The minister estimated that current production supplies 35 million people, and that this capacity can be doubled in a sustainable manner.
The environment minister, Adrián Peña, said at the 37th Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) that Uruguay produces food for 10 times the number of inhabitants of the country and that it has the capacity to double the figure.
The total population counted by the National Institute of Statistics from the 2011 Census is 3,286,314; Demographers estimate that 3,473,000 people live in Uruguay today. Therefore, according to the minister’s statements, current production supplies 35 million people and could do so for 70.
Likewise, Peña highlighted the role that Uruguay plays as a “sustainable” producer and for the “world’s food supply”.
The minister presented the innovations within the Uruguayan agri-food sector. He also explained that, although the country’s production base is agricultural and agri-food, he works together with the Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries to incorporate an environmental dimension into national production systems. “It is very necessary to incorporate this perspective to ensure the resource for production in the coming years,” said the hierarch.
Finally, he emphasized the role that the countries of the region have and the importance of working together: “What has become clear is that we have many common interests and that we, the countries that are today around us, have to work together. to this table,” Peña declared.
During the Regional Conference, the countries analyze the work done by FAO in the previous two years in the region, and agree on recommendations for initiatives and priorities that will guide the work of the Organization during the 2022-2023 period.
At the Conference, the member countries of FAO unanimously approved the Strategic Framework 2022-2031, which calls for supporting the 2030 agenda through the transformation towards more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems, in order to achieve better production, nutrition and environment.
