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Food Security and Nutrition in APEC Economies. Sharing lessons learned and looking into the future

Dear Friends,

It is a matter of great pleasure to invite you to an online discussion on Food Security and Nutrition in APEC economies.

This discussion is organized in the context of the “APEC Food Security Training and Workshop” that the Agriculture Information Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences is hosting on September 7-9, 2015 in Beijing, China. 

APEC is the premier Asia-Pacific economic forum which goal is to support sustainable economic growth and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.

The major objectives of the workshop are to promote communications among APEC economies’ food security researchers and experts, build interest on food security strategies, enhance research capacity and offer policy recommendations to improve food security. The training and workshop will identify existing methodologies, tools and best practices of food security researches and improve future research on food security and research issues.

Notwithstanding the regional aim of the workshop, we believe that the knowledge of experts from APEC economies can be of great value to practitioners in the rest of the world on food security and vice versa.

In order to allow the workshop to benefit the food security community as much as possible, our vision therefore is that interested individuals, food security professional, practitioners, researchers and students from all over the world can join this event through this online discussion. On the days of the workshop we will share the write-up and results from the training sessions with all of you, while the inputs received through this online discussion will be discussed at the meeting.  

Given the above we would like to invite you to reflect on the following guiding questions drawing on the experience in your country.

  1. How can smallholder farmers benefit from global value chains?
  2. What is the most striking example of measures that have improved Food security and Nutrition in your country in the last decade?
  3. What are the challenges for policy implementation in your country related to food security research?
  4. How can we ensure the participation of youth in the wider food security dialogue?

If you would like to provide your feedback to this online discussion please do not hesitate to comment on the discussions website or to send your comments to [email protected].  Please also feel free to circulate this information among your colleagues

Comments are welcome in English, French, Spanish and Chinese

Our sincere thanks go to all of you for the active participation and the open exchange of views!

We look forward to meeting you online.

Prof. Nie Fengying

Director

International Division

Agriculture Information Institute 

Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

 

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How can we ensure the participation of youth in the wider food security dialogue. referring to this problem,I will think of the importance of food security andthe role of youth in this society . Food safety is related to human survival and development. As a result,We human beings,especially young people,should pay attention to this problem. Because young people are the future of the country, is the motive force of social progress. on one side, Education departments shuid be promoting the importance of food safety to the students. On the other side,School Can organize students to attend activities to understand the food safety knowledge and Collect students' feedback and Suggestions.On the same time, Young people should also actively spread the food safety knowledge .

 

The topic, “How can we ensure the participation of youth in the wider food security dialogue?”, is very meaningful. In my opinion, youths actively participate in this topic must have two premise: one the one hand, youths should have a profound understanding of food safety and the status of food security; on the other hand, Relevant Agencies or Organizations must actively provide a platform for youth to exchange views, for example, our online discussion.

As for the fourth question how we can ensure the participation of youth in the wider food security dialogue, in my opinion, several measures may be taken to make a difference. First and foremost, it's necessary to dig out characteristics of youth. For example, youth in China are widely affected by new medias like Weibo, Weixin, QQ, APP, etc., instead of traditional ways like curriculums or papers. More obviously, they prefer fresh ways to get fragmented knowledge. Therefore, innovating APPs, establishing associations or holding forums may be better ways to ensure the participation of youth in the wider food security dialogues. Secondly, examples with scientific evidences shall compose the main content of food security dialogues. However, who can pay for the measures mentioned above. On the one hand, some may come from government organizations, schools, institutions and venture companies. On the other hand, some NGOs have been providing free services concerning food securities. Last but not the least, it's necessary to establish a food security foundation to coordinate problems mentioned above, as well as to put forward food security dialogues.

Q4: The youth is the future of the world, so it's essential to attract them to concern food security.

First of all, make basic knowledge of food security widely available through various means. Only we youth know the basics, then we will be interested in food security and have the passion to communicate with others about this topic.

Secondly, most of the youth is in schools/ universities, so maybe we can unite school clubs to hold various activities to absorb students focus on food security. More widely, it's better to invite  NGOs or other enterprises to join the dialogue which would wider the coverage.

Food security is not just one question, it has relations with other topics, such as health, nutriology and so on, so we can enlarge the topic to attract more youth.

I want to discuss the third questions; the most serious challenge is the shortage of Agricultural resource including land, water, and etc in China. We have to think of the ecological balance as well as food supply. It is too difficult to the countries like China which support a lot of people. Import too much will threaten self-sufficiency rate, supply ourselves will consume natural resources.

>> English translation below <<

Los pequeños y medianos agricultores pueden perfectamente involucrarse en el esquema productivo atendiendo a necesidades de países grandes que requieran productos que originalmente y por asuntos de agroclima no producen. Podemos citar productos como Yucas, batatas, vegetales variados y rubros alimenticios de primer orden que ellos no producen. Para ello es necesario educar a esos pequeños productores sobre sus viabilidades productivas y en ese sentido.

Small and medium-sized farmers may very well be involved in the production plan in response to the needs of large countries that require products that they cannot produce due to their agro- climate. We can cite as Yucca products, sweet potatoes, mixed vegetables and first -class food items they do not produce. This requires educating these small producers on the practicability of such a production..

I think extension and advisory services is crucial towards food security by providing opportunities for rural farmers to improve their skills and competencies in crop production and crop protection for sustainable agriculture and to secure food. For China, there is dire need to bring policy reforms in extension and advisory services following developed countries like USA, Australia and UK etc who are enjoying from public as well as private extension and advisory services. 

1 Close the yield gap

By 2050, 120 million hectares of natural habitats will be converted to farming in developing countries, the World Wildlife Fund estimates. In many parts of the world, current agricultural land is not reaching its potential, yielding 50 percent less than what it could produce. Closing the gap between what is being produced and what could be produced would both reduce the need to clear land for agriculture and feed 850 million people

2 Use fertilizer more efficiently

the use of fertilizers with nitrogen and phosphorus on wheat, rice and maize crops could be reduced by 13-29 percent and still produce the same yields. Further efficiency could be gained through adjustments in the timing, placement and type of fertilizer.

3 Raise low water productivity

Improving irrigation systems and planting crops that use less water would be an effective way to tackle this. For example, rice and sugar cane are among the crops that need the most water.But it¡¯s not simple to change the types of crops grown since farmers make decisions of what to grow based on market values.One way to encourage change would be to provide economic incentives, but that can change based on regional differences and cultural tastes.

4 Reduce food waste

Globally, 30-50 percent of food production goes to waste because of inefficient preparation or inadequate storage facilities. The United States is one of the biggest culprits for this and needs an agricultural land base that is 7 to 8 times larger than a land base in India to compensate for this waste. Reducing food waste in the United States, India and China could feed 413 million people per year.

Mr. Aigo Alun AII, China

It seems clear that relatively large numbers of smallholders can be reached through market systems facilitation projects. In addition, smallholders display a willingness to upgrade in order to increase agricultural productivity. As might be expected, willingness to upgrade is predicated on smallholders’ perceptions of their market opportunities and household capabilities.