Addressing a conference in Tajikistan, a Vatican diplomat said that “building resilience into the world’s agrifood systems is among the most urgent priorities of our time,” according to a summary of his remarks by Vatican News.
“The combination of merciless wars, economic recessions, extreme climate events, political instability, and market volatility has given rise to a lethal combination for the world’s food systems,” said Msgr. Fernando Chica Arellano, Permanent Observer to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
“The agricultural sector,” he added, “should be supported by wise economic and political decisions, enabling young people to devote themselves enthusiastically to agriculture and not to abandon the countryside in discouragement in order to migrate to the cities.”