APEC Agriculture Ministers Issue Kazan Declaration On APEC Food Security

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, June 1 (Bernama) -- APEC agricultural ministers concluded the Second APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security in Kazan, Russia Thursday by issuing the Kazan Declaration on APEC Food Security. The Kazan Declaration, which was unanimously endorsed by APEC's 21 member economies and takes into consideration input from the private sector and key international institutions, provides a comprehensive assessment of food security issues and developments and an updated framework for APEC and external stakeholders to cooperatively address them. To strengthen food security, an APEC 2012 priority, the Kazan Declaration states that at the present stage it is necessary focus on increasing agricultural production and productivity, facilitating trade and developing food markets, enhancing food safety and quality, improving access to food for socially vulnerable groups of the population, ensuring sustainable ecosystems-based management and combating Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and associated trade. The Ministers also took note of the progress made since their last meeting in Japan in 2010. Since the First APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security in Niigata in 2010, the food security situation has remained an issue of high importance. In 2011 the FAO Food Price Index averaged 228 points, which exceeds its maximum value during the food crisis of 2007-2008. According to OECD–FAO estimates, agricultural commodity prices will remain high and volatile until 2020, making it even more difficult to enhance food security. The number of undernourished people in the world is still high -- 925 million in 2010 in comparison with 780 million in the late 1990s. According to recent UN estimates, the global population is estimated to reach 9.3 billion by 2050, requiring more efforts to raise global food production and increase the efficiency of domestic and international markets. The food insecurity situation in this region was further compounded by the increasing frequency of natural disasters often tied with global warming and extreme weather conditions. The two-day meeting under the chairmanship of Nikolai Fedorov, Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, was participated by representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the World Food Programme (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Bank (WB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC). -- BERNAMA