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MeetingReport on the Outcome of the FAO Regional Meeting on Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition in Asia-Pacific 2018The FAO Regional Meeting on Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition in Asia-Pacific was held from 11 to 13 September 2017 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as a follow-up to the 2016 FAO International Symposium on “The Role of Agricultural Biotechnologies in Sustainable Food Systems and Nutrition”. The purpose of the regional meeting was to engage a broad range of stakeholders in the dialogue on the role and application of agricultural biotechnologies to improve food security and nutrition and make food systems more sustainable in the Asia-Pacific region. The meeting highlighted that a wide range of low- to high-tech agricultural biotechnologies are currently being used in the crop, forestry, livestock and fishery sectors to ensure food and nutrition security and to enhance adaptation and resilience of the agriculture sector to climate change in the Asia-Pacific region. It also underlined that one of the key constraints in the development and application of agricultural biotechnologies in the region is lack of investments. The meeting further noted the large gap among countries in the region regarding the application, capacities and the enabling environment for agricultural biotechnologies, and called for countries and other relevant stakeholders to foster and strengthen partnerships, in particular through South-South Cooperation, public-private-partnerships, networking and other mechanisms, to increase investments and strengthen science and innovation cooperation so that the needs of smallholders in the region can be met. The outcomes of the deliberations have been captured and summarized in this information note.
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MeetingAddressing Food Safety Challenges of the Asia-Pacific Region 2018In the Asia and the Pacific region, food safety is important from the dual perspectives of improving public health and nutrition and enhancing trade in food commodities. Concerns of consumers on the fitness for consumption of food produced and traded across borders needs to be allayed through effective risk-based systems that assure safety and quality throughout the food chain. The paper discusses the key challenges being faced, some solutions, and potential partnerships (private sector, civil society, South-South triangular cooperation, development partners) that can be used to enhance food safety systems in the region. It describes FAO’s contribution to the strengthening of technical capacity to implement risk-based approaches in critical areas such as food inspection, monitoring, and surveillance; laboratory analysis; import control and strengthening the evidence base required for the framing of rules, regulations and procedures. It explains, with examples, how improved food-control measures and codes of practice can be implemented at every step of the chain, enabling smallholders to produce safer food and gain access to markets. It underscores the importance of implementing FAO’s action plan for tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through technical capacity development, evidence generation, governance and dissemination of good practices. The paper dwells on FAO's One Health Regional Initiative, currently being rolled out, as an expanded multidisciplinary opportunity to demonstrate benefits to agriculture, food systems and the environment in the region. It argues that the adoption of voluntary and international food standards, especially from Codex, can lead to multiple wins for the consumer, for the private sector and the government in the form of safer and more nutritious food, increased innovation and trade and better public health. Ministers are invited to advise FAO on areas of focus in the development of national capacities in core technical areas of food safety and cohesive actions to harmonize food safety standards in the Asia-Pacific region to safeguard public health and promote trade.
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MeetingClimate Action for Agriculture: Strengthening the Engagement of Agriculture Sectors to Implement the Climate Change Elements of the 2030 Agenda in Asia and the Pacific 2018Climate change poses a systemic risk to the achievement of food security in Asia and the Pacific. In acknowledgement of this risk, member countries in the region have highlighted the agriculture and land sectors as key priorities for action under the Paris Agreement (SDG 13) and the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction. Strategic engagement by Agriculture, Livestock, Forestry and Fishery Ministries in these international frameworks will enhance the capacity to finance and scale up measures to strengthen the climate resilience of food and agriculture systems. This paper provides a review of current knowledge on climate change risks to food security in the region and the opportunities and challenges for the agriculture and land sectors to play a more ambitious role in implementing the Paris Agreement and Sendai Framework. It discusses the potential benefits of strong, sector-based action in support of achievement of the SDG targets related to food security, as well as the potential contributions from strategic partnerships involving the private sector, civil society, South-South and triangular cooperation and development partners. The paper cites novel adaptation strategies, such as geographic indications - GI and Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems - GIAHS, that can help farmers increase resilience and provide a buffer against extreme climate events. Member countries are invited to provide guidance on how FAO can best support their efforts to address the needs and priorities of the agriculture sectors under the climate change-related elements of the 2030 Agenda and how FAO, through its Global Strategy and Regional Initiative on Climate Change, can best support member countries to plan and implement sector-specific action to address climate change risks to food security.
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