FAO announced today that last night it signed a five-year agreement to strengthen cooperation in agriculture and forestry with goal of reducing hunger and malnutrition in the region and improving food and nutrition security with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).According to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two Organizations will “strengthen the collaboration between FAO and ASEAN Member States in the fields of agriculture and forestry through consultation, coordination of efforts, mutual assistance and joint action.”

ASEAN is a geopolitical organization of 10 Southeast Asian countries* that works to accelerate inclusive economic growth, social progress and cultural development among its members. It also protects regional peace and stability and provides a fora to discuss issues. ASEAN was formed on 8 August 1967.

The MOU had been endorsed and signed by the Ministers of all ten ASEAN countries earlier and today’s signing by FAO  by Hiroyuki Konuma, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific  on behalf of Mr. Jose Graziano , Director-General of FAO concluded and effected  the agreement.  According to the MoU which was fully signed today, the agreement provides ASEAN Member States with greater access to information services and technical expertise and experiences offered by FAO, increases technical assistance in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and food and nutrition security in order to promote development activities in those fields and enhances and strengthens existing cooperation between ASEAN Member States and FAO.

The total number of people suffering from chronic hunger in the Asia-Pacific region was 563 million in 2010-12, or 65 percent of the world total. Hunger in Asia declined from 23.7 percent to 13.9 percent during the same period largely because of socio-economic progress in many Asian countries. The Asia-Pacific region as a whole has made good progress in reducing the proportion of the population suffering from hunger and poverty.

According to the latest revised figures from FAO, in the Asia-Pacific region, the proportion of the undernourished declined from 24.7 percent in 1990-92 to 13.9 percent in 2010-12 and the hunger target under MDG1 will be met if the proportion declines further to 12.3 percent by 2015.

However, the overall reduction in undernourishment has been uneven. From 1990-92 to 2010-12, the prevalence of undernourishment declined from 26.8 to 17.6 percent in South Asia, from 20.8 to 11.5 percent in Eastern Asia and from 29.6 to 10.9 percent in Southeast Asia. Signing the MoU on behalf of FAO, Hiroyuki Konuma said, while efforts to meet the growing demand of food to nourish a population of 7 billion are on-going, more than “1.3 billion tonnes of food is lost or wasted globally every year. The highest levels of food loss and waste occur in perishable crops such as fruits and vegetables and roots and tubers. Post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables across Asia and the Pacific region may be as high as 50 percent, while for rice, they range between 12 and 37 percent.”

Konuma added that addressing these challenges not only require us to maintain existing efforts to reduce hunger and malnutrition, but they also require that we explore innovative approaches in support of agriculture sector and enhance cooperation and partnership of all fronts. I am confident that this MoU will bring our two Organizations into a closer and more strategic partnership that will contribute to improving food and nutrition security in the region while developing a robust and resilient agriculture.

According to FAO, increased cooperative efforts between the two Organizations will emphasize the importance of sustainable agriculture development in reducing high numbers of undernourished people in the region by ensuring that the poor have access to adequate quantities of safe, good quality food for a nutritionally adequate diet. This includes not only energy, protein and fats but also micronutrients - the vitamins and minerals and other trace elements so necessary for normal growth and development, says FAO.

A formal ceremony for launching the MOU is expected to be held in late September 2013 in Kuala Lumpur when all ASEAN Agriculture Ministers would gather there. *The ASEAN Member States are: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.