⇒ The G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting was held in Florence on 17-18 September 2021. Currently, Italy holds the Presidency of the G20.
The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar participated in the G20 Agriculture Ministerial meeting organized by Italy.
First day of session:
Shri Tomar addressed the session on the topic “Research as a driving force behind sustainability”.
- Addressing the meeting, Shri Tomar said that agricultural research has played an important role in tackling the problem of food security, improving the income of farmers and agriculturists and sustainable use of natural resources for the subsistence of the people.
- Research contributes significantly to the three aspects of food security – availability, access and affordability.
Second day of session:
The theme of this session was “Working together to achieve the Zero Hunger goal: successful projects implemented by the Ministries of Agriculture”.
- Union Minister Shri Tomar presented the progress of Indian Agriculture in the meeting of G-20 Agriculture Ministers.
- Union Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar said that the Government of India has emphasized on re-introducing traditional food items including millet, other nutritious cereals, fruits and vegetables, fish, dairy and organic products in the diet of the people. Their production has been phenomenal in India in recent years and India is becoming a destination country for healthy food items.
- Shri Tomar said that keeping in mind the importance of Nutri-cereals, the United Nations has accepted the proposal of the Government of India and declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets. He appealed to the nations to support the celebration of Millet Year to promote nutrition and sustainable agriculture.
Final Declaration:
The meeting ended with the approval of a Final Declaration reaffirming the commitment to achieve food security in the framework of the three dimensions of sustainability: economic, social and environmental.
To ensure sustainable and resilient food systems, the G20 Ministers reaffirmed their intention to reach the goal of zero hunger, which is also threatened by the consequences of Covid-19.