FAO at Nadi: food security, obesity on conference agenda

Awide array of foods are threatened by climate change in Asia and the Pacific. This was one of the main topics discussed at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) 34th Session of the Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC-34) currently being held at the Sofitel Resort and Spa, Nadi.

Priority areas identified by member nations in the region focus on national adaptation and mitigation action on agriculture and land-use sectors ranging from forestry to crops to livestock, land and water.

FAO, at the global level, introduced its Strategy on Climate Change at the FAO Conference in July 2017.

Regionally and nationally, FAO’s work will be delivered through the newly established Regional Initiative on Climate Change. Strategic engagement and leadership by agriculture ministries in the climate change agenda will enhance national capacity to scale up measures to strengthen climate resilient food and agriculture systems, reduce poverty, promote gender equality, and address food insecurity and malnutrition in Asia and the Pacific.

Special focus on the Pacific Islands

APRC34 is hosted by the Government of Fiji. It’s the first time the Conference has convened in a Pacific Island nation in more than 20 years.

While a major concern for the Pacific is climate change and extreme weather events, so too are diets and obesity.

In Oceania, the sub-region which also includes Australia and New Zealand, between 2000 and 2016, the prevalence of overweight children under five almost doubled from five percent to nine percent.

Obesity is also a major health concern for adults in Oceania (and other parts of AsiaPacific), because it can lead to non-communicable diseases including type-2 diabetes.

As people live longer, this obesity “time bomb” could place a great strain on public health services.

FAO and others have been working with member countries in this region and others as part of a global initiative to support improvements to food security, nutrition and sustainable development in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including how to deal with climate change and obesity.

Addressing food safety challenges in Asia and the Pacific

A lack of hygiene and sanitation, along with poor awareness of proper practices in food processing and handling, continues to endanger the health of the region’s inhabitants and damages confidence in food trade, including international trade in food commodities, which is worth some US$ 1.7 trillion (FJ$3.44tr), according to estimates by World Bank and UNCTAD.

The APRC delegates are discussing ways to improve food safety in ways that will be beneficial to a wide range of producers and consumers, from small holder farmers to local consumers to food exporters.

The delegates are looking closely at the experiences of some countries in applying international food standards and strengthening national committees on food safety.

The use of an international food safety framework developed by FAO and WHO (Codex) is being enhanced in ASEAN countries, according to a Conference paper, and is “supported to harmonise standards at the regional level to promote free trade within the bloc and with key non-member partner countries such as Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.”

The 34th Session of the Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific has drawn government Ministers and Delegations from the far west of Asia and countries from South, Southeast and East Asia and Oceania. FAO Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, will speak to the Conference later in the week and participate in a Ministerial Roundtable on Zero Hunger on Thursday.

The final recommendations from the Member Nations to FAO will be finalised on Friday.