외교부

Fifth APEC Ministerial Meeting on Food Security: Puerto Varas, Chile, 23 August 2019
Towards Integrated Smart and Sustainable Food Systems

Preamble

1. We, the APEC Ministers Responsible for Food Security, met in Puerto Varas, Chile, from 23 to 24 August 2019 under the chairmanship of Mr.Antonio Walker, Minister of Agriculture of Chile, to exchange views and identify areas of cooperation that support food security in the Asia-Pacific region. We welcomed the participation of representatives of FAO, OECD and IICA.

2. Under the overarching theme of “Connecting People, Building the Future”, and recognizing that Sustainable Growth, Digital Society, Integration4.0 and Women, SMEs and Inclusive Growth are the priorities of APEC Chile 2019, we seek to address key issues related to food security byidentifying common priorities as well as cooperating in defining and implementing better policies towards integrated, smart and sustainablefood systems.

3. Our region faces major challenges in terms of food security. We must find ways to provide our rapidly growing global population with economicaccess to sufficient, safe, nutritious and quality food. Furthermore, the livelihoods of millions of rural people, mainly small farmers and fishers,particularly women, rely on jobs and incomes provided by food production and food-related economic activities.

4. Moreover, food systems have a dynamic relationship with the environment. We acknowledge the growing impact that global changes, such aschanging climate conditions; increasing natural disasters; land, soil and marine habitat degradation; freshwater scarcity; loss of biologicaldiversity; and the emergence of new pests and diseases have on the development of productive sectors such as agriculture, aquaculture andfisheries.

5. We seek smart solutions, which will be crucial to achieving the complementary objectives of increased productivity, sustainability, inclusivenessand resilience.

Fostering sustainable food systems

6. For food systems to effectively adapt to global changes while securing long-term food security, we encourage the development andimplementation of integrated policies for agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries in line with the spirit of the APEC Food Security RoadmapTowards 2020 and the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This will contribute to improving productivity, reducing food loss andwaste, ensuring the conservation, protection and sustainable use of water, land and marine ecosystems, biodiversity and natural resources, aswell as enhancing society’s wellbeing.

7. The resilience of our food systems to climate variability is a priority for our economies because agricultural production is closely linked toweather conditions. We recognize the positive role that agriculture can play in providing solutions to global challenges. Reducing food loss andwaste can also be an adaptive and mitigation option to reduce the food security risks of new climate scenarios. We support strengtheningregional cooperation with an aim to creating enabling conditions to face the challenges and leverage the opportunities brought by globallychanging climatic conditions.

8. We underscore that the efficient use and sustainable management of water as well as robust water policies are critical for the economicperformance, social inclusiveness and environmental sustainability of the whole food system. We highlight the importance of sharing bestpractices in these areas.

9. We acknowledge that the prevention and reduction of food loss and waste is a multidimensional challenge that continues to affect food securityand environmental sustainability in the APEC region. We highlight the importance of strengthening policies along the entire food chain withthe contribution of all relevant stakeholders. We support further APEC cooperation in generating information and improving measurements;strengthening partnerships with all stakeholders; encouraging research, development and innovation, including information andcommunications technology (ICT); raising awareness and building capacity; and developing robust policies to prevent and reduce food loss andwaste.

10. We recognize the significance of seafood consumption, which provides nearly 22 percent of the average per capita animal protein intake forthe APEC region. In this context, we underscore the importance of protecting the marine environment and ensuring the sustainable use offisheries and aquaculture resources. We call for continued action to address certain forms of fisheries subsidies as agreed at the 2019 APECMinisters Responsible for Trade meeting and to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, both of which harm livelihoods,threaten food security and impede sustainable growth. We welcome the APEC Roadmap on Combatting IUU Fishing.

11. We recognize that marine debris, including marine plastic pollution, as a global and multidisciplinary problem, has an increasingly adverseimpact on the ocean environment, coastal livelihoods, food security and sustainable growth. We urge economies to work together toimplement and promote measures to manage and prevent marine debris, including innovative sustainable waste management systems andsustainable agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries practices. We welcome the APEC Roadmap on Marine Debris which supports APEC’s foodsecurity goals.

Embracing innovation, emerging technologies and digital opportunities

12. Innovation, emerging technologies and digitalization are engines for sustainable productivity growth in the agriculture, fisheries andaquaculture food sectors and will be critical for solving many of our current challenges. We encourage officials to make innovation a priority,including through effective coordination with all relevant stakeholders, with an emphasis on the creation and appropriate adoption of newtechnologies.

13. We encourage economies to develop and maintain transparent and science-based regulatory frameworks and to share information andexperiences.

14. We acknowledge that the “digitalization” of agriculture impacts the way that agricultural products are grown, produced and distributed atdifferent stages of food value chains. In this fast-changing context, we urge deeper collaboration and dialogue in APEC with the aim of identifyingcommon approaches to promoting technology adoption, challenges and opportunities for human capital, and developing policy that targetslocal realities, effectively leveraging the opportunities from the digital transformation, sustainably and inclusively.Leveraging associativity and enhancing food value chains and trade

15. Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), including small-scale farmers, fishers and aquaculturalists, indigenous peoples, and women inparticular, face constraints to being competitive in food value chains. Individually these actors may have limited capacity to negotiate and lessaccess to the financial system, market information and new technologies, among other challenges. To strengthen their resilience and adaptivecapacity, we support promoting more inclusive food value chains, identifying new trading opportunities, and encouraging well-functioningmarkets.

16. Associativity, defined as alliances and collaborative initiatives along the supply chain, could be a key dimension to drive progress towardsachieving inclusive economic growth. We encourage the development of business models that promote associativity among MSMEs and withother stakeholders, to improve productivity and competitiveness and strengthen alliances throughout the supply chain, allowing newstakeholders to participate in domestic and global food value chains.

17. We stress the importance that international trade has for food security. We recognize that efficient and sustainable food systems require timelyaccess to international markets. To this end we affirm the importance of transparent, non-discriminatory and agreed-upon rules, whichenhance market predictability, enable business confidence, and allow food trade to flow. We recognize that measures which are inconsistentwith international rules, obligations, and science-based standards, including non-tariff barriers, may undermine food security.Strengthening Rural Development as a Place of Opportunities

18. We acknowledge the importance of promoting the development of rural and coastal communities as they are one of the foundations of thefood system in most of our economies. We recognize that robust and site-specific policies are required to promote the comprehensivedevelopment of rural populations, which reflect the diversity of needs and opportunities. We encourage rural policies that address issuesbeyond agriculture and promote rural development with a holistic approach that accounts for economic, social, environmental and culturaldimensions, and working with all stakeholders.

19. We encourage policies that improve infrastructure, basic services and the quality of life of rural populations as well as strategies that helpdevelop sustainable and market-based methods for adding value to agricultural, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture while promoting theintegration of MSMEs within food value chains.

20. We highlight the importance of promoting competitive, sustainable and quality food systems, including traditional systems that contribute torural development.

21. We encourage the incorporation of gender into the design of rural development policies from the very outset. Higher levels of womenparticipation in the economy is key to raising living standards and boosting economic growth in the region. We recognize the significantcontribution and impact that women have in rural and coastal communities. Recognizing the importance of empowering women, we take noteof the ongoing initiative to develop APEC Best Practice Guidelines on Women in Agriculture and Fisheries and we look forward to the outcomes.Looking forward

22. We support the efforts of the PPFS, ATCWG, HLPDAB and OFWG within APEC that contribute to food security and encourage these groups tostrengthen their collaboration in working towards integrated, smart and sustainable food systems.

23. We reiterate the importance of public and private sector collaboration in addressing current and future challenges for food security. We affirmthe importance of strengthening and invigorating APEC engagement with the private sector including ABAC in PPFS.

24. Reflecting on our efforts under the APEC Food Security Roadmap Towards 2020, we call for the review and identification of ongoing prioritiesand future opportunities to enhance food security in the region beyond 2020.