In the Region, member countries have a number of disabled farmers, from past wars, present landmines, from agricultural machinery accidents and diverse other causes. The issues of safety in farm handling equipment, safe use of agrochemicals, safe agricultural product processing into food and non-food products, safe means of landmine detection during land preparation and other preventive measures, need attention. There is also need for identification of different forms of disabilities and associated farm tools, equipment and machinery which could be modified and adapted to use by disabled farmers. These and related issues are considered to be well within the mandate of FAO.
FAO/HQ funds were provided, in 1995 and 1996 by then Human Resources, Institutions and Agrarian Reform Division (ESH), now the Rural Development Division (SDA), and by the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RAP), for the recruitment of consultants to prepare background documents on areas of disabilities, using carefully prepared terms of reference for their papers. In addition, under the 1996 and 1997 Regular Programme of FAO/RAP, with the concurrence of the Agricultural Engineering Branch (AGSE), studies were commissioned on the situation of motor disabled rural people in Cambodia and in Vietnam.
The FAO Roundtable Meeting on The Integration of Disabled Persons in Agricultural and Agro-Industry Systems has been organized jointly between FAO Headquarters and the FAO Regional Office, with funding support by the Rural Development Division (SDA). This Roundtable Meeting has been in support of the United Nations Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 1993 – 2002, at the midpoint of the Decade in 1997 and was held in conjunction with the UN Regional Inter-Agency Committee for Asia and the Pacific or RICAP.
This meeting has given FAO an opportunity to demonstrate its support for the objectives of the Decade in more concrete and visible ways and to identify policies and strategies for follow-up action.
