Welcome Remarks Mr. Alastair Hicks, Senior Regional Agricultural Engineering and Agro Industries Officer FAO/RAP, welcomed the Round Table Meeting participants, introducing the specialists, resource persons and non-panel persons, on behalf of the FAO Secretariat. He invited the assembled group to elect the officers of the Meeting.
Election of Officers The Chairman Mr. Cyril Siriwardane (Sri Lanka) was nominated by Dr. Thanya Kiatiwat (Thailand) and seconded by Mr. Marc Bonnet (Handicap International) as was the Rapporteur Ms. Fahmeeda Wahab (Bangladesh). Both were elected by acclamation.
Adoption of the Agenda The Chairman then called for the Adoption of the proposed Agenda. The Agenda and Timetable can be found in Annex II.
Statement by ADG/RR of FAO/RAP Mr. Soetatwo Hadiwigeno, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific presented the Opening Statement.
Secretariat Papers The Meeting considered three Secretariat papers presented by:
Mr. Lawrence Jacobson, Human Resources Officer and FAO Focal Point for Disability Matters, Rural Development Division (SDAD), FAO Rome Headquarters, “The Rural Disabled: Building a Strategy for the Future”.
Mr. Alastair Hicks, Senior Regional Agricultural Engineering and Agro Industries Officer, of the FAO Regional Office, Bangkok, “The MIDAS Touch of Food and Agricultural Industries for Income Generation by Disabled People”.
Dr. Narong Chomchalow, Regional Plant Production Officer (Commercial Crops) of the FAO Regional Office, Bangkok, entitled “Adaptive Techniques for Horticultural Crops Production by Disabled Persons”.
Individual Papers In its deliberations, the Meeting took into consideration the statements made by nine specialists from six countries of the Asia-Pacific Region, these were:
| BANGLADESH | Mrs. Fahmeeda Wahab Disabled Women in Rural Areas of the Region |
| CAMBODIA | Mr. Marc Bonnet Disabled People in Agriculture in Cambodia |
| JAPAN | Mr. Eiichi Takada Sensorially Disabled People in Rural Areas of Japan |
| SRI LANKA | Mr. Cyril Siriwardene Motor and Upper Limb Disabled People in the Agricultural Industry in the Region |
| VIETNAM | Mr. Bui Ngoc Quynh Motor Disabled People in Rural Areas of Vietnam |
| THAILAND | Mr. Prayat Punong-ong Blind Disabled People and the Thai Rural Economy |
| Ms. Johanne Hanko Mentally Disabled People in the Agricultural Industry and Rural Sector in Thailand | |
| THAILAND | Mr. Jaruwat Mongkoltanatas and Dr. Thanya Kiatiwat The Prevention of Disabilities and Accidents to People in Rural Thailand |
The paper summaries can be found in Annex III.
