UNIDO chief: $50 bn annual investments can achieve food security in 10 years

23 / 02 / 2024

By Marwa Nassar - -

UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller highlighted studies which show that investments of $50 billion annually in agriculture and food systems over the next ten years could achieve food security.

UNIDO will present these studies in detail at the upcoming UN Summit of the Future in September, he said at the annual Munich Security Conference (MSC) interactive Roundtable on “Nutritional Intelligence: Food Insecurity as a Predictive Indicator”.

Müller outlined UNIDO‘s perspective and efforts on the critical role of food security in national, regional and global stability and how the Organization‘s industrial development expertise contributes to creating a world without hunger.

The Roundtable brought together 30 high-level participants, including Cindy McCain, Executive Director, World Food Program, Robert Dussey, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Togo, Bill Anderson, CEO Bayer AG, Joe Ucuzoglu, Global CEO Deloitte, Cary Fowler, U.S. State Department Special Envoy for Global Food Security, and Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Program.

Müller supported the initiative for all industrialized countries to finally meet the internationally agreed upon target of spending 0.7% of Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance.

Müller said “Global security can only be achieved through sustainable development all over the world. Beyond just defense capability and crisis prevention, security is founded on overcoming hunger, poverty and on the creation of good jobs for proper livelihoods. That is why I am calling on everyone here at the MSC to ensure that industrialized countries reliably and permanently keep their promises to the Global South and invest in food security, rural development, education and the creation of good jobs”

Müller highlighted that “international development cooperation is not charity, but rather a crucial investment in sustainable economic development. Industry plays a key role in this. That is why UNIDO is committed to fair supply chains with living wages, modern agriculture and more local value creation. This is how we create new and decent jobs that provide young people prospects for the future in their homelands.”