The Roundtable adopted the following declaration:
We, the participants of the Regional High-Level Roundtable gathered here in Bangkok on 23 to 24 February 2004 for the purpose of spearheading regional cooperation on agricultural and rural development for poverty alleviation and food security in Asia and the Pacific;
Recalling the global commitment embodied in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;
Recalling further the global commitment manifested by the Rome declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action (WFS/PoA) at the World Food Summit in 1996 and the World Food Summit: five years later (WFS: fyl) in 2002 to eliminate hunger and malnutrition and to achieve sustainable food security for all people;
Recalling that the majority of the poor live in rural areas;
Noting that Asia-Pacific countries have been implementing national initiatives with their own resources as well as in collaboration with the UN-System, including FAO and UNESCAP, the Asian Development Bank, IFAD, the World Bank and other international financing institutions (IFIs) and multi- and bilateral donors to address poverty and food insecurity and to promote economic growth and sustainable agricultural and rural development;
Recognizing that the national economies of most countries have become more interdependent due to increasing reliance on regional and international trade, investment and transfer of technology for economic growth;
Noting that Regional Economic Organizations (REOs) with the support of their governments are engaging in efforts to eradicate poverty, hunger and food insecurity through promotion of overall socio-economic development and agricultural and rural development, like
the SAARC Regional Food Security Reserve;
the Twelfth SAARC Summit Declaration (4-6 January 2004, Islamabad) recognizing poverty alleviation as the greatest challenge facing the peoples of South Asia and declaring poverty alleviation as the overarching goal of all SAARC activities;
the SAARC Proposal to establish a Regional Food Bank;
the SAARC Adoption of the Plan of Action on Poverty Alleviation;
the Report of the reconstituted Independent South Asian Commission on Poverty Alleviation to abate the menace of poverty;
the ASEAN Strategic Plan of Action on ASEAN Cooperation in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (1999-2004);
the ASEAN Food Security Reserve Agreement;
the ASEAN Plan of Action on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (2004-2010);
the ASEAN Hanoi Plan of Action (1999-2004); and
the PIF-FIC Subregional Programme for Food Security (SRPFS).
Concerned that, notwithstanding the high economic growth, increasing per capita income and agricultural productivity that have characterized the Asia-Pacific Region as well as the success of many countries in reducing poverty and improving food security and overall welfare of the people, the region remains home to the majority of the world’s poor, landless and hungry;
Reaffirm global commitments made at the various fora such as the World Food Summit in 1996, World Food Summit: five years later (WFS: fyl) in 2002 and the UN Millennium Summit in 2000;
Call on all stakeholders, including bilateral donors, international organizations and civil society to join hands and coordinate their efforts to overcome the problem of hunger and rural poverty;
Urge leaders and decision-makers of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to put the fight against hunger and poverty at the forefront of national priorities and to urgently strengthen political commitment. Towards this end, there is a need to design a separate package of policy targets, strategies and programmes that are directly designed to address poverty issues and problems for specific poverty groups in the various subsectors of the economy. There is also a need to incorporate them in the national planning document;
Encourage regional economic organizations and other institutions involved in economic integration, with the participation of CSOs and social movements, to spearhead the process of identifying the priority regional and subregional issues related to poverty, food security, agriculture and rural development and of formulating and implementing programmes to address these issues and concerns including:
i) cooperation and collective action in international trade for securing better market access and better returns on produce, prioritizing small and marginal farmers;
ii) promotion of joint human resource development and R&D for food security and poverty alleviation;
iii) exchange of experience and expertise among countries in tackling poverty and food security issues;
iv) knowledge exchange to foster sustainable livelihoods and deliver rural services including utilization of local knowledge and innovation of farmers;
v) research into and implementation of genuine agrarian reform and access to productive resources;
vi) participation of women and farmers as well as social movements in processes to design, decide and implement food and agricultural policies including poverty and hunger eradication policies and programmes;
vii) the special challenges facing small island countries; and
viii) strengthening the mechanisms for the prevention and resolution of conflicts.
Encourage dialogue and information exchange, as well as greater cooperation and partnerships among REOs and between them and international and regional technical bodies interested in WFS Plan of Action and MDG, with a view to lending unstinting support and moving towards:
i) consensus on priority areas of collaboration for the purpose of overcoming hunger and poverty; and
ii) the formulation and implementation of comprehensive regional programmes for food security with special attention to increasing agricultural production.
Recommend that The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) continue to collaborate with and assist the REOs and the member nations of FAO in specific technical areas to address, among others:
trade facilitation, including capacity building in SPS and trade negotiations;
harmonization of national agricultural policies;
support to national special programmes for food security;
regional cooperation on early warning and response systems to natural disasters and emergencies;
capacity building and emergency prevention systems (EMPRES) for plant and animal pests and diseases; and
progressive control of FMD and other transboundary animal diseases.
Recommend further that FAO, in collaboration with UNESCAP, ADB, IFAD, the World Bank and CSOs, monitor on a regular basis the progress on the implementation of the recommendations in this declaration, and as set out in the Annex and report at the FAO Regional Conference.
