FAO Formally Becomes a Member of the Sustainable Rice Platform

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ByJi-hyun

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has announced that it has formally joined the Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP). The SRP is a global multi-stakeholder alliance comprised of more than 100 institutional members coming from the public, private, research, civil service, and financial sectors.

As an organization, the SRP works with partners to improve the global rice sector. It aims to improve smallholder livelihoods by reducing the social, environmental and climate footprint of rice production. Additionally, it offers the global rice market a steady supply of sustainably produced rice.

Jong-Jin Kim, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific stated, “FAO, the SRP and its members, are serious about providing the means to produce rice that is better for farmers, better for the environment, and better for agri-businesses. As a new member of SRP, FAO wants to work with SRP and partners to develop the next generation of sustainable rice projects in Asia – and globally. FAO welcomes the opportunity to join with the SRP on this journey.”

Executive Director of SRP, Wyn Ellis said, “We are delighted to welcome FAO as a member of SRP, reflecting our shared ambition and growing cooperation across several fronts. FAO’s leadership in driving sustainable food systems opens new doors to scaling up adoption of climate-smart solutions in rice and to making significant contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We look forward to working with FAO to develop holistic, farmer-centred approaches towards rice sector transformation.”

FAO and SRP have stated that they share the same mission to scale-up standard and climate-smart practices in numerous farming communities and product value chain in the globe. This mission is also done in collaboration with governments and members of the Sustainable Rice Landscapes Initiative such as the UN Environment, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Additionally, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is contributing almost USD 60 million to support the initiative in kick-starting sustainable transformation of the rice sector in the Asia Pacific region. Other partners who are also SRP members, both public and private, are contributing an additional USD 800 million to co-finance the initiative. 

FAO’s membership in the SRP is expected to strengthen the engagement with the private sector.  

Hailing from California, USA. Ji-hyun is a Korean American 🇰🇷🇺🇸 with two growing boys who eat their weight in rice each week. After graduating UCLA & becoming a mom she started We Know Rice as a guide for all the students and moms out there looking to cook healthy and filling meals.