Statement by H.E. Paruyr Hovhannisyan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN at the ECOSOC Special Meeting on Agrifood Systems Transformation

16 February, 2026

Mr. President,

Excellences,

Distinguished colleagues,

Armenia welcomes the convening of this Meeting and the timely focus on agrifood systems transformation, which is not a standalone sectoral issue, but one that lies at the intersection of key development priorities for many countries, especially those in special situations.

As a landlocked, middle-income country, Armenia continues to navigate challengesrelated to geography, limited fiscal space, and external shocks. In this context, strengthening agrifood systems is critical for food security and nutrition, building a resilient economy, creating jobs, and enhancing value addition and trade competitiveness. Agrifood systems transformation can be a practical entry point for addressing vulnerabilities that go beyond income.

Mr. President,

Agrifood systems transformation requires mobilizing financing at scale. Many developing countries face mounting debt burdens and shrinking fiscal space, while agrifood investment gaps remain significant. Attention is needed to financing approaches to leverage public resources, mobilize private investment, and close gaps across agrifood value chains.

Equally important is ensuring that these efforts translate into tangible benefits for those who remain most excluded. Women, youth, small producers, and rural communities should have full and equitable access to land, finance, markets, and technology. Enabling such access is essential to unlock productive potential of agrifood systems and to ensure that transformation efforts are durable and inclusive.

In this context, Armenia underscores the importance of innovation in to strengthening the resilience of agrifood systems, particularly in environments exposed to climate variability, market volatility, and logistical constraints. To deliver lasting impact such innovation must be accompanied by investments in enabling infrastructure, capacity building, and appropriate governance frameworks, ensuring that technological progress is accessible and scalable, particularly for small producers and rural communities.

We see agrifood systems as an important pillar of biodiversity action, linking food security, climate resilience, rural development, poverty reduction and ecosystem integrity. The incoming Armenian Presidency of the COP17 of the Convention on Biological Diversity will work closely with the CBD and FAO Secretariats to come up with initiatives that will reinforce the overall understanding of the role of agrifood systems in biodiversity preservation, while driving collective action towards more sustainable use of natural resources.

Finally, agrifood transformation is a cross-cutting issue requiring policy coherence and coordinated UN action, in which ECOSOC has an important role. Armenia remains committed to these efforts.

I thank you.

MFA RA
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