Works Minister participates in Global Forum for Food and Agriculture

Manama, Jan. 28 (BNA): The Kingdom of Bahrain, represented by the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Essam bin Abdulla Khalaf, participated in the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture 2022 (GFFA 2022). Undersecretary for Agriculture and Marine Resources, Ibrahim Al-Hawaj, Assistant Undersecretary for Agricultural Affairs, Dr. Abdulaziz Abdulkarim, and Director of Animal Control, Dr. Ibrahim Yousif, also took part in GFFA 2022, held virtually in Berlin, under the patronage of the German government, and with the participation of ministerial delegations from various countries, in addition to the representatives of the relevant international organisations and agriculture experts. Themed “Sustainable Land Use: Food Security Starts with the Soil”, the forum covered several key topics, most notably the implementation of measures to preserve soil health, reclamation of land and limited land resources, access to agricultural land, adapting agricultural systems to climate change, reducing pollutants, such as pesticides, and the excessive use of chemical fertilizers that affect the viability and fertility of agricultural soils, and soil, in addition to maintaining agricultural soil reclamation in a manner that preserves the biodiversity of coexisting organisms in the soil. The event also addressed the importance of managing water resources and their quality to ensure soil health from deterioration, as well as policies that promote sustainable management of soil and land and their circulation to reduce desertification, land degradation and drought on the enhanced agricultural ecosystems for food security and nutrition. Minister Khalaf indicated that the global forum aims to raise awareness and the level of public debate on food systems reform, and how this can help countries achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by implementing new and good reforms that would benefit people and the world, as well as set principles to guide governments and other stakeholders who seek to benefit of their food systems to support SDGs, adding that these principles will define an optimistic and encouraging vision in which food systems will play a central role in building a more just and sustainable world. He indicated that the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry follows practices that contribute to improving and reclaiming agricultural soils through applicable legislation such as the Law on Agricultural Fertilizers and Soil Conditioners, and the Law on Pesticides, in addition to maintaining and developing the network of agricultural banks, and adopting the practice of good agricultural methods. Such as protected farming systems and hydroponics that focus within the practice of sustainable soil management. He affirmed Bahrain's commitment to reaching zero neutrality by 2060, as announced by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, who stressed that climate change represents a global challenge that requires everyone to harness all capabilities and exchange best practices to overcome it, through the development of advanced solutions to reach the aspired for climate security, adding that the kingdom supports everything that would achieve climate goals that contribute to protecting the planet. The GFFA 2022 featured several sub-sessions, including the meeting of senior officials concerned with agricultural affairs in various countries of the world and representatives of specialised international organisations. The forum also issued a communiqué, including with several recommendations related to land and its uses and ways to preserve it in a way that secures global food security.