OF THE UNITED NATIONS
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| FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS |
ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK | |||||
High-Level Technical Workshop
"Regional Programmes for Food Security in the Near East:
Towards Sustainable Food Security and Poverty Alleviation"
Jeddah, 8-9 October 2003
ECONOMIC COOPERATION ORGANIZATION (ECO)
ECO Secretariat, Directorate of Agriculture, Industry and Health
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ECO Secretariat, No.1 Golbou Alley, Kamranieh, P.O.B. 14155-6176 Tehran- Iran; Tel.(9821) 2831733-4; 2292066 Fax: (9821) 2831732; 2290744; E-mail: [email protected] |
Table of contents
II. State of Food Security in the Region
2.2 Self Sufficiency in Food Production
2.3 Food gap and self sufficiency
III. Challenges and Opportunities for Obtaining Food Security in ECO region
3.1. Food Security problems in the ECO Region
3.1.2. War and Civil Conflicts
3.1.5. Capacity of policy makers, policy analysts and policy researchers
3.1.6. Land Use and Farming System
3.1.8. Pollution and Environmental Issues
3.1.9. Population growth and demographic elements
3.2. Common Issues and Developmental Priorities
3.2.1. Regional and International trade
3.2.2. The need for an overall Strategic Framework for Agricultural Development
3.2.3. Management of the Agriculture Sector
3.2.4. Water Resources Management
3.2.7. Food safety regulations
3.2.8. Major priorities for collective actions
IV. ECO Activities in the Field of Food Security
4.1. Sub-project: Regional Cooperation on Food Security
4.2. Workshop on Food Security and Agricultural cooperation in the ECO region
4.3. ECO/FAO/IDB Joint Identification Mission to the Selected ECO Member States
4.4. FAO TCP project to support ECO for preparation of a regional programme for food security
4.5.1. Animal Production and Health
4.5.2. Plant Protection and Production
4.5.3. Compilation of Agricultural Data and Information on the Agriculture Sector
5.3 Main activities of project
VI. ECO Cooperation in Agriculture: Project Ideas
6.1. Regional and Bilateral Projects Identified for Cooperation
6.1.1. Plant Production and Protection
6.1.2. Livestock Production and Animal Health
6.1.3. Marketing and market facilities and rural finance
6.1.4. Resource Management and Environment
6.1.5. Management of agriculture sector
6.1.6. Capacity Building in the ECO Secretariat
The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) is an inter-governmental organization, originally established by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey and expanded, in 1992, to include six Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in the Central Asia and Caucasus region and Afghanistan. ECO countries cover an area of over 7.9 million sq. km which is almost 5.9 % of the total area of the world and inhabited by more than 371 million people of common cultural heritage. The principal objective of ECO is the sustainable economic development of Member States.
According to the Treaty of Izmir, one of the objectives of the organization is to enhance efforts for effective utilization of the agricultural and industrial potentials of ECO region. Also the Quetta Plan of Action and the Istanbul Declaration, the long term perspectives of ECO, give due importance to the ECO agricultural cooperation. In view of an urgent need to streamline and prioritize the ongoing activities, the Secretariat has focused on food security and agricultural development issues.
Agriculture is the mainstay of the economies of almost all the member states. They also face similar problems and challenges with enormous capacity to benefit from one another for achieving common goals.
It was in this background that the first ECO Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture cooperation was held in Islamabad on July 23-25, 2002. The meeting focused on the possibility of cooperation in agriculture, boosting intra-regional trade, food security and various aspects of the WTO regime affecting the agro-sector of the member states.
Specifically, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey have been tasked to coordinate among the member states on areas of drought management, water management, trade promotion, development of post harvesting and processing industry.
The ministers highlighted the importance of food security as one of the significant needs of a large portion of the population of the region which need need due attention within the ECO frame work. In pursuance of the Ministerial decisions, the Secretariat is presently in the process of developing a "Regional Programme for Food Security and Agricultural Development for ECO member states" with technical and financial assistance of FAO.
This paper which elaborates the state of food security, food security problems and challenges in the ECO region, ECO activities to address those problems and a brief consideration of FAO TCP project to support ECO in preparation of a regional programme for food security. At the end it will discuss the possible projects to be implemented in different levels i.e. national, regional and international.
