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Issues & Analysis
"Level playing field"
vital to poor farmers in Asia-Pacific
BANGKOK-The new world trade rules should guarantee a "level
playing field" to tens of millions of resource-poor farmers in
Asia-Pacific countries to reduce global hunger and poverty,
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations said here on August 28, 2001.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement must protect the
interests of the world's small farmers - most of them in the
mainly rural Asia-Pacific region - Dr R.B. Singh, Assistant
Director-General and Regional Representative, FAO Regional
Office for Asia and the Pacific, told representatives of
leading regional non- governmental and civil society
organizations here.
"A level playing field must not remain an illusion in a region
like ours," he told the 80 delegates to the 28 to 29 August
2001 'Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation of NGOs/CSOs on the
World Food Summit. explicit provisions in the form of a
livelihood security box should be made in the WTO agreement.
Alongside, mechanisms should be in place to increase the
profitability and protect the viability and sustainability of
small farms," he added.
Jointly convened by three regional NGO networks- the
Philippine-based Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and
Rural Development (ANGOC), India-based Institute of Motivating
Self-Employment (IMSE) and Malaysia-based Pesticide Action
Network Asia and Pacific (PAN)- the meeting has brought
together civil society representatives from Bangladesh,
Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea,
malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand
and Viet Nam, along with Italy.
The Government of Japan provided funding for the meeting under
an FAO project. The consultation is examining reasons for the
slow regional progress toward the goal set by the November
1996 World Food Summit (WFS) to reduce by half by the year
2015, the number of undernourished people in the world. The
Bangkok meeting will suggest policy reforms and priority
action by governments and FAO, which will be considered by
world leaders at the 5 to 9 November 2001 WFS: fyl meeting in
Rome, Italy.
Aug 28
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