探花精选

H.E. Mr. Lok Bahadur Thapa, Permanent Representative of Nepal, and Chair of the LDC group,  

H.E. Gladys Mokhawa, Permanent Representative of Botswana, and Chair of the LLDC group,  

H.E. Ms. Elina Kalkku, Permanent Representative of Finland, and the host of the LDC Future Forum

Excellencies, Distinguished Panellists, Dear Colleagues, 

I am very pleased to welcome you all to this important side event.

I thank the Permanent Missions of Finland and Nepal, and the UN Technology Bank for LDCs for joining us in organizing this event. We greatly value this partnership.

The importance of leveraging STI for transforming the agricultural sector in LDCs and LLDCs cannot be emphasized enough.  

This is fundamental to ensure that the 45 LDCs and 32 LLDCs achieve SDG2; and can uplift millions of people from poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.

In LDCs, over 270 million people are now facing severe food insecurity, and more than 51 million children are suffering from moderate to severe stunting.

The situation in LLDCs is also highly worrisome.

The prevalence of moderate to severe food insecurity in these countries increased from 43% in 2015 to 58% in 2022, with undernourishment also on the rise.

Clearly, the situation is grave.  And this could take a turn for the worse, given the fact that the population of both the LDCs and LLDCs are expected to double by 2050. 

Therefore, there is no alternative but to find new and innovative ways to increase agricultural productivity for these growing population.

Agriculture is also the backbone of economies for many LDCs and LLDCs, both in terms of GDP and employment.

This sector employs over half of the population in LDCs and LLDCs and is the mainstay of their rural economies.

As such, increasing productivity is fundamental for long-term development, with the potential to transform the lives of rural communities, ending poverty, and creating new and better jobs.

Excellencies,

The SDG target 2.6 calls for increased investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural research, and technology development to boost agricultural productive capacity in LDCs.

The Doha Programme of Action for LDCs and the new POA for LLDCs (currently being negotiated), also prioritize agricultural productivity.

Yet these countries are grappling with many pre-existing challenges, which stand in their way to unlock STI’s full potentials to increase agricultural productivity. [Take for instance]

• Only 56% of the population in LDCs and 60% in LLDCs have access to electricity.
• The proportion of youth in LDCs and LLDCs using the internet is only 54% compared to the world average of 79%.
• Lack of research, especially under-investment in agricultural research is also a big challenge. The R&D expenditure in LDCs and LLDCs as a share of their GDP is far below 1%.
• The agriculture sector of LDCs and LLDCs are also characterized by traditional farming methods and practices, low levels of value addition, high vulnerability to climate change and disasters, and inadequate access to national, regional, and global markets.

To overcome these challenges, they need stronger international support measures, aligned with their national strategies to reap the maximum benefits of STI and innovative solutions in enhancing agricultural productivity. 

Allow me now to highlight a few specific points:

First: the LDCs and LLDCs require a multifaceted and well-coordinated approach to leverage STI for agricultural productivity.

The fundamental issues of access to electricity, internet, and enabling digital infrastructure, need to be urgently addressed.

It is critical to increase investment in R&D, including by enhanced collaboration among research, academic institutions, and industry.

In the recent LDC Future Forum hosted by Finland in March, we have seen some encouraging examples of locally led innovations and technologies such as, ‘mobile irrigation system’, and ‘agricultural incubators’.

We need to find ways and means to provide necessary support to scale such innovations so that the benefits can reach all, especially smallholder farmers.

It is the upward economic mobility of those who are the furthest behind that will deliver real change.

Second:  farmers in LDCs and LLDCs must be provided with necessary incentives and support to embrace new technologies and methods.  

AI-powered precision farming technologies can provide real-time insights into soil health, crop conditions, and weather patterns.

But how do we bring these technologies to the doorsteps of the farmers in an affordable and user-friendly manner?

We need active engagements of all critical stakeholders, including national governments, regional and global partners, and specialized UN agencies.

There needs to be tailored programmes to empower smallholder farmers, so that they can truly benefit from these cutting-edge technologies.

Third: it is critical to put nature at the heart of any new approach to boost productivity.

We need sustainable solutions for the future of farming. This can be done through environment-friendly technologies and practices.

Finally:  I am pleased to share that my office is taking forward strategic initiatives for leveraging STI to enhance agricultural productivity and achieve SDGs.

The Government of Qatar has announced financial support to operationalize two key deliverables of the Doha Programme of Action for LDCs, namely: a food stockholding mechanism, and a resilience building mechanism.

Both these deliverables can play a critical role in effectively responding to food emergencies and building resilience against the impacts of climate change and natural disasters on agricultural production, as well as other shocks.

Excellencies, Distinguished Colleagues,

We are hosting this event at a time when we are just 2 weeks away from the SIDS4 Conference.

And the Preparatory Committee for the LLDC3 Conference is also at its final stage of negotiations to agree on the next POA for the LLDCs.

Given the shared and overlapping priorities of the LDCs, LLDCs, and SIDS, our discussions here are expected to have important recommendations for these two major conferences.

We have an excellent panel today to delve further into this important topic.  I thank them for joining us. 

I would like to recognize in particular, Mr. Deodat Maharaj, the newly appointed Managing Director of the UN Technology for LDCs.  The Bank has identified agriculture and food systems as a key focus area for STI support in LDCs.  I look forward to hearing his plans and ideas on how the Bank can contribute further to this area. 

Excellencies, Distinguished Panelists and Dear Colleagues – I thank you for being with us here today.  I look forward to a very productive discussion.