Gilberto Tomazoni, JBS CEO: Combatting hunger is a task force priority
These points were brought up in Tomazoni's presentation as head of the Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture task force at the launch of B20 Brazil - the business arm of the G20 - at an event organized by the CNI (National Confederation of Industry) at the Federation of Industries of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Firjan). Tomazoni said that the task force he coordinates aims to consider international trade with fair practices as a mechanism for inclusive food systems and as an incentive for producers to adopt modern and sustainable technologies.
Tomazoni expressed full support for tackling hunger as the main priority of Brazil's G20 Presidency this year and for the creation of the Global Alliance around the theme. The CEO of JBS, one of the world's largest food companies, leads one of the eight task forces defined by the B20, which connects the business community with the governments of the group that brings together the world's largest economies, the G20.
The mission of each task force is to develop private sector suggestions that influence the decision-making process in the priority agendas of their respective governments. All work will be guided by the theme "inclusive growth for a sustainable future" and by the following pillars: promoting inclusive growth and combating hunger, poverty, and inequalities; promoting a just transition to a net-zero economy; increasing productivity through innovation; promoting the resilience of global value chains; and valuing human capital.
Tomazoni highlighted that the reestablishment of the Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture task force, which was last active in 2018, is a milestone in the B20's commitment. Food systems represent 10% of global GDP and 35% of jobs worldwide. To this undeniable importance, there are intense contrasts: 2.3 billion people face food insecurity in the world, the sector contributes 30% of greenhouse gas emissions and is responsible for 80% of biodiversity loss.
Cutting-Edge Technology for Small Producers
The task force that Tomazoni leads has as its main objectives, at this initial stage, to identify the most critical actions for businesses and governments to transform global food and agricultural systems and to recommend policies that can support the global business communities in accelerating the necessary changes.
Among the possible actions presented by Tomazoni are increasing productivity and efficiency, enabling fairer trade practices aimed at achieving global food security, promoting more sustainable production methods, and fostering a public-private global-local framework to coordinate financing efforts for transformation.
The leader of the Sustainable Food Systems and Agriculture task force said that Brazil is in a privileged position to contribute to this agenda and catalyze its impact. "Our modern agribusiness adopts cutting-edge technology, but we still have a huge opportunity to bring these innovations to small producers, recover degraded lands, adopt regenerative practices, and be a tool to help the world achieve greater food security".
As the world's third-largest food producer, second-largest biofuel producer, and one of the leading countries in agricultural technology, Brazil must do its utmost to protect its natural resources not only to achieve its local goals but also to contribute to the transformation of global food systems and to face the challenge of hunger and ensure that the B20's goals are achieved.
At the opening of the meeting in Rio, Vice President and Minister of Development, Industry, Commerce, and Services, Geraldo Alckmin, corroborated the country's role in relation to food systems. "Brazil can make all the difference at this moment, post-pandemic, high inflation, and war. Food security, energy security, and the climate agenda are themes where Brazil is a protagonist and to which we can make significant contributions to the world", he said.
Alckmin praised the B20 format, in which civil society proposes solutions to a range of challenges. "We will deal with energy transition, sustainable food, employment and education, trade, development, compliance, digital transformation, finance and infrastructure, as well as inclusion and diversity", he stated.
The panel presenting the task forces and the B20 Brazil action council also included Francisco Gomes Neto, CEO of Embraer (Trade and Investment task force); Walter Schalka, CEO of Suzano (Employment and Education); Ricardo Mussa, CEO of Raízen (Energy Transition and Climate); Fernando de Rizzo, CEO of Tupy (Digital Transformation); Luciana Antonini Ribeiro, founding partner of EB Capital (Finance and Infrastructure); Claudia Sender, member of the Board of Directors of several publicly traded companies (Compliance and Integrity); Paula Bellizia, President of Global Payments at EBANX (Women, Diversity, and Inclusion in Business); and Constanza Negri, Manager of Business Diplomacy and Commercial Competitiveness at CNI, sherpa (facilitator) of the B20.
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