Senior Agriculture Officials Meet as Asia-Pacific Faces Mounting Pressures on Food Security

Bandar Seri Begawan: The Senior Officers’ Meeting of the 38th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC38) opened today in Brunei Darussalam. Over the next three days, senior government officials from across the region will discuss challenges and emerging issues and set the technical and policy foundations ahead of the Ministerial Session later this week.

The conference comes at a critical moment for the region. Asia and the Pacific continues to account for 42 percent — some 285 million people — of the world’s undernourished population, even as parts of the region have recorded declining hunger rates. Nearly one billion people face food insecurity and more than 1.2 billion cannot afford a healthy diet. The region is also grappling with a triple burden of malnutrition: undernutrition, micronutrient deficiency, and rising rates of obesity.

These challenges are compounded by a confluence of crises, geopolitical conflict and tensions disrupting global fertilizer and energy markets, intensifying climate impacts including droughts, floods and extreme weather events, land and water degradation, and growing volatility in trade and supply chains.

Opening the meeting, Alue Dohong, Assistant Director-General and FAO Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, said regional cooperation was needed to overcome these challenges.

“We meet at a critical juncture. The convergent crises facing our region at present — from geopolitical disruptions to climate shocks — demand that we move with urgency to reshape agrifood systems that are efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable,” Dohong said. “This conference is an opportunity to align and coordinate policy responses and long-term investments that will determine whether we can end hunger and improve livelihoods in Asia and the Pacific.”

Dohong urged member countries to use the conference to strengthen South-South and Triangular Cooperation and deepen strategic alliances with international financial institutions, civil society, and the private sector, with a focus on directing investment to smallholder and family farmers who most need support.

The Senior Officers Meeting will address a substantive agenda that includes enhancing access to affordable and nutritious diets; accelerating low-carbon and sustainable agricultural production; improving efficiency and inclusion across agrifood systems; facilitating trade and market integration—particularly for countries graduating from least-developed country status; and mobilizing domestic and international finance and investment.

The Week Ahead

On Wednesday, the focus will move to the World Food Forum – Asia Pacific, a special event bringing together stakeholders around youth engagement, science and innovation, and investment for agrifood systems transformation. Also on Wednesday there will be a special Ministerial Event for Small Island Developing States, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Least Developed Countries.

The high-level Ministerial Session will begin on Thursday with an opening ceremony presided over by the Crown Prince of Brunei, His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah ibini His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah.

On Friday, Ministers will continue roundtable discussions on innovation for food security, transboundary animal diseases, agrifood investment pathways, the Blue Transformation and aquatic food systems, and accelerating bioeconomy approaches. 

APRC38 is hosted by the Government of Brunei Darussalam. The conference is a governing body meeting of FAO Member Nations in Asia and the Pacific and is held every two years.