It is a great pleasure for me to join all of you again on the World Food Day at the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
Despite rapid economic growth and the progress in reducing poverty and hunger, Asia and the Pacific region still has the largest number of the poor and undernourished in the world. Achieving the Millennium Development Goal for eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, therefore, remains at the top of the development agenda for many countries in the region.
While the region is witnessing rapid urbanization and the growth of manufacturing and service sectors, agriculture is crucial to the socio-economic well-being of its people. Some 70 percent of the poor in Asia and the Pacific developing countries live in rural areas. The majority of the labour force in these countries depends on agriculture, directly or through related activities. Given the extent to which poor people's livelihoods depend on agriculture, the critical importance of growth in this sector to ensure food security cannot be overemphasized.
However, the agriculture sector is not growing as rapidly now as in the post "Green Revolution" period. For the last two decades, agricultural growth has gradually slackened in many countries. There are several reasons for this. The amount of land and water available for agriculture is declining with increasing urbanization and resource degradation. Rural wages and inputs prices have increased while real prices of agricultural commodities have declined over the long-term. In many communities, loss of agricultural profitability has forced people to abandon farming and move to overcrowded cities, while agricultural imports have increased.
This is not a happy situation, and not a sustainable one. Agriculture must be restored to health in Asia. How to do this is a complex issue. It is not possible for developing countries in the region to support agriculture through subsidies and protection. It's neither economically feasible nor sustainable in this era of trade liberalization and openness. We have to look for better options. We have to make agriculture more productive and competitive so that it can produce whatever is in the country's best comparative advantage. Countries in this region should also work together to get fair trade deals for our products in export markets.
Policy-makers must ensure that such a crucial sector is not starved of resources and promote effective public-private sector partnerships to mobilize necessary investment. There are several crucial public goods in which governments must invest to encourage private investment. The private sector in agriculture comprises different groups of people, from farmers to traders to processors and transporters. Their needs differ. Governments should recognize these and try to provide public goods that encourage them without discrimination.
Thailand's own experience in promoting public-private sector partnership in agriculture provides some important lessons for the future. Coordinated efforts of agricultural development agencies, financial institutions, farmers, and private traders and industrialists working together have greatly transformed Thai agriculture into a commercially-oriented sector responding to market opportunities, not only in Thailand but also in importing countries. The quality of farm products has significantly improved, benefiting both producers and consumers. It has drastically reduced the incidence of poverty and undernutrition. However, this does not mean that we have solved all our problems in agriculture. What is important is to maintain the commitment to address the lingering and emerging issues as soon as possible with necessary measures, including investment for a broadly based agricultural and rural development. This is an essential component of the strategy to tackle the remnants of poverty and food insecurity.
Lastly, I join you all in congratulating FAO on this auspicious day for its achievements and offer Thailand's good wishes and full hearted support to the World Food Day theme. I am confident that FAO will continue to receive similar support from other Asia-Pacific countries in realizing the collective mission of ensuring food security for all.
