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SL faces a ‘triple burden’ of malnutrition: Minister of Agriculture

17 Jun 2021

Despite Sri Lanka achieving middle-income status, the country faces a triple burden of malnutrition spanning undernourishment, over-nourishment and micronutrient deficiencies, Minister of Agriculture, Mahindananda Aluthgamage stated.  He made these statements in his message to the participants of the National Food System Dialogue which  was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture to identify challenges in building sustainable food systems in Sri Lanka, ranging from production, processing, distribution, consumption and disposal of food products, according to a press release on the same. The press release highlighted that Aluthgamage noted that the agriculture sector is the main contributor of safe and nutritious food for all, and therefore reiterated the importance of transforming food systems to make it profitable and socially inclusive with positive impacts on the natural environment, which will ensure that food security and nutrition for future generations are not compromised. Sri Lanka’s inaugural Food System Dialogue is part of a series of national and provincial dialogues conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture ahead of the 2021 UN Food System Summit set to take place in New York later this year. Further, it was noted that the collective outcomes of the Food System Dialogues held in Sri Lanka will inform the UN Food System Summit which will launch bold new actions to deliver progress on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), each of which relies to some degree on healthier, more sustainable and equitable food systems.


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