Full text of PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng’s remarks
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PM Nguyễn Tấn Dũng at the World Economic Forum session on "Rethinking How to Feed the World", Davos , Switzerland, January 29, 2010 – Photo: VGP/Việt Đông
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The Vietnamese PM started his speech by confirming that food security in the world is facing a lot of challenges, especially due to the shrinking of agricultural land as a result of industrialization and urbanization, natural disasters, epidemics, trade barriers against agricultural products, and low income of the poor.
Highly appreciating enormous efforts of countries and international organizations in supporting agricultural development and keeping food security around the world over the past years, PM Dũng asserted that it is time to work out new measures to ensure global food security in a faster and more sustainable manner.
As representative of a country suffering famines in the past decades and now one of the leading rice exporters in the world, the Vietnamese Government chief emphasized six points to safeguard food security.
First, it is important to guarantee three majors factors including the availability, sustainability and people’s access to food.
Second, think of the reform and increase of mandates and power for the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) so that FAO is able to play a more effective role in coordinating the assistance related to food development direction, production and distribution in the world.
Third, it is imperative to establish a match-making mechanism for countries to collaborate and generate complementary strengths in the efforts for agricultural development and food security.
The most sustainable and long-term solution to the global food security is how to effectively assist the countries most-impacted by famine in their self-help efforts, said PM Dũng.
Fourth, the agricultural exporters should establish an Alliance of Agricultural Countries in response to climate change like Cairns group for agricultural liberation.
Fifth, an early warning system should be also established to detect the food crisis in advance, so effective and timely responses can be taken.
Finally, the international community needs to make commitments to reduce and remove all tariff and non-tariff barriers for agricultural and food products.
By Xuân Hồng
