The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is set to host the 32nd Session of the Regional Conference for Africa (ARC32) on April 11-14, 2022.

The 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Africa (ARC32) will spotlight FAO’s Strategic Framework and the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life for all leaving no one behind. The ARC32 will be held in hybrid mode, both in-person in Malabo and via Zoom.

The Conference aims to bring together Africa’s policymakers, civil society, thought leaders, and more to focus on agricultural and rural development priorities, innovations and partnerships, and agrifood systems transformation in Africa.

The experience sharing session among member countries on better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind is a dedicated session allocated for members to share ideas on promoting the Four Betters.

According to the outline of the program, a short video on the four betters will be shown, followed by a short Ted-Talk style intervention to set the stage.

The event will end with a round table discussion on “COVID-19 impacts on agri-food systems in Africa: policy priorities for inclusive and resilient recovery” after the FAO Director-General and cohorts have read statements.

The roundtable session intends to update the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on agriculture, food security, and nutrition in Africa based on an analytical review of the available evidence to provide opportunities for Members to share experiences and best practices on policy and investment options for sustainable recovery.

The food security and nutrition situation in Africa remains a significant concern. According to FAO’s last report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI 2021), undernourished people in sub-Saharan Africa rose by over 44 million between 2019 and 2020, reaching 264.2 million in 2020. According to a preliminary assessment by FAO, up to 39 million could be attributed to the impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

Forest, importance resource in Africa

This event is organized by Equatorial Guinea, focusing on forest governance. The host country will facilitate experience sharing on challenges related to forest governance, initiatives and programmess that have been implemented to address them, and lessons learned to date. Forests are essential resources in the host country and Africa. As such, experience sharing on this topic is crucial and expected to further inform policy actions and programmes in the future.

The conference will spotlight FAO’s Framework 2022-2031. The conference documentation will be in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. Interpretation will be in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese.