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Go local for food and nutritional security in the Pacific: SPC
by Josephine Yaga (02/02/09)
Food and nutritional security in the Pacific can be improved if the Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) increase production of locally grown food crops and consume more of these locally grown foods in the region.
Director of Land Resource Division of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Fiji, Aleki Sisifa said the region’s dependence on imported and processed food stuff from overseas would be declining in the coming years due to high cost of food and fuel prices. Mr Sisifa said imported foodstuffs are not only costly, but studies carried out in some small Pacific Island countries in the recent past showed increase incidences of lifestyle and dietary diseases associated with increase consumption of these foods.
He was speaking during the 3rd biannual meeting of the Heads of Agriculture and Forestry (HOAFS) in the Pacific; which was held from September 3 – 5, 2008, in Apia, Samoa. Papua New Guinea was represented by heads of the Department of Agriculture and Livestock, National Agriculture Quarantine and Inspection Authority, Forestry Department and NARI.
The focus of the meeting was on issues affecting the region and the globe such as climate change, erosion of genetic resources, the need to sign the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resource for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), development of customary land and issues of non-communicable diseases. The meeting also addressed issues on sustainable forest management, harmonization of bio-security laws in the pacific, animal production contributing to food security in the region, plant genetic resources programme, guidelines for invasive species management in the Pacific, trade facilitation, and the development of sustainable agriculture in the Pacific.
HOAFS members get together to discuss issues affecting agricultural production and forest use and management in the region every two years. The recent meeting followed with country reports and paper presentations by technical and scientific staff from SPC. The meeting, hosted by the Ministries of Agriculture and Forestry of the Samoan government, came up with the Strategic Plan 2009 to 2012.
NARI Principal scientist Rosa Kambuou, who participated on behalf of NARI, said the strategic plan focuses on improving food and nutritional security, integrated and sustainable agricultural and forestry resources management and development and improving bio-security and increasing trade in agriculture and forestry.
Dr Mary Taylor of SPC emphasised the need for all PICTs to look after the valuable plant resources particularly food resources available in the region. She said climate change has and will continue to place the genetic resources at the risk of genetic erosion and therefore each government need to actively support the conservation and maintenance programmes in their countries to ensure that these resources are properly conserved and maintained for the sustenance of their livelihoods. Dr Taylor also stressed the need for dealing with climate change through selection and production of climate ready crop species and crop varieties that are resilient to change of climates.
Other participating countries included American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, PNG, Nauru, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands.