When the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for a Food Systems Summit two years ago, the ambition was to start a "decade of action" by recognising that several global challenges come back to food systems.
Then the Covid-19 pandemic happened. Food systems, which are the connections between how we produce food, distribute it and how we consume and dispose of it, fell under the spotlight.
The summit in New York last month marked a checkpoint for progress not only towards the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but also towards an entire food systems transformation. The pandemic put out of reach access to food and healthy diets for an additional 141 million people, and pushed up to 124 million people into poverty.
The summit in September represented an 18-month effort to increase dialogue and take more action. But the hard work is only just beginning, and it is vital that all of us keep our eyes on the prize of food systems that deliver for people, planet and prosperity.
In the first instance, countries must continue to unite and prioritise food systems in all international summits and negotiations in the coming months and years.
Across the more than 900 so-called independent dialogues and 600 member state dialogues that the summit inspired, a common theme emerged: healthy food systems are inextricably linked to healthy environments. This was the message from indigenous peoples, climate-vulnerable countries and island states such as Fiji and Barbados.
Food systems must continue to play a defining role in next month's Cop26 climate talks, which is unlikely to achieve its aims without more sustainable, inclusive and resilient food systems.
Second, governments must refine and enact the pathways they announced at the summit to transform their food systems with clear targets and deadlines.
More than 160 countries set out their commitments to improve food and nutrition security, climate action and equality through food systems, but this must now be translated into policy and action.
For countries such as the US, for instance, which pledged $10 billion to tackle hunger and malnutrition at home and abroad, this means making use of the best available science to guide investment decisions and strategies for delivering on its commitments.
Finally, countries should collaborate and engage on areas of mutual interest with neighbours and allies to support progress in the interests of people everywhere.
The Food Systems Summit helped launch several coalitions, including those supporting indigenous peoples’ food systems, universal school meals, family farming and climate resilient development pathways. These must now draw upon and complement commitments made by member states, civil society, indigenous peoples, farmers, youth, and other constituencies to encourage change and hold one another to account.
Notwithstanding the various commitments, pathways and strategies, it is up to countries to deliver tangible progress on the pledges they have made. We know from the summit that people are ready to play their part.
The UN is committed to co-ordinate and support countries, and track progress with a review mechanism every two years to ensure the world delivers the dream of a healthier, more sustainable food system of the future.
In just two years and against the odds, we have moved to a paradigm of food systems thinking. The Food Systems Summit has given rise not only to a new approach to food but also led to the hope that a food revolution in the next 10 years may be possible. It would help deliver on the world's shared goals – from more nutritious diets to cleaner air and water and greater equality.
We have learnt that people around the world are ready for this and are willing to mobilise. To this end, we have together set off on the right track with great momentum.
A better future for this generation, the next and those to come is within reach if the world seizes the opportunity and transforms food systems for the better. The summit was just the appetiser.
Dr Agnes Kalibata is special envoy of the UN Secretary General for the UN Food Systems Summit
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Madjani Stakes Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
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More on Quran memorisation:
The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Gertrude Bell's life in focus
A feature film
At one point, two feature films were in the works, but only German director Werner Herzog’s project starring Nicole Kidman would be made. While there were high hopes he would do a worthy job of directing the biopic, when Queen of the Desert arrived in 2015 it was a disappointment. Critics panned the film, in which Herzog largely glossed over Bell’s political work in favour of her ill-fated romances.
A documentary
A project that did do justice to Bell arrived the next year: Sabine Krayenbuhl and Zeva Oelbaum’s Letters from Baghdad: The Extraordinary Life and Times of Gertrude Bell. Drawing on more than 1,000 pieces of archival footage, 1,700 documents and 1,600 letters, the filmmakers painstakingly pieced together a compelling narrative that managed to convey both the depth of Bell’s experience and her tortured love life.
Books, letters and archives
Two biographies have been written about Bell, and both are worth reading: Georgina Howell’s 2006 book Queen of the Desert and Janet Wallach’s 1996 effort Desert Queen. Bell published several books documenting her travels and there are also several volumes of her letters, although they are hard to find in print. Original documents are housed at the Gertrude Bell Archive at the University of Newcastle, which has an online catalogue.
The Gandhi Murder
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- 7 - million dollars, the film's budget
