Declaration of the 6th ALGOA & Inaugural GAOD Summits
We, the participants from thirty-three countries from all over the world, have gathered virtually, under the banner of “Building Alliances Beyond Asia” at the 6th ALGOA and at the inaugural GAOD Summits, to share our experiences and best practices; and to find ways of making the transformations into organic and sustainable food systems in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Today we celebrate World Food Day, and we are faced with the glaring facts about world hunger and how famines and crop failures due to the climate crisis can threaten the lives of millions of people. We are reminded again on how eating nutritious balanced diets can benefit us all.
Food has never been more important. The pandemic has clearly brought to light the importance of local resilient food systems which have successfully provided food to their local communities and maintained the health and well-being of the people.
The sales of organic food have increased more than twenty percent in many countries as people grew more aware of the benefits of safe, healthy, and nutritious organic food to combat the onslaught of COVID-19. The pandemic should not become a hunger pandemic.
Elsewhere, where farmers and consumers rely on intermediaries and complex distribution channels, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread food shortages due to the disruption of international and domestic trade of food and the breakdown of logistics in food delivery. The poor and the marginalized have been severely affected and their health and immunity threatened, making them more vulnerable to the threat of the virus.
We welcomed the opportune decision of the Nobel Prize Committee to award the Peace Prize to the World Food Programme (WFP) “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict
Also, we are happy to note the clear message from António Guterres, UN Secretary- General who said that “transforming food systems is crucial for delivering all the Sustainable Development Goals.
Based on the diverse representations at the Summit by notable persons from international organizations like the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and from local governments, and organic and likeminded groups, and from the in-depth discussions by seven GAOD Working Groups.
ALGOA and GAOD agree to undertake the following tasks:
- Collect and disseminate research, best practices, mindsets, and values in Organic Districts facilitating the shift into healthy, sustainable, and inclusive food systems,
- Develop a universally accessible platform on Organic Districts enabling interactions and knowledge sharing from different stakeholders,
- Encourage local governments and other stakeholders to make action plans to develop Organic Districts and to provide access to affordable organic, sustainable food,
- Recognize the multi-functionality of Organic Agriculture to restore relationships in the food system and revitalize local communities through responsible production and consumption,
- Encourage the active participation of young people in the decision-making processes and in global networking as they are the key drivers of innovation and stewards of our future,
- Raise the awareness of the role of women in farming and food systems as they are the protectors of the land and mothers of our future generations.
ALGOA and GOAD express their utmost commitment to the fulfilment of these tasks compiled from the discussions at the 6th ALGOA and the Inaugural GAOD Summits for delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
World Food Day, Oct 16th, 2020
Goesan County, South Korea