Agriculture and food ministers from 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) reaffirmed on Thursday (19.08.2021) their commitment to an open, transparent, productive, sustainable and resilient regional food system by launching a new ten-year food security roadmap.
Nearly 2.370 billion people lacked access to adequate food in 2020, an increase of 320 million in just one year, according to a World Bank policy brief.
A report by the Global Network Against Food Crises found that the number of people facing acute food insecurity and in need of urgent assistance to save their lives and livelihoods reached a five-year high in 2020.
In this context, APEC ministers adopted the APEC Food Security Roadmap to 2030 at its annual ministerial meeting on food security chaired by New Zealand Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor.
The aforementioned roadmap details the objectives and key areas of action in which APEC is well positioned to help ensure that people have access to sufficient, safe, affordable and nutritious food to meet their needs dietary and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
“While food security was already a challenge, COVID-19 showed us that there are vulnerabilities in our economies and in our food systems, which need improvement, especially to meet the APEC 2040 vision of an open, dynamic and peaceful environment, and a resilient region,” O’Connor said in her opening remarks.
Aligned with New Zealand’s APEC 2021 priorities as well as the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, the roadmap focuses on digitalisation and innovation, productivity, inclusion and sustainability.
«In addition to our efforts to address food security challenges, the roadmap also It emphasizes efforts to increase productivity and efficiency, minimize food waste, mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as reduce costs and facilitate food trade."said Philip Houlding, President of the APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security.
The group leads planning development and promotes public and private sector engagement in all aspects of food security in the region.
At the virtual meeting, APEC ministers recognized the benefits of digitalization and discussed measures to promote innovation and enhance the use of digital technology to ensure food security as the region recovers from COVID-19.
“The pandemic accelerated digital transformation and highlighted the capabilities of a digitally enabled, innovative economy to better recover and thrive. But effective recovery also requires all elements of government to work together to achieve this transformation and improve food security in the APEC region. Without food security for all our people, we cannot achieve the other goals we have for our economies,” O’Connor said.
Ministers also highlighted the central role of the private sector throughout the food value chain with respect to production and processing, distribution, trade and investment. They encouraged deeper collaboration between policy makers and the private sector to ensure an innovative and renewed food system to meet the food security challenges of the future.APEC Press Release) (Food Security Roadmap to 2030)
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