“We live in the urban century, the relations between urban and rural areas are  strategic. Cities are going to face complex challenges. One of the most difficult is to ensure the right to food to everyone without putting the future of our planet in danger.” said Mayor Giuliano Pisapia in his keynote speech at Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin. “Currently one billion poor live in cities worldwide. We cannot accept it and we have to work to prevent this number to rise. But our food system is responsible for about 30 per cent of the global greenhouse gas emissions. Without a strong and coordinated effort this figure will continue to increase”. Speaking about the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact he added “Change should start at local level. Local authorities can and shall lead this revolution engaging other stakeholders: private companies, NGOs, citizens, institutions. This is a road the city of Milan wants to travel together with other urban areas; cities committed to shared values and willing to exchange good practices. These are not dreams but concrete goals we now is crucial to meet.
The 65 ministers of Agriculture participating to the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin acknowledged the central role of The Milan Urban Food Policy Pact in shaping the future of urban food security. The final GFFA communiqué states the need to find sustainable solutions to the challenge of feeding the ever growing cities. The declaration highlights the importance to develop more equitable and effective relations between rural and urban areas, to value the potential of peri-urban agriculture, to promote more resilient food production systems. The document calls for urban food security to be made a priority on the global agenda recognizing the importance of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (signed by 117 cities) in fostering sustainable and socially equitable food and nutrition policies.
Here you can dowload the communiqué
http://www.gffa-berlin.de/en/uber-das-gffa/