Ministerial meeting on Food and Agriculture Partnership for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) held

As part of the COP29 session hosted by Azerbaijan, a ministerial meeting on food and Agriculture (FAST) partnership for Sustainable Transformation was held.

The meeting, chaired by COP29, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO, was moderated by Kaveh Zahedi, director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Office for climate change, biodiversity and the environment.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Agriculture Majnun Mammadov called The Food and Agriculture Partnership for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) an important platform that addresses the urgent need for effective climate action in agriculture by mobilizing funding to reach small farmers and rural communities affected by climate change. The minister added that through FAST, an integrated approach is being built to ensure that climate solutions in agricultural systems are both effective and inclusive. Noting that the Baku Harmony Initiative for farmers was announced within the framework of the COP29 session, the minister brought to the attention that the main goal is to create a new way of cooperation that promotes harmony between Harmony and existing initiatives and acts concretely to support the most vulnerable to climatic influences.

He said that the “Harmony” Initiative is designed as an inclusive platform that invites all relevant climate initiatives to come together, share knowledge and strengthen support for farmers. By creating a structured space for dialogue and collaboration, Harmony closely aligns with FAST's goals by contributing to new paths for regular exchange and rapprochement. ”We envision 'harmony' as a key continuation of the FAST Partnership, a unifying initiative that makes climate finance more accessible and more effective in building sustainability in agricultural communities”.

Adel Abdelazeem, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Egypt, Zak Bleicher, advisor to the COP28 Food Systems Group, Mario Mottin, head of the Climate Action department of the Brazilian Foreign Ministry, Martial Bernoux, Chief Natural Resources Officer of the FAO's Department of Climate Change, Environment and Biodiversity, Claudia Muller, Parliamentary Secretary of State of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Germany, and, other speakers touched upon the issues of transformation of agricultural systems, creation of a sustainable agricultural system in line with new challenges, increasing productivity by protecting the environment, and global cooperation in these areas.

At the end of the event, views were exchanged on the topic, participants ' questions were answered.