Food security ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies renewed their commitment to enhancing food security, focusing on combating food loss and waste.
Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Roger Navarro, representing Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. at the 9th APEC ministerial meeting in Trujillo, Peru, echoed the sentiments of attendees from the other 20 APEC economies.
“Food security has consistently been a top priority in the Philippines, where the prevention and reduction of food loss and waste are crucial,” he said.
The APEC food security ministers, in a joint statement, reaffirmed their commitment to the APEC Food Security Roadmap Towards 2030.
The roadmap envisions open, fair, transparent, productive, sustainable, resilient, innovative and inclusive agri-food systems. The ministers acknowledged the APEC Leaders’ 2023 declaration, which emphasized the necessity for tailored approaches to agricultural sustainability rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.
Navarro highlighted the DA’s initiatives to support farmers, fisherfolk and stakeholders across the food value chain and agro-processing industry, including developing advanced post-harvest technologies, improved storage facilities, better packaging solutions and enhanced distribution systems.
Recognizing the significant impact of food loss and waste on food security, the ministers endorsed the Principles for Preventing and Reducing Food Loss and Waste in the APEC region.
These principles advocate for multisectoral, context-specific, voluntary, and science-based approaches to address this critical issue.
Key areas of focus include strengthening institutional frameworks, promoting public-private partnerships and stakeholder coordination, encouraging research, innovation, technology, and digitalization, enhancing capacity building, awareness, and education, improving data collection and knowledge management, creating an enabling environment for infrastructure investment and promoting food rescue and donation.
The ministers cited the 2024 State of Food Security and Nutrition Report, which highlighted that up to 757 million people faced hunger in 2023.
The ministers pledged to support access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food while addressing climate change and promoting biodiversity conservation.
