The 36th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC), convened in hybrid modality by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), is hosted by the Government of Bangladesh in the capital Dhaka, as noted in a release issued by FAO Indonesia and received here on Tuesday.
"This APRC is unique. It is the first time that the FAO has convened a regional conference in Asia and the Pacific in a hybrid mode. I am hopeful that also sends a signal that while COVID-19 is still with us and around us, we are slowly emerging from its grip," FAO Assistant Director General and Regional Representatives Jong-Jin Kim stated during the opening session.
"We now see light at the end of the tunnel, with an eventual return to a more traditional meeting and working environment," he affirmed.
The delegations from Asia-Pacific nations convene for the major FAO food and agriculture forum on COVID-19 recovery, climate crisis, livestock and crop diseases.
Those issues will be discussed by the Asia-Pacific delegations in four day sessions.
Some other pressing issues that comprise addressing major nutritional problems will also feature prominently during discussions.
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Some 40 percent of the vast Asia-Pacific region’s population cannot afford a healthy nutritious diet, while animal and crop diseases and threats to food and agriculture production are aggravated by the ongoing disruption resulting from the climate crisis.
Improved ecosystem responses in the Pacific Islands is another key topic that will be discussed.
Advancing the application of innovation, science, and digitalization to aid in transformation of the agrifood systems in the world’s biggest and hungriest region is among the main points for consideration.
"Ultimately, the aim of the conference is to build back better, with better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all ... leaving no one behind," FAO Indonesia noted in a statement.
The 46 FAO member nations in Asia and the Pacific, as FAO’s Regional Governing Body, will set in motion a two-year course of work for the FAO Regional Office and its technical specialists, through direction of a set of prioritized country and regional needs.
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Reporter: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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