T.BADAMJUNAI ATTENDS FAO CONFERENCE
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia /MONTSAME/ The Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry T.Badamjunai has given a speech at the Ministerial Meeting of the 31st UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific kicked off on March 15 in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The Minister has reported to the gathered goals of the Mongolia's government to provide the population with healthy, safe and nutritious foods made in domestic productions and to contribute to the regional and global food supplies by creating its brand organic food products. He introduced to them the biggest projects realized in Mongolia with technical assistance from the FAO.
In frames of the meeting, T.Badamjunai has held official talks with the Vietnam's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on developing the bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector.
Vowing to take a new approach to ending hunger in the face of soaring food prices and scarcer resources, the Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) called for sustainable increases in agricultural production and fairer and more inclusive food and agricultural systems.
Food prices, already persistently high and volatile, are forecast to rise even higher, resulting in greater hunger and malnutrition, increased poverty, disparities within and between countries, and slower economic growth.
“Our first global challenge is to eradicate hunger and improve food security. That means that we need to have better access to food and also increase the production of agriculture, forestry and fisheries while ensuring sustainable ecosystem management and building on the many promising examples that already exist,'' said FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva at the meeting.
It is also essential to “ensure fairer and more inclusive food and agriculture systems from the local to the international level,'' he added. “Rural poverty remains a major problem.”
Graziano da Silva noted that the Asia-Pacific region faces its own specific problems. “In a number of countries, we have come close to the limits for agricultural expansion. High food prices and volatility remain a threat. The retail price for rice, for instance, remains 10 to 30 percent higher than last year in many countries in Asia."
With increasingly decentralized operations, engagement with farmers cooperatives and civil society groups, and its focus on the poorest, FAO is supporting countries to realize the slogan no more hunger in the Asian Century - a call for greater equity as an integral component of the region's economic progress.
A range of measures comprise the new FAO approach advocated by Graziano da Silva, including eradicating nutrient deficiencies and unsafe food; improving the livelihoods of rural people and increasing their resilience to food security shocks.
Those living in developed countries and urban centers also need to play a role in ensuring there will be enough food for all as the global population is expected to increase by another 1 billion people by 2050. “A vast amount of food is wasted every day. By promoting healthier diets and reducing loss and waste in the food chain, we can meet demand, thereby contributing to sustainable development,” Graziano da Silva said.
The speech marked the first address to a regional conference by Graziano da Silva, Brazil's former Minister of Food Security, since assuming the post of FAO Director-General in January. Over 300 delegates from 39 countries are attending the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific. The region is home to 578 million people suffering from hunger and malnutrition, or 62 percent of the world's total.
B.Khuder
The Minister has reported to the gathered goals of the Mongolia's government to provide the population with healthy, safe and nutritious foods made in domestic productions and to contribute to the regional and global food supplies by creating its brand organic food products. He introduced to them the biggest projects realized in Mongolia with technical assistance from the FAO.
In frames of the meeting, T.Badamjunai has held official talks with the Vietnam's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on developing the bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector.
Vowing to take a new approach to ending hunger in the face of soaring food prices and scarcer resources, the Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) called for sustainable increases in agricultural production and fairer and more inclusive food and agricultural systems.
Food prices, already persistently high and volatile, are forecast to rise even higher, resulting in greater hunger and malnutrition, increased poverty, disparities within and between countries, and slower economic growth.
Intensifying agriculture in harmony with the environment is the centerpiece of the new approach urged by the FAO.
“Our first global challenge is to eradicate hunger and improve food security. That means that we need to have better access to food and also increase the production of agriculture, forestry and fisheries while ensuring sustainable ecosystem management and building on the many promising examples that already exist,'' said FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva at the meeting.
It is also essential to “ensure fairer and more inclusive food and agriculture systems from the local to the international level,'' he added. “Rural poverty remains a major problem.”
Graziano da Silva noted that the Asia-Pacific region faces its own specific problems. “In a number of countries, we have come close to the limits for agricultural expansion. High food prices and volatility remain a threat. The retail price for rice, for instance, remains 10 to 30 percent higher than last year in many countries in Asia."
With increasingly decentralized operations, engagement with farmers cooperatives and civil society groups, and its focus on the poorest, FAO is supporting countries to realize the slogan no more hunger in the Asian Century - a call for greater equity as an integral component of the region's economic progress.
A range of measures comprise the new FAO approach advocated by Graziano da Silva, including eradicating nutrient deficiencies and unsafe food; improving the livelihoods of rural people and increasing their resilience to food security shocks.
Those living in developed countries and urban centers also need to play a role in ensuring there will be enough food for all as the global population is expected to increase by another 1 billion people by 2050. “A vast amount of food is wasted every day. By promoting healthier diets and reducing loss and waste in the food chain, we can meet demand, thereby contributing to sustainable development,” Graziano da Silva said.
The speech marked the first address to a regional conference by Graziano da Silva, Brazil's former Minister of Food Security, since assuming the post of FAO Director-General in January. Over 300 delegates from 39 countries are attending the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific. The region is home to 578 million people suffering from hunger and malnutrition, or 62 percent of the world's total.
B.Khuder
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