Excellencies,
Distinguished participants,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a great pleasure for me to attend today’s event on the occasion of 2023 International Tea Day. I thank the co-hosts, Permanent Mission of China to the UN and the FAO liaison office in New York, for bringing this important economic crop to our attention in the lead up to the SDG Summit in September.
First of all, I wish to share an interesting observation with all of you that in divisive times, tea is one of the nearly universal things that unites us across the continents, a truly magic leaf. Tea is one of the world’s oldest beverages and the most consumed drink in the world, after water. It cuts across our cultures, our economies and our histories. And, as today’s event has shown, it can play a significant role in shaping our collective future.
The multi-billion-dollar tea sector contributes to global socio-economic development, providing employment and income for millions of families worldwide. For example, in Kenya, where the UN held the CEB meeting half a month ago, tea provides an estimated 5 million direct and indirect jobs, with 10 per cent of Kenyans relying on the industry for their livelihoods.
Today’s event highlighted how tea production, processing and trade contributes to the reduction of extreme poverty, the fight against hunger the empowerment of women, the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems and many other objectives of the 2030 Agenda.
At the same time, it is crucial to ensure that tea production provides decent jobs and avoids exploitation of women and children.
The industry must also mitigate its negative impacts on the environment, such as deforestation and the excessive use of chemicals and pesticides.
But we must take steps to protect the industry. The impacts of climate change will continue to affect production yields and species viability unless we take mitigative action. And we will also need to make possible adaptations within the industry, including increasing the use of drought and flood-tolerant tea plants.
Dear Colleagues,
I hope that we can build on the sense of unity and collaboration demonstrated today to ignite truly transformative change.
At the SDG Summit in September, world leaders will have a chance to demonstrate their shared resolve to succeed at achieving the SDGs for everyone everywhere. Let’s keep using gatherings like these to think outside the box and inside the synergies to generate the solutions we need to shape a sustainable future.
Thank you.