Food Security Campaign launched in Tajikistan within the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables

The event which took place within the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables campaign in Tajikistan was held at the secondary school 15 in Vakhsh District and was attended by the representatives from local authorities of Vakhsh District, UN Resident Coordinator and international and media agencies. The aims of the event were raising awareness and promoting diversified, balanced, and healthy diets, and reducing losses and waste in fruits and vegetables food systems in connection with the environment and climate change.

Mr. Nemat Zardiev, representative of the local authorities welcomed all participants and thanked partners for support and promotion of the intervention dedicated to food security and environment protection, which are of utmost importance for the entire country.

Ms. Sezin Sinanoglu, UN Resident Coordinator noted: “This year is very important- we are marking the International Year of Fruits & Vegetables, and the UN Secretary-General will convene the Global Food Systems Summit in September. Climate change has a huge impact on food production. We need to raise awareness about the relationship between food production, nature, and climate change. We need to rely on scientific knowledge to guide us. We need to share this knowledge with people so that they can act. It is a collective responsibility of all.”

Mr. Vladimir Chernigov, President of SIFI highlighted: “The healthy lifestyle with healthy eating habits should be formed from early childhood and become an ordinary practice for every child. We hope that such important topics will become a part of the National School Feeding Programme throughout the country”.

During the event, children and grown-ups learned about the nutritional and health benefits of a diversified, balanced, and healthy diet and lifestyle based on the consumption of fruits and vegetables, and about ways to reduce fruits and vegetable losses and wastes.

Participants of the food festival enjoyed exhibitions, cooking demonstrations, and theatre performances, while schoolchildren could participate in painting contests and win small gifts. Participants also learned about the success stories of the WFP and FAO programmes in the country in the areas of food security, school feeding, agriculture and climate-smart agriculture practices. 

2021 was declared by the UN General Assembly the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables to raise awareness of and share good practices on the nutritional and health benefits of fruit and vegetable consumption. Similar events promoting the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables will continue to take place in Tajikistan to promote also healthy diet particularly among children and the general population.