From CropLife America:
DES MOINES, IOWA – CropLife America (CLA) is pleased to join with agricultural organizations in the U.S. and around the world to celebrate World Food Day. Each year on October 16 on the anniversary of the founding of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in 1945, organizations across the globe gather to honor growers and discuss ways to increase food security and end global hunger. The crop protection industry joins in applauding farmers today and continues to work to develop better technology to protect crops from pests and disease and prevent post-harvest losses.
“On the occasion of World Food Day, CropLife America thanks the world’s farmers,” stated Jay Vroom, president and CEO of CLA. “I encourage everyone to personally thank one farmer today for the hard work and smart decisions he or she makes every day to provide food for all of us.”
With the global population expected to reach 9 billion in next thirty or so years, millions of people continue to experience hunger. Vroom noted the amount of work that the crop protection industry must accomplish in order to help eliminate global hunger. “We can do better and will likely do so, in supporting farmers with better technology and public policy, so that the number of hungry people can and does go down. As always, we welcome debate and discussion about food technology and encourage public officials to keep hard science and facts in mind.”
CropLife affiliates from around the world joined CLA staff in Des Moines, Iowa, this week to celebrate World Food Prize events. Throughout the week, participants gathered to celebrate progress in food production and environmental sustainability and to discuss the challenges of moving ahead. At the events in Iowa today, Vroom noted, “Choice for consumers is very important and so is choice for farmers. Our industry members and allies support all farming systems: global and local, organic and conventional, small and large scale. An all-of-the-above approach is our only way forward.”
On Thursday in Des Moines, the World Food Prize Foundation honored Sir Fazle Hasan Abed of Bangladesh as the World Food Prize Laureate. As the founder and chairperson of BRAC, formerly known as the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, he has grown the organization into the world’s largest non-governmental organization, enhancing food security and providing 150 million people with the opportunity to improve their lives. His approach to development has addressed the connection between hunger and poverty, including the development of food security programs that have helped more than half of a million farmers gain access to proven technologies, efficient farming methods and financial support services.
Follow the discussion on World Food Day and ending global hunger on Twitter with the hashtags #WorldFoodDay and #ZeroHunger. Share your thoughts about how the crop protection industry can help farmers protect their crops by tweeting @CropLifeAmerica. Visit www.CropLifeAmerica.org for more information on how crop protection technology helps growers protect their crops from pests and disease and prevent post-harvest losses.