More Impactful Partnership to Address Asia’s ‘Gathering Food Security Storm’ Urged by Regional Plant Science Industry
ACN Newswire
As the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations (UN) convened virtually to begin its Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific, CropLife Asia took the opportunity to raise the growing threat posed by a number of factors to the region’s food supply and the critical need for shared, sustainable solutions driven by stakeholder collaboration across the food value chain.
“Our regional supply of safe and nutritious food is being threatened like never before,” said Dr. Siang Hee Tan, CropLife Asia Executive Director. “These unprecedented times call for an unprecedented response — including strong partnership among the region’s food supply stakeholders.
“In the fields, regional farmers are contending with limited natural resources, increasingly erratic weather, and a greater number of weeds, diseases and pests with which to contend. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic has only added to the pressure on our regional growers as well as the larger food supply chain.
“The meetings this week are a great opportunity to bring our regional food supply stakeholders closer together in delivering shared solutions. It’s critical that we use this opportunity to drive more impactful partnership across the food supply chain and meet the challenges posed by the gathering food security storm we face in Asia.”
Earlier this year, the UN’s 2020 State of Food Security & Nutrition in the World concluded that almost 690 million globally went hungry in 2019. The research also indicated that Asia is home to the greatest number of undernourished people.
In another policy brief released by the UN recently, The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition, serious concerns were also raised regarding the effect COVID-19 is having globally on the most vulnerable parts of society already experiencing hunger and malnutrition.
Plant science continues to play a crucial role in helping feed our growing global population. Biotech crops are developed with improved traits such as increased yield, better resistance to pests and/or improved nutrition, among others. These traits are important tools that enable farmers to meet global challenges such as food insecurity. Meanwhile, farmers continue to rely on crop protection products to produce more food on less land and raise productivity per hectare. Without crop protection products, 40 percent of global rice and maize harvests could be lost every year and losses for fruits and vegetables could be as high as 50-90 percent.
