At 37th Session of FAO APRC, Minister Song Expressed ROK’s commitment to Stronger Cooperation with International Community to Overcome Global Food Security Challenges
Recently Minister SONG Miryung of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs made major statement at the 37th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific. The regional conference, held in Colombo in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, hosted delegates from 46 member states across the Asia-Pacific and international organizations representatives.
Minister Song introduced Korea’s main agriculture policies to overcome global food security challenges:
Minister Song introduced the Republic of Korea’s main agriculture policies to overcome global food security challenges, including;
- promotion of smart farming
- nurturing young farmers
- bolstering food security through expansion of food production infrastructure
- transferring agricultural know-how to overseas countries through K-Rice Belt projects
Minister song also emphasized that Korea will further strengthen cooperation with the international community.
Director-General JEONG Hye-ryun of the International Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs said: “To build resilience in agri-food systems a little more than 5 years left before the target year set for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, we will continue our efforts to strengthen cooperation with the international community for food security and increase Korea’s contribution to the world.”
At the conference, member states emphasized the need to transition to sustainable and resilient agri-food systems, backed by science-and evidence-based policy, smooth trade flows, research and development, innovation, investment, etc., to respond to resource shortages in the region, climate change, and increases in the region’s population, as well as to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of universal goals of the United Nations and the international community set for the years from 2016 to 2030 and comprised of a total of 17 overarching goals and their specific targets. The 17 goals include ending poverty, achieving food security and improved nutrition, promoting sustainable agriculture, achieving gender equality, sustainably managing forests, etc. Director-General QU Dongyu of the UN FAO said in his opening statement that, amid an accelerating transition to digital economy and society, networks assume particular importance, and the FAO has a comparative advantage in that it is the network and platform for achieving food security.
