UNITED NATIONS, March 27 (Xinhua) -- A new report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) stressed that managing urbanization sustainably poses new challenges and opportunities to recast food and agriculture systems in ways that benefit both cities and the countryside, a UN spokesman told reporters here Monday.
"This new report presented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the FAO addresses a wide range of issues linked to urbanization," Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.
"Meeting the rising urban demand for food could generate much-needed employment and development prospects for the people who will remain in the countryside of developing countries while also making healthier food easier to access in cities," Haq said.
"But growing urban demand will not automatically benefit small farmers, so we must look for solutions that can seize on the opportunities, and avoid the downside of increasing urbanization," FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said in a new release on the report.
Better roads, reliable and extensive electrification, refrigerated transportation and better storage facilities are all key to success, Graziano da Silva said, noting that such transformation would also lead farmers to grow higher-value and more nutritious produce, which is essential for the proper nutrition of growing urban populations.
The report noted that growing urban populations will be especially visible in Africa, as a majority of the continent's fast-growing population will be living in cities by 2030. Globally, some 2.5 billion more people will be living in urban areas than do today. Africa and Asia will account for 90 per cent of the increase.
Quality concerns over locally produced food by urban residents in many developing countries often result in greater preference for imported varieties, according to the report. Better vertical integration of the domestic food value chain -- requiring improved processing, milling, cleaning, marketing, bagging, branding and possibly even supermarkets -- could remedy that.
Such an effort would produce a host of agribusiness jobs and enhance the agricultural sector's ability to make productivity-boosting investments.
The report also highlights the role of intermediate towns, which can play a catalyzing role in mediating the urban-rural nexus. The vicinity of such towns tends to provide smallholder farmers with greater opportunities to market their products and share in the gains from economic growth.
Smaller towns also offer migration destinations that more likely help the rural poor escape from poverty than big cities do.
"Intermediate cities can be, and most of the time, are, the effective promoter of rural development," said Graziano da Silva.
中考英语名言:我所有的一切皆归功于母亲
初三英语满分作文欣赏
初三英语作文:我最喜爱的科目 My favourite subject
初三英语作文:我的卧室My Bedroom
初三英语作文:关于五一黄金周--看日出
初三英语作文:我的好朋友 My good friend
初三英语满分作文
初三英语:初中孩子适合看什么样的英语读物?
初三英语作文:有意思的五一劳动节 Labor Day fun
义乌初三英语作文题目及范文
初三英语作文:My Chinese Teacher
初三英语作文:向外国友人简单介绍黄山
初三英语作文:关于五一劳动节的英语作文
初三英语作文:我梦想的家 My dream home
初三英语:形容词比较级前使用冠词的几种情况
中考英语作文:关于过春节的打算的英语作文
重庆初三英语作文题目及范文
初三英语作文:我们的新老师Our New Teacher
苏州初三英语作文题目及范文
初三英语作文:我的自行车My Bike
初三英语作文范文:早起
初中英语作文:50年后我们的生活是什么样的
初三英语作文:国庆60周年英语作文
初三英语作文:外国友人说重庆变化很大
初三英语作文:The Holiday of Labors Day
初三英语作文:关于机器人
初三英语满分作文:关于在五一的日记
初三英语作文:难忘的一天A Day to Remember
专家支招:谈初中英语与高中英语的衔接
初三英语作文:唉,我太粗心了Alas,I Am Too Careless
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |