Rome, FAO's Director General José Graziano da Silva while noting that in Africa and Near East the number of undernourished people is still growing, he said that "we cannot allow that in a world of plenty, we already produce enough food for every human being".

The United Nations Special Representative on Food Security and Nutrition, David Nabarro, delivering a message from Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that 
"The theme of this year's WFD drew inspiration from the observance of the International Year of Cooperatives 2012.

Nabarro said agricultural cooperatives played a vital role in improving food and nutrition security. He said that "owned by their members, they can generate employment, alleviate poverty and empowerment of poor and marginalized groups in rural areas, especially women, to drive their own destiny".

Kanayo F. Nwanze, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) while noting that some of our largest financial institutions had their roots in farmers' cooperatives, said that "today cooperatives produced about 50 percent of global agricultural output."

Speaking at the same ceremony, the UN World Food Programme's (WFP) Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, underscored the need for social safety nets for those who could barely feed themselves. Cousin said that "when we collaborate for the people we are here to serve, we each perform our mandates better", and added that, "and we grow autonomy and resilience in rural communities, improving livelihoods, empowering the poor to take control of their future."

At a press conference later on food price volatility Graziano said that everybody at the opening meeting agreed that lack of coordination was a problem. While countries will face problems like drought, floods and other climate events in the future, they will not necessarily cause a food crisis, he said. Graziano said that "if we could avoid every country to take unilateral measures, like putting bans on others – measures that we have seen in the past – we can calm down markets and avoid crisis".