Economies have role to play in food security

The Policy Partnership on Food Security (PPFS) forum shows that all economies have an important role to play to improve livelihoods of the  people through food security.
And it was important for the 21 economies to work together to address the issues and constraints affecting food security.
PPFS Chair and Secretary of Department of Agriculture and Livestock, Dr Vele Pat Ila’ava, in his wrap up comments after day one of the PPFS last week at Gateway Hotel, told the delegates that it had been a fruitful meeting and he was happy with the discussions.
“There is a need to address supply and demand aspects of our food system that are bombarded with current global issues, both man made (wars, urbanisation, industrialisation, population growth) and natural disasters (earthquake, climate change).
“It is up to all of us to collectively address these issues.”
He said there was collective agreement that the discussions and documentation needed to translate to business opportunities and tangible developments that impact people’s lives.
“The commitment from the economies is evident from the brief reports presented by the economies addresses all steps along the food value chain, from domestic markets to trade.
“It appears we are translating the discussions and policies to tangible benefits.
“Partnerships are very important, between economies, and with other development partners in the private sector.
“The need for PPFS to better engage with ABAC has been mentioned.”
Ila’ava said the previous chair, Vietnam, was acknowledged in developing two very important action plans in 2017 on multi-year action plan on food security and climate change, and, strategic framework on rural-urban development to strengthen food security and quality growth.
“PNG and the MYAP core team has indicated to continue the good work from Vietnam to progress the objectives of the MYAP through stocktaking of food security and climate change policies.
“The support from economies for the initiative from PNG on women in agriculture and fisheries is encouraging.
“There is a lot of experience within the economies that can be harnessed as we collectively develop the concept further towards a concrete outcome to harness the potentials of women in agriculture and fisheries to achieve food security objectives.”
Ila’ava said the use of ICT in agriculture has become a necessity, as we meet the challenges of ensuring food security for a growing population as we try to achieve more by doing less.
“Again there is a lot of experience within the APEC region that can be utilised.”