Pacific Island food and agriculture problems

Food Security Summit to tackle growing Pacific Island food and agriculture problems

Port Vila, Vanuatu, Monday 19 April 2010 -- Faced with rising levels of obesity and a growing urban-rural divide with high rates of underemployment, senior Pacific island government officials, food industry executives and civil society organization leaders will hold a Pacific Food Summit here this week (21-23 April 2010), in partnership with a number of UN and regional agencies, to consider strategies and actions that could improve food security in the Pacific over the next five years.

Traditionally, the Pacific islands achieved food security through sustainable agricultural and fishing practices, relying on local foods such as fresh fish, roots and tubers, bananas and breadfruits. While imported food products have contributed to greater availability of wider range of foods, they have also led to a rapid change in local diets. For example, processed cereals such as white rice and wheat flour have replaced root crops as a source of starch, and chicken is now the most common type of meat in many Pacific Island countries, many of which are reliant on imports for these foods.

The Pacific islands also suffer from many obstacles to development that have a serious impact on food security. Making matters worse, the Pacific islands are also highly prone to natural disasters such as cyclones, flooding, drought, earthquakes, tsunamis and the threat of climate change, all of which put even greater stress on the delicate environment of the islands further eroding their food security.

This combination of factors undermines food security in the region. Lack of development in rural areas is increasing leading to rural– urban migration, youth unemployment and its associated social problems. Across the entire Pacific region the rural problem is basically one of low productivity, low incomes and underemployment.

“A thriving agricultural sector is crucial to address food security, poverty and inequality in the Pacific. More than 70 percent of total population and the majority of poor live in rural areas. A healthy agricultural sector will mean more jobs, more income and more food for the poor,” noted Vili Fuavao, FAO Subregional Representative for the Pacific Islands, who is heading the FAO delegation at the Summit. FAO has a long history of cooperation with countries in the Pacific Region. Recent food security interventions such as the Italian funded Regional Programme For Food Security and the proposed the upcoming Food Security and Sustainable Livelihoods Programme in the Pacific Islands reinforces these partnerships.
The Pacific Food Summit is taking an innovative approach that puts attention to on food security though local production and food security through trade. The Summit is expected to culminate in a Pacific Declaration on Food Security endorsed at the highest level of government and supported by industries that supply and produce food.

*The draft Framework for Action on Food Security was developed through technical consultation and a series of National Food Summits. Since 2007, more than 10 meetings involving international organizations, national governments and industry leaders from the Pacific have been held.

ENDS