AGRICULTURE ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian
Nations agreed at a meeting in Yangon last week to step up measures
to prevent further outbreaks of bird flu in member countries.
The ministers agreed to establish a task force to coordinate
cooperation for the control and eradication of the disease, which
has killed at least 30 people in Vietnam and Thailand this year.
The minister also agreed to the proposed establishment of an
animal health trust fund to support measures to make ASEAN free
of foot and mouth and other transboundary diseases.
In another decision reflecting the importance of rice to the
region, they urged international donors to increase support for
the Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute.
The ministers reaffirmed the important role of rice and its
production in the reduction of poverty and malnutrition.
They also expressed concern about deforestation and reaffirmed
the need for effective collaboration to enhance sustainable forest
management.
The decisions were outlined in a joint press statement issued
at the end of the 26th meeting of ASEAN ministers on agriculture
and forestry at the Sedona Hall on October 7.
It was followed the next day by a meeting held under the ASEAN
plus three arrangement which brought together ministers from the
10-member regional grouping and their counterparts from China,
Japan and South Korea.
Issues highlighted at that meeting included the need for the
sustainable and effective use of marine bio-resources for food
security and cooperation to promote the development of the fisheries
sector.
In an address last Thursday to open the meetings, the Prime
Minister, General Khin Nyunt, said Myanmar had the potential to
contribute to food security in ASEAN.
“Rice production has increased significantly and today
we are catching up with some of the top producing ASEAN countries,”
General Khin Nyunt said.
“In pulse and beans production, Myanmar remains in the
forefront of other ASEAN countries,” he said.
He said Myanmar would continue to develop the farm sector by
introducing high-quality, high-yield crops and by making increasing
use of machines.
