Asia and the Pacific region is characterized by high economic growth, increasing per capita income, and high agricultural production and productivity. Notwithstanding the success many countries in Asia and the Pacific have achieved in reducing poverty, improving food security and the overall welfare of the people, the region remains home to the majority of the world’s poor and hungry. Out of approximately 1.2 billion people in the world who are estimated to be living under a dollar a day consumption level, roughly two-thirds of them live in Asia and the Pacific, particularly in South Asia.
At the international level, the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action adopted at the World Food Summit (WFS) of 1996 and the World Food Summit: five years later (WFS: fyl) in June 2002 brought to fore the global commitment to eliminate hunger and malnutrition, and to achieve sustainable food security for all people. This global commitment was further reaffirmed in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) following the Millennium Summit in 2000. MDGs are now widely accepted as the framework for development action and for measuring development progress. Within these, MDG-1, calling for eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, is on the top of the development agenda.
To address poverty, food insecurity and sustainable economic growth and rural development, Asia-Pacific countries have been implementing several national initiatives with their own resources, as well as in collaboration with the UN System, including ESCAP and FAO, the Asian Development Bank, international financing institutions (IFIs) and the multi- and bilateral donors. However, it is emerging that due to increasing reliance on regional and international trade, investment and technology transfer for economic growth, national economies of most countries have become interdependent. In the context of the current global trading system, including World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements and the continued negotiations for trade facilitation (i.e. Doha, Cancun), generation of collective bargaining power with countries of common interest vis-à-vis other dominant trading partners have become critically important for sustaining agricultural and overall economic growth. Poverty, food security and development issues are increasingly becoming part of trade negotiations. Also, though poverty, hunger and food security are essentially issues of national concern, for many countries in the region production, trade and distribution of food and agricultural commodities, as well as opportunities for alternative livelihoods, transcends national boundaries.
The implications of interdependence and the linkages of trade with development issues and concerns are amply recognized in Asia and the Pacific as indicated by the existence and activities of several Subregional Economic Organizations/Communities (SREOs/SRECs), trading blocks, growth triangles and subregional initiatives for economic integration. Some SREOs/SRECs, with the support of their member governments, are engaging themselves in efforts to eradicate poverty, hunger and food insecurity through achievement of overall sustainable socio-economic development, including agricultural and rural development. SAARC had decided to establish Regional Food Security and Seed Security Reserves and mandated the preparation of a Regional Poverty Profile. Above all, the 2nd Meeting of SAARC Ministers of Agriculture, held in Kathmandu, Nepal in May 2002, adopted a resolution on eradicating hunger and poverty. At its Ministerial meeting in Islamabad, SAARC adopted a Plan of Action to abate the menace of poverty. ASEAN strives to provide adequate levels of food supply and food accessibility to its members and, at the same time, enhance the competitiveness of its food sector. It is also engaged in implementing the Strategic Plan of Action on ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (1999-2004) and the Hanoi Plan of Action (1999-2004) and is discussing preparation of a Subregional Programme for Food Security (SRPFS) in collaboration with FAO. PIF-FIC has prepared a SRPFS, presented and discussed during the side events of the World Food Summit: five years later held at FAO, Rome, Italy in June 2002. The Italian Government has approved funding for some components of this SRPFS.
The executive heads of the subregional economic organizations have been meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and other venues to discuss areas of mutual cooperation. One such meeting was the Consultative Meeting between the Executive Heads of SAARC, ASEAN, Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Pacific Forum Secretariat (PFS), and United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The Meeting in Bali, Indonesia in September 2002 agreed to consider ways and means of mobilizing resources for cooperation between the Subregional Organizations and identified the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as one of the possible donors for funding collaborative activities between these organizations.
These developments provide an excellent base to launch innovative joint programmes to complement national actions to achieve MDG-1. Such programmes can focus on poverty reduction and food security by addressing problems of a transboundary nature affecting sustainable agriculture and rural development. This requires understanding and analysis of the opportunities and scope for regional cooperation to address poverty, food security, agriculture and rural development.
In this context, the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (FAO-RAP), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly organized a Regional High-Level Roundtable on 23-24 February 2004 in the United Nations Conference Center (UNCC), Bangkok, Thailand to discuss how Asia and the Pacific can meet the MDG Goals and WFS Declaration through opportunities offered by subregional and regional collaboration, derive lessons learned and formulate a future course of action.
Objectives
The Roundtable provided a high-level forum to discuss political commitment and building of fruitful partnerships within and amongst the subregional bodies in Asia and the Pacific, and coordination of their respective initiatives and programmes related to agriculture and rural development with a focus on eradication of poverty and food insecurity. It facilitated achievement of a common understanding and modalities for addressing the regional challenges by fostering discussion of the linkages between action by the SREOs, ADB, the UN-system, including ESCAP and FAO, and civil society organizations. The meeting offered a chance to build on the SREOs mandate for subregional economic integration to explore how they can promote the convergence of national interests around selected priority agricultural and rural development initiatives so that Asia and the Pacific can meet the MDG objectives. In particular the meeting:
spearheaded the process of identifying the priority subregional issues and concerns affecting poverty, food security, agriculture and rural development and formulating and implementing regional programmes to address these issues and concerns and reinforce national initiatives;
strengthened the dialogue among the Subregional Economic Organizations (SREOs) and between the SREOs and interested international and regional technical and donor agencies on MDG; and
derived views, lessons learned and perspectives towards realigning regional rural and agricultural development policies towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
In addition to the above specific objectives, the meeting laid down a framework to continue the process of realising the MDGs and WFS Declaration and broadening the process of forging partnerships amongst the stakeholders.
Participants
In attendance during the Roundtable were one prime minister, six ministers, two vice ministers, three secretaries/director-generals and other high-level government officials of the agriculture/food, rural development and planning ministries from ten Asian and Pacific Island countries; heads of subregional economic organizations such as ASEAN and SAARC and high-level representatives of PIF-FIC; representatives of international development agencies, multi- and bilateral donors, selected regional civil society organizations and other relevant institutions. It also involved participation of the Director-General of FAO, Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, Vice President of ADB and Senior Vice President of IFAD. The list of participants is appended to this report as Annex II.
