Opening statements
Mr Jacques Diouf, Director-General of FAO, pointed out in his opening statement that the Asia and Pacific region has accomplished much in the fight against poverty and food insecurity, but there is still significant work to be done. These positive results have been achieved because countries of the region have increased productivity per unit of land through expansion of irrigation and have taken advantage of improved technologies and inputs.
Mr Diouf indicated that sustained and equitable growth of rural areas depends on multiple components including an improved economic environment, human resource development, participation of the private sector and civil society organizations, good governance, and judicious use of public resources in the provision of key public goods.
The region still faces challenges such as sustainable management of natural resources and those caused by globalization. The avian flu outbreak demonstrates the necessity “for improved regional collaboration and communication” in order to address emerging shared policy issues. The existence and continuing work of ASEAN, SAARC and PIF show the region has the capacity to face the emerging challenges. Some regional collaboration on food security and poverty eradication already exists under the South-South Cooperation Programme of the FAO Special Programme for Food Security. This kind of collaboration should continue and expand. Additionally, countries of the Asia and Pacific region should cooperate on issues including the prevention of animal disease outbreaks, complementary agriculture systems, and economic integration.
This meeting provides an opportunity to discuss how regional cooperation can aid in the fight against poverty and hunger. During this meeting, particular attention should be paid to two issues. First, it is necessary to identify “activities that would help achieve the immense potentials for fair trade expansion unleashed by the Uruguay Round Agreements and the establishment of the WTO.” Second, special attention should be given to “the decline in commitment of national, as well as international, resources to agriculture and rural development.” FAO is committed to supporting regional efforts to end hunger and poverty.
Mr G.H.P.B. van der Linden, Vice President of ADB, stressed that one of the challenges is the MDG of halving extreme poverty by 2015. The Asia and Pacific region has made some progress in meeting this goal. But much remains to be done. The Asian experience suggests that success in the fight against poverty requires policies that simultaneously strengthen three key areas of development. These three pillars for poverty reduction are economic growth, social development and good governance.
Economic growth is the most important factor. The growth must be strong, sustained, and focused on improving the lives of the poor. One prerequisite for economic growth is adequate an infrastructure, which is not currently receiving enough investment. The second pillar - social development - is necessary to ensure that economic development is equitable, that all people in society benefit. Good governance will provide the backbone to the other two pillars by ensuring that the public good is provided for in every way.
It is mainly up to individual countries to strengthen the three pillars and to carry out poverty reduction strategies and programmes. But cooperation between developing and developed countries must also occur if the first MDG is to be reached. One means of cooperation would be “the establishment of an open and nondiscriminatory trading system that would bring massive befits to developing economies and accelerate their progress in reducing poverty.” Also, developing countries have realized that regional cooperation can prove useful in addressing many issues. This cooperation needs to continue and be used to deal with the problems of poverty and hunger. All actors must work even more closely if we are to reach our goals.
Mr Kim Hak-Su, Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, stated that while significant progress has been made towards eradicating poverty and food insecurity in the region, there is still a need for much more work. UNESCAP has recently undergone a reform in order to better focus on issues in the region.
He pointed out that UNESCAP now focuses its efforts on three areas: reducing poverty, managing globalization and addressing emerging social issues. This meeting deals with all three areas. UNESCAP uses many programmes and strategies to eradicate poverty. They include examining the economic and social trends in the region, recognizing specific successful programmes dealing with poverty, and checking the progress made by countries in the region towards reaching the MDGs. Additionally, UNESCAP hopes to work with other agencies to promote good policies that have been adopted throughout the region. Finally, UNESCAP will work to further promote regional cooperation in order to eradicate poverty and food insecurity.
H.E. Mr Somsak Thepsutin, Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives of Thailand (Representative of the Prime Minister of Thailand), stated that the Asia and Pacific region is still home to the majority of the world’s poor. Because this is the case, even though the region has experienced major economic growth, there may be something wrong with the development models being employed. Human resource development is one area that needs particular attentions. This meeting can serve as a forum for sharing successful and unsuccessful development strategies. While the countries of the region are different, some programmes and policies may be applicable to different situations. Thailand has found that the main problems of poverty are the lack of land for cultivation, indebtedness, and the lack of stable occupation and has set up programmes to deal with these issues. Additionally, the Government of Thailand recognizes that there are issues which must be dealt with multilaterally because they know no geopolitical boundaries.
