Climate change and the International Year of Pulses were the main themes or the World Food Day event organized by the Representation of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Georgia and the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia.

In his opening address Assistant FAO Representative in Georgia Mr.Mamuka Meskhi discussed the key sectors and directions of agriculture, the strengthening of which is vital for sustainable development of the sector in the face of climate change.

“The Agricultural sector has great potential to reduce the increasing pace of climate change. This requires adaptation of the production and introduction of climate-smart agricultural practices,'' he said.

The Minister of Agriculture of Georgia, Mr. Levan Davitashvili noted that climate change and global warming have become one of the key challenges of the 21st century.  All developed countries of the world are focusing their efforts toward the development and implementation of policies to adapt to these threats.

“The sustainable development of climate-smart agriculture is essential for poverty reduction, food security, enhancement of farmers' competitiveness as well as implementation of policy adapted to climate change. Given the objectives of sustainable development drawn up by FAO, the Government of Georgia envisaged minimum standard in all strategic documents, that is essential for proper development of the sector, aimed at minimizing the impact to the environment,” Davitashvili said.

World Food Day commemorates the founding of FAO in 1945, making it the day to celebrate FAO’s activities and achievements. Javier Sanz Alvarez, Coordination Officer for FAO-ENPARD Programme in Georgia, gave an overview of the projects that FAO successfully implemented during the past year and stressed the importance of the work done by the organization to support the sustainable development of Georgian agriculture. 
Students from the European School took part in the event as well, presenting a vision of a new generation regarding the fight against climate change. They stressed the importance of contribution of each child and adult in making the world sustainable to face climate change. The students were awarded with the certificates of appreciation.

It should be noted that the UN General Assembly officially named 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils).  Therefore, the event discussed methods recommended by FAO to increase the production and consumption of these crops. Good agricultural practise of preserving, producing and promoting pulses in Georgia was presented by Tea Chitadze, representative of the Bio-farming Association Elkana, which implemented the project - Recovery, Conservation, and Sustainable Use of Georgia’s Agrobiodiversity.

At the event, Chef Manuel Baranda talked about using traditional Georgian beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils in modern cuisine and offered the guests traditional Georgian and European dishes made of them especially for this day.

“There are several reasons why production and consumption of pulses is recommended. They can easily be produced, are characterized by high nutritional value, and most importantly, are beneficial to health,” Baranda noted.

Representatives of the Government of Georgia, the diplomatic corps, international and donor organizations, NGOs and private sector attended the event, which was broadly covered by national TV and online media.