We have a 10-year strategic framework to transform together, Dongyu said during FAO´s Executive Action Plan of the Early Warning for All Initiative lecture.

We must seek how to make agri-food systems more efficient, inclusive, resilient, sustainable for a better production, nutrition, better environment, life, leaving no one behind, Dongyu said.

With presence in over 130 nations, FAO can play a key role in aiding to protect agricultural livelihoods and to support local food production ahead of expected crises, Dongyu stated.

Agriculture (including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture) absorbed 26% of global impact caused by medium- and large-scale disasters in low- and lower-middle-income nations from 2008 to 2018.

Since 2016, FAO aided over 40 countries to link early warnings with anticipatory action to protect agricultural livelihoods and food security of the most vulnerable people, the agency’s director-general stressed.

FAO also provides services and tools around the globe including the Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS) on Food and Agriculture, among others.

In particular, GIEWS has been active in food and agriculture early warning for nearly 50 years and ready to support the Early Warning 4 ALL Initiative in the Caribbean, Dongyu said.

The need for these multi-hazard methods is urgent, as the number of reported disasters has surged fivefold, experts warned.

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