Akihabara News (Tokyo) — At the UN Food System Summit on September 23, outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga outlined Japan’s three point strategy for global food security.
“It is vital to consider the entire process of food production and distribution as integrated ‘food systems,’” said Suga.
The most notable initiative is Japan’s strategy for sustainable food systems: Measures for Achievement of Decarbonization and Resilience with Innovation (MeaDRI), launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in May 2021.
The UN defines “food systems” as the constellation of activities involved in producing, processing, transporting, and consuming food.
The first point listed in Japan’s strategy, “achieve both productivity improvement and sustainability,” aims to drive innovation, digitalization, and the utilization of science and tech for food systems.
Suga referenced MeaDRI and how it will be used for the development of sustainable food systems with lower environmental burden, including decarbonization of the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries.
This involves greener production materials/machineries, development of “super” plant varieties with less environmental impact, long-term decarbonization of farmlands, forests and oceans, and higher efficiency based on data science and Artificial Intelligence.
The second and third points announced at the summit are to “maintain and strengthen free and fair trade” and to “take the climate and food and culture of each country and region into account.”
Professor Naoko Ishii of the Center for Global Commons, elaborated on Japan’s role in global food security, saying “Through an active contribution to global rule-making processes, Japan can help build truly sustainable food systems worldwide.”
Japan will host the Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit in December where further strategies for achieving Sustainable Development Goal targets will be discussed.
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