“The poor expect from us an effective help that takes them out of their misery, not mere propositions or agreements that, after studying in a detailed way the roots of their misery, bear as their fruit only solemn events, pledges that never materialize, or impressive publications destined only to enlarge library catalogues”. Pope Francis wrote this in the message he addressed to the FAO to mark World Food Day. “In this twenty-first century that has seen considerable advances in the field of technology, science, communications and infrastructure, we ought to feel shame for not having achieved the same advances in humanity and solidarity, and so satisfy the primary needs of the most disadvantaged”, the Pope denounced, pointing out that we cannot “console ourselves simply for having faced emergencies and desperate situations of those most in need. We are all called to go further. We can and we must do better for the helpless”. Hence, we ought to “move to concrete action, so that the scourge of hunger disappears completely”. All this, the Pope explained, “requires policies of cooperation for development which, as the 2030 Agenda indicates, are oriented towards the real needs of the poor”.
According to Pope Francis, “it is also necessary to give particular attention to the levels of agricultural production, access to food markets, involvement in initiatives and actions and, above all, to the realization that, when it comes to making decisions, countries are equal in dignity”. At the same time, it is “essential to understand that, when it is a question of effectively confronting the causes of hunger, grandiose declarations will not definitively eradicate this scourge”. “The struggle against hunger urgently demands generous financing, the abolition of trade barriers and, above all, greater resilience in the face of climate change, economic crises and warfare”, Pope Francis suggested, who went on to state, in line with Evangelii Gaudium: “The future is not up somewhere in the clouds, but is rather built by promoting and accompanying processes of greater humanization. We can dream of a future without hunger, but this is only reasonable when we engage in tangible processes, vital relations, effective plans and real commitments”.
In particular, Pope Francis praised the initiative “Zero Hunger 2030” that “will serve to fulfill the second of the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda”: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture”. “The poor cannot wait”, the Pope continued. “Their devastating circumstances do not allow this. That is why we must act in an urgent, coordinated and orderly way. An advantage of these proposals is that they provide specific goals, quantifiable objectives and precise indicators. We know that we have to combine harmoniously two ways of offering assistance, both long-term and short-term actions, in order to deal with the concrete realities of those who, today, suffer the distressing and painful onslaught of hunger and malnutrition”.