 Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it's my great pleasure to convey greetings from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO, on the occasion of the inaugural observance of the International Day of Food Awareness of Food Loss and Waste. On 19th of December 2019, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution proclaiming the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste to raise awareness of the importance of the problem and its possible solutions at all levels in a bid to promote global efforts and collective action towards meeting target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals. SDG 12.3 calls for halving per capita global food waste at retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses by 2030. Observance of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste on the 29th of September each year provide us an opportunity to reflect and to take stock of actions needed to stem the problem towards enhancing the sustainability and efficiency of our food systems and achieving SDG target 12.3. Significant quantities of food produced today across the globe are lost and wasted along the supply chain and never make it to the mouth of consumers. Food loss and waste is also one of the most challenging contradictions of our time. An estimated 690 million people on our planet today are hungry and 3 billion people cannot afford a healthy diet. But at the same time, an estimating 14% of the food value at an estimated $400 billion US dollars is lost between harvest and distribution at the global level. What a contradiction. From a nutritional point of view, this loss is equivalent to an estimated 13% of calories produced globally that will never make it to the mouth of consumers, while many remain food insecure. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, the food loss is associated with around 1.5 gigatons of CO2 equivalent. From a nutritional point of view, this equivalent to more than 1,000 trillion milligrams of phosphorus and more than 350 trillion milligrams of magnesium. Food loss and waste represents a waste of significance and scarce resources used to produce food, including water, soil, energy, labor, and time. Clearly, a lot needs to be done to address the significant inequities and the high levels of food loss and waste that reduce the efficiency and the sustainability of our food systems. This is needed now more than ever as we continue to face the COVID-19 pandemic with increasing levels of food security in all regions of the globe. By preventing food loss and waste, we can save nutritious food for redistribution to those in need. Avoid pressure on scarce natural resources. Help mitigate climate change and save money for farmers, companies, and households. So what actions will move us in the right direction to do so? Food loss and waste reduction must be a shared responsibility of all of us. We need to raise awareness of stakeholders and all levels of public sector, private sector, civil society, and consumers to help stem the problem. More and better statistical data covering where and how food losses and waste occur is required. Actions to address the specific sources of food loss and food waste must be scaled up, and collaboration must be promoted for greater coherence and effectiveness of action. Developments are required in the policy agenda, and incentives are required to promote investments in order to allow these changes to take place at an accelerated and expanded rate. Knowledge sharing through platforms such as the recently launched FAO Technical Platform on Food Loss and Waste Reduction will also contribute to the pace of the change. Reducing food loss and waste is a critical part of the transformation we need to improve the health of people and of the planet. This is why the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is so important for FAO and for all of us. Let us use this opportunity to inform, educate, and engage consumers, youth, producers, parliamentarians with information about the importance of food loss and waste reduction. This needs to start at the family level, educating our children to respect and to appreciate food. By reducing food loss and waste, we can contribute to supporting food systems that protect the planet and efficiently deliver safe, nutritious, and diverse foods for all. Thank you.