SELA to analyze food security in LAC at Meeting of International Cooperation Directors
02 de octubre de 2012

Caracas, October 2- The "XXIII Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean," whose central topic will be regional cooperation in the area of food security, is being held since yesterday in Belize City. This event was organized by the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), with the support of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) of the Group of 77 (G-77), and the Government of Belize, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Press and Dissemination Office of SELA

Caracas, October 2- The "XXIII Meeting of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean", whose central topic will be regional cooperation in the area of food security, is being held since yesterday in Belize City. This event was organized by the Permanent Secretariat of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), with the support of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Perez-Guerrero Trust Fund (PGTF) of the Group of 77 (G-77), and the Government of Belize, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

This regional meeting is aimed at identifying actions and initiatives for better coordination and synergy among the various international cooperation actors at the regional and subregional levels as regards food security, while analyzing and updating the information on cooperation programmes and actions related to this topic that have been undertaken by the various regional and subregional integration and cooperation schemes in Latin America and the Caribbean, in order to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and support inter-institutional coordination.

An important task of this meeting will be the promotion of bilateral and multilateral cooperation sources for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as cooperation opportunities that can be exploited within the region to support food security. The event also aims to identify policy recommendations to strengthen international cooperation, South-South Cooperation and Triangular Cooperation in the area of food security.

Participants in this meeting will include representatives of international cooperation agencies and divisions of the 28 SELA Member States, representatives of bilateral and multilateral development organizations, regional, subregional and international institutions, as well as specialists and academicians of the region.

The Meetings of International Cooperation Directors for Latin America and the Caribbean bring together decision makers in the area of regional cooperation. Many successful experiences and best practices have been shared at these meetings. This international cooperation forum was kick-started by SELA in 1987 and since then it has gathered on an annual basis.

Food security has been considered by the Governments of Latin America and the Caribbean as a priority, and it has been so reflected in the various summits and meetings at the presidential level that have taken place recently in the region.

In 2012, the subject was dealt with at the highest level in the "XXXII Regional Conference of FAO for Latin America and the Caribbean", which took place in Argentina in March 2012. It was also analyzed in the "Rio+20 Conference", held in Brazil in June 2012; and in the "42nd General Assembly of the Organization of American States", in Bolivia in June 2012.

Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the largest food producing regions in the world, but out of its 589 million inhabitants, 218 million live in poverty, and out of them, 53 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition.

The region has enormous potential since it encompasses approximately 576 million cultivable hectares, corresponding to 30% of the world's total. However, sustainable development policies are required in order to take advantage of those lands while controlling soil degradation and pollution.

As part of the regional agricultural agenda, it is crucial to outline policies and promote proposals to control speculation in food prices, bearing in mind that only 2% of future food commodity contracts end up in actual supply, since 98% is sold in speculative markets.

It is also necessary to analyze the efficiency of food production, the use of pesticides and fertilizers, the use of water, and the issue of waste of food - nearly 1.3 billion tons of food (i.e. about one-third of the annual production) are lost or wasted each year, as consumers in rich countries throw away nearly 222 million tons of food, which is the equivalent to the net annual production in sub-Saharan Africa.