G8 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting: Food Security and the Fight Against Hunger in the World
18/04/2009
The Agriculture Ministers' Meeting, the third of the G8 ministerial meetings, is being held in a country still suffering from shock in the wake of the 6 April earthquake. Agricultural Policies Minister Luca Zaia told the press that the leader of each delegation began his or her speech by voicing solidarity with Italy and with the people of the Abruzzo region.
The message that is emerging from the Agriculture Ministers' Meeting currently under way at Cison di Valmarino in the province of Treviso, is that it is necessary to restore farming to its rightful position at the centre of the international debate, and to support the need for every country to achieve self-sufficiency where food supplies are concerned.
All of the ministers highlighted their commitment to finding a solution to hunger in the world and to guaranteeing food for the 6 billion people whom the FAO says are in danger of starvation, by doubling agricultural output and by aiming to promote food self-sufficiency in the world's underdeveloped countries.
The debate also focused on climate change, with its very serious impact on farmers. Agricultural Policies Minister Luca Zaia explained that the earth itself and the farming industry will be helping to cut emissions into the atmosphere thanks to the production of bio-energy: 74% of US crops, 30% of Brazilian crops, and 47% of European crops are going to be using bioethanol by 2015. Yet at the same time, it is absolutely necessary to increase agricultural output without depriving people of either room or food; that, Zaia added, is the key to addressing the "clash between fuel and food".
At the first working session, held in G8 format, the ministers also discussed food security and safety, agricultural productivity, the role of the markets, and safeguards for the designation of origin system. Addressing the food security issue, Minister Zaia briefed the press on Italy's position: "When we use the term food security, we are not talking only about food security, in other words ensuring that everyone has access to food supplies, but also about food safety. In other words, we also need to ensure that the food we are endeavouring to make sure is available for everyone, is also healthy and good quality food."
Thus one of the issues addressed was product origin and the defence of Italian products' identity, which is being threatened by agro-piracy. Minister Zaia said that Italy's food and agriculture industry, which has a turnover of more than 24 billion euro, would double its exports if it were not for international counterfeiting and forgery.
All of the issues addressed are to be built into the ministerial meeting's final declaration, which will include all of the measures required to plan the future development of farming worldwide, and which is to be submitted to the upcoming G8 Summit on the island of La Maddalena.
