Countries in Asia-Pacific convene virtual UN FAO conference

From left: Additional Director General of Agriculture Dr. R.S.K. Keerthisena, Director General of Agriculture Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon, and Assistant FAO Representative (Program) Dr. D.B.T. Wijeratne joining the FAO Asia and Pacific Regional Conference on virtual mode from Colombo

• Four-day initiative to plan responses and recovery work on twin pandemics of COVID-19 and hunger

As COVID-19 continues to threaten lives and livelihoods across many countries of the Asia-Pacific region, it has led to setbacks in the fight to end hunger and malnutrition, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced yesterday.

The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than half of the world’s undernourished, and with COVID-19 the number of hungry people in Southern Asia is projected to rise by nearly a third to 330 million by 2030, the Sustainable Development Goal deadline set by the global community to eliminate hunger and malnutrition in all its forms. 

In response, Government representatives from 46 FAO Member Nations in Asia and the Pacific have convened a four-day virtual conference to closely examine the present situation of the region’s food security, with a particular emphasis on implications linked to the spread of the coronavirus and its impact on food systems region-wide. More than 400 delegates are participating in a virtual meeting of the 35th Session of the FAO Asia and Pacific Regional Conference (#APRC35), hosted by the Royal Government of Bhutan. Their numbers include Government Ministers, private sector, civil society, academia and technical experts in the food and agriculture sectors. All sessions of the conference can be followed live via Webcast. 

The Sri Lanka delegation consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will join the Regional Conference through virtual mode from the United Nations Compound in Colombo. Minister of Agriculture Mahindananda Aluthgamage and Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Major General (Rtd) Sumedha Perera and the Director General of Agriculture Dr. W.M.W. Weerakoon are due to participate in the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific. 

Twin pandemics require new thinking and actions

From Afghanistan and Iran in the west, across populous South and East Asia, and far out into the Pacific Islands, new ways and approaches will be needed to battle back from these twin pandemics. Climate change is another aggravating factor menacing efforts to increase resilience across our food systems.

“We must come to terms with what is before us and recognise that the world and our region has changed. We must find new ways to move forward and ensure sustainable food security in the face of these twin pandemics, as well as prepare for threats that can and will evolve in the future,” said Jong-Jin Kim, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific. “This virtual conference brings together the people and ideas to chart a true course of action for the benefit of all.” 

The conference will highlight FAO’s recently launched comprehensive COVID-19 Response and Recovery Program designed to provide a flexible and coordinated global response that aims to ensure access to nutritious food for everyone. The program includes the mobilisation of all forms of resources and partnerships at country, regional and global level. The main aim is to mitigate the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic while strengthening the longer-term resilience of food systems and livelihoods.

The conference will also consider new marketing channels (such as e-commerce) and new technologies (including better storage facilities) that will help reduce food losses, as these are critical to ensure the flow of nutritious foods and to generate improved incomes for those who work across the entire food and agriculture sectors. 

Equally critical is enabling smallholder and family farmers – those who produce most of the food we consume – to become more dynamic, entrepreneurial and competitive through continual innovation. Smallholders will need much greater access to financial resources, technology and innovation. 

“The 35th Session of the FAO Asia and Pacific Regional Conference is held at an important juncture,” said FAO Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives Dr. Xuebing Sun. “In order to better serve Sri Lanka and the Maldives, the FAO Representation will take active and proactive steps to implement decisions of the 35th Session of the APRC, further enhance its advisory and analytical capacity, and accelerate implementation of the plans for strengthening and transforming FAO’s country programme through a programmatic approach and innovation. I am confident that in partnership with the Government and development partners, we can make significant contributions to the national efforts in realising the Sustainable Development Goals in Sri Lanka and the Maldives.”

Bringing all players together will be crucial to realising these gains and FAO is in the process of implementing the Hand-in-Hand Initiative to enable that. The conference will have a special session to examine the progress made in the region through this initiative. 

The conference (#APRC35) will continue until Friday 4 September.