James Kon
The Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) is working with Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali to conduct a study to identify priority areas for action for the ASEAN Guidelines on Sustainable Agriculture which was adopted during the ASEAN Ministries on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) meeting last year.
ERIA President Professor Hidetoshi Nishimura discussed progress on the study during a courtesy call to Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism Dato Seri Setia Dr Haji Abdul Manaf bin Haji Metussin yesterday.
He said, “A wide range of stakeholders in the food value chain, including farmers, distributors, consumers as well as governments, non-governmental organisations and international organisations are being interviewed to assess the current status of sustainable agriculture efforts and priority areas to be addressed in order to realise sustainable agriculture.
“ERIA is currently conducting a survey to assess the current status of sustainable agriculture initiatives and areas that should be prioritised for sustainable agriculture.
“In Brunei Darussalam, the survey is progressing well, and we appreciate the Ministry of Primary Resources and Tourism’s cooperation.”
He added, “The results of the ERIA study will contribute to the formulation of the Action Plan for the ASEAN Guidelines on Sustainable Agriculture.
“We will be actively involved in the formulation of the action plan itself, and will contribute to the establishment of sustainable agriculture in ASEAN, as well as to ensuring food security in the region.
“As discussed at last year’s AMAF meeting, the ASEAN Leaders Declaration on Strengthening Food Security, one of the priority economic deliverables (PEDs) of this year’s Indonesian presidency, will be discussed in the ASEAN Leaders Declaration on Food Security. ERIA will also support the formulation of the PED.
“We will do our best to make it a better declaration, which will eventually be discussed at the AMAF meeting.”
The ERIA delegation included Senior Advisor to the President Tetsuya Watanabe, Advisor to the President on Brunei Darussalam Affairs Hiroshi Okouchi, Deputy Director-General for ASEAN and East Asian Affairs and Administration Daisuke Tsukao and Senior Policy Advisor for International Agricultural Cooperation Masanori Kozono.
