Social inclusion must become backbone of development: FAO

Social inclusion must become the backbone of development, according to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director General Jose Graziano da Silva.

"Yet we will achieve neither social inclusion nor development, unless our choices are guided by sustainability," Prensa Latina news agency quoted da Silva as saying.

"The next 15 years will be decisive for our planet's future. During this period, we will face some of the 21st century's greatest challenges, amidst an ongoing and profound transition in the global economy," he said.

"Today, nearly 800 million people do not have enough food to eat. Yet enough food is being produced in the world to feed everyone. Clearly, we need urgent solutions to overcome the structural bottlenecks that prevent the hungry from accessing food."

"We are the first generation that can end hunger and make food and nutrition security truly universal. And perhaps we are also the last generation in a position to avoid irreversible damage brought about by climate change.

"The political framework needed to move us in the right direction requires an unprecedented degree of political commitment.

"One critical step in that direction will be taken later this month, when the international community endorses the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with an ambitious agenda to change the world for the better in the next 15 years," da Silva said.

This new global pact for the future crucially includes ending poverty and hunger by 2030, mitigating and adapting to climate change and finding more sustainable ways to make supply meet demand.

"The choices we make as consumers have now become just as important for the future as the ones we make as producers," he added.