According to the UNESCAP-UNDP report, the Asia and Pacific region will probably achieve the target of halving by the year 2015 the incidence of extreme poverty measured by the international standard of US$1 per day. The aggregate figures, however, mask the significant differences among countries. The reduction in poverty took place mainly in China and South East Asia.
Progress towards halving the number of people who suffer from hunger was more modest during the last decade. The proportion of underweight children under five fell from 35 to 32 percent and the level of undernourishment across the population fell from 20 to 16 percent. Again, the progress was mainly achieved in China.
Conclusion: Considerable progress has been achieved in the Asia Pacific region towards the goal of reducing extreme poverty and hunger. There is ample evidence of the significance of economic growth for poverty reduction. It is, however, important that economic growth is sustained and is not accompanied by increases in income inequality.
Trends in rural development approaches have changed a lot since the 1950s to the present. The emphasis on agricultural development supported by community development in the 1950s shifted to small farm growth in the 1960s, then to integrated rural development for small farm growth in the 1970s and later to state-led rural development and market liberalization in the 1980s and to participatory processes and approaches in the 1990s. Today the prevailing framework of rural development encourages sustainable livelihoods and mainstreaming rural development in poverty reduction strategies and programmes.
The lessons learned, however, of what worked well in the Asia and Pacific region in the past can still be built on to guide future rural development initiatives. Creating policy regimes conducive to market oriented development, steady investments in rural infrastructure to link people to markets, providing quality social services to foster human resource development, building social overhead capital in irrigation and water resources management to increase cropping intensities and reduce climatic risk, and developing rural financial services to mobilize savings and finance private initiatives worked well in the past and will work well in the future with the appropriate modifications.
The new challenges arising from globalization, demographic changes, environmental stress, scientific advances, gender discrimination, governance weaknesses and the changing face of rural poverty make it essential for governments and their donors to rethink the future course of action regarding the policies and strategies to foster rural development.
The strategies for fostering rural development include:
a) Developing strategic approaches to fostering rural development
Rural development strategies should be built around a set of prioritized and affordable reforms i.e. policy, regulatory, institutional and fiscal initiatives.
The private sector should be a full partner in developing strategies.
Attention should be paid to the needs of the poor.
b) Building on supply side interventions which worked well in the past, e.g. competitive rural markets, roads, irrigation, extension approaches with diversity of providers, human resource development.
c) Scaling-up new demand side approaches that deliver results including decentralization, participation and devolution.
d) Multiplying the benefits of rural development through regional initiatives, e.g. the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippine East Asian growth area.
Conclusion: No single strategy or policy blueprint can possibly fit Asia and the Pacific’s diverse circumstances. There may be many ways for rural communities to escape from poverty and these escape routes merit public support. An appreciation and respect for location differences that builds on local initiative and uses development assistance support to accelerate the transfer of good practice knowledge, applications, techniques and technology from one setting to another is needed to foster rural development.
Food security and the fight against hunger are primarily issues of national concern. However, for certain aspects of food security, poverty eradication and promotion of agricultural and rural development, regional collaboration can provide a critical and indispensable contribution. For this reason regional organizations in Asia and the Pacific have integrated the fight against hunger and food security into their objectives and programmes of action. Some examples of these initiatives are the SAARC Plan of Action on Poverty Alleviation, the ASEAN Plan of Action on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication and the PIF Regional Approach to Food Security.
Other areas where regional organizations in Asia and the Pacific can play a key role in the fight against hunger and malnutrition include: policy harmonization that can promote trade, such as continued reduction of trade barriers to intraregional trade, the establishment of common phytosanitary regulations and common standards, the harmonization of tariff nomenclature, customs valuations and customs procedures and so forth.
Functional cooperation which is designed to take advantage of economies of scale in managing common resources and in operating institutions at a regional level is likewise auspiciously promoted in regional organizations. Examples of such cooperation are technical cooperation at the regional level of common water resources, regional networks of universities and schools of agriculture, subregional research organizations, etc.
FAO is committed to providing support for regional cooperation for the eradication of poverty and food insecurity in the following concrete ways: A) Regional Programme for Food Security (RPFS). FAO has been supporting 12 regional organizations around the world in: i) trade facilitation ii) harmonization of national agricultural policies and iii) support to national Special Porgrammes for Food Security. B) Regional Initiatives around thematic issues. FAO is assisting regional organizations in the development of RPFS in implementing several regional projects in specific technical areas like capacity building and regional initiatives like Emergency Prevention System (EMPRES) for Transboundary Animal and Plant Pests and Diseases, and Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Other Transboundary Diseases (GF-TADs).
Conclusion: It is hoped that this paper has contributed in clarifying further the significant roles that regional organizations can play in addressing the problems of food insecurity and poverty by promoting agricultural competitiveness and trade, functional cooperation, policy harmonization, networking and benchmarking by including support to the vulnerable in regional integration schemes through the twin track approach. Successful formulation and implementation of regional programmes and projects will ultimately depend on political will and mobilization of resources
Mr Keng Yong Ong, Secretary General, ASEAN: ASEAN deals with poverty by first encouraging economic growth and then promoting rural development. ASEAN attempts to advance economic and social progress simultaneously. ASEAN sets goals and plans strategy for poverty alleviation and food security in the Framework Action Plans. A new edition, for 2004-2010, has just been prepared. ASEAN cannot look to the European Union or other regional groups for a blueprint for development action. Its situation is unique.
The concept of national food security varies among countries, ranging from absolute self-sufficiency to a more flexible vision of self-reliance. ASEAN has had a difficult experience recently when attempting to improve food security. There are five key values in tackling issues of poverty and development. They are shared responsibility, shared prosperity, shared identity, a habit of consultation, and a forward orientation. One shared agricultural trade policy would not be appropriate for ASEAN member countries. Instead the organization wants harmonization of rules and nomenclature and removal of trade barriers. A more supranational arrangement would also be inappropriate. ASEAN prefers to utilize ministerial committees and annual meetings. ASEAN is currently working with FAO on a RPFS. There is a need to improve human resources. The upcoming Vientiane Action Plan will specify new plans to address food insecurity and poverty.
Enhancing participation in existing regional organizations is preferable to establishing new institutions. The ASEAN Secretariat facilitates cooperation between member states, but must also facilitate cooperation between other Secretariats in the region.
Mr Q.A.M.A. Rahim, Secretary-General, SAARC: Hunger threatens the stability of the international community. The challenge of food insecurity must be met by an increase in food production that can be accomplished through an “improvement of soil fertility, and arresting and reversing of agricultural land degradation and water loss.” Increased investment, quality of human resources, and technology are needed to meet these goals. Poverty alleviation was declared to be the overarching goal of all SAARC activities at the Twelfth SAARC Summit in Islamabad.
There are four major regional initiatives in the area of poverty alleviation. The first is the Report of the ISACPA that sets goals and strategies for accelerated poverty reduction. The second is the Plan of Action on Poverty Alleviation. Third is the Regional Poverty Profile. The fourth initiative is identifying appropriate projects for SAARC to supplement the work of the member states. Member states are considering a proposal for collaborative work with FAO on regional food security programmes. Additionally, SAARC is attempting to make its “existing Food Security Reserve more effective.” In order “to create an enabling environment supportive of the national poverty eradication and food security programmes”, SAARC calls for cooperation from developed countries such as funding and technology transfer. To relieve poverty and food insecurity, countries need to create jobs to generate income, stabilize food prices, and be prepared for emergency situations that may be caused by natural disasters.
Mr Aleki F. Sisifa, Representative of SPC (PIF): WFS declarations and MDGs are being supported at the national level throughout the region. The Pacific area has many subregional economic organizations (SREOs), many of which are devoted to eradicating poverty and food insecurity. There are attempts to coordinate the programmes and actions of the various SREOs. Development of Sustainable Agriculture in the Pacific takes a participatory process approach and is designed to increase the sustainable production of farm families. The RPFS for the region has two goals: enhancing food security and production and strengthening agricultural trade and policy. Agricultural development programmes deal with plant protection, crop improvement, and animal healthcare and production. Policy assistance is provided by FAO. There are also programmes in place to improve health and nutrition, and the forestry and fisheries sectors. Pacific subregional priorities include looking at both similarities and differences among member states. Gap areas include policy assistance, information dissemination, agricultural statistics, agricultural marketing, and agricultural diversification.
