Food security has become an increasing concern among many APEC economies due to rising food prices and periods of price volatility. APEC economies face challenges related to the supply and demand for food. APEC members recognize that in the absence of any policy intervention, the cost of food could rise substantially due to increasing demand and reduced production.
In response, acknowledging the importance of the private sector in the food sector and their role in food security, the APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security (PPFS) was established in 2011 to strengthen public-private cooperation to address food security issues in the region. The PPFS focuses on promoting public-private partnerships and investments to ensure greater resilience in the food systems and ABAC’s recommendations for a whole-of-system approach for food production.
The ministers of APEC economies responsible for agriculture and food met for the first time in Niigata, Japan, in 2010 and issued the Niigata Declaration on APEC Food Security—the first comprehensive APEC plan for promoting regional food security.
Subsequent APEC ministerial meetings on food security were held biennially in Kazan, Russia (2012), Beijing, China (2014), and Piura, Peru (2016), which led to the Kazan Declaration, the Beijing Declaration and the Piura Declaration, which outline APEC’s new plans for tackling food security.
In 2021, with the forum gaining a new mandate to continue its contribution to Food Security until 2025, and in line with the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 (the successor of the Bogor Goals from 1994) of “an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, PPFS along with the APEC Food Security Ministers Agriculture and food ministers jointly developed a Food Security Roadmap Towards 2030 (Roadmap 2030) and endorsed it at the Ministerial Meeting on Food Security in August.
The Roadmap 2030 is aimed at enhancing an open, fair, transparent, productive, sustainable and resilient APEC food system that ensures access to sufficient, safe, affordable, and nutritious food to meet the dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The Roadmap 2030 has six key action areas: digitalization and innovation, productivity, inclusivity, sustainability, public-private partnership and SMART goals.
In 2022 the PPFS pursued meaningful dialogues with the public and private sector to ensure development of an Implementation Plan of the Food Security Roadmap 2030, which utilizes a whole-of-systems approach for food security across the region and agri-food value chains, while recognizing the importance of digitalization and innovation, productivity, inclusivity, and sustainability towards this goal in line with APEC’s Putrajaya Vision 2040 and the Aotearoa Plan of Action.
In 2023, PPFS will build on the APEC 2023 theme Creating a Resilient and Sustainable Future for All, with specific focus on interconnectedness, innovation and inclusivity, and the agriculture sub-theme of Together Achieving Sustainable, Equitable and Resilient Agri-Food Systems. PPFS will continue the work on the initiatives and projects outlined in the Roadmap 2030, adopted in 2021, and its implementation plan, adopted in 2022, to strengthen regional food security.
Contacts
PPFS Chair
Email: [email protected]
Program Director
Activities
PPFS Deliverable for 2023
1. Field guides
Throughout 2023, PPFS will host a number of rigorous, and highly concentrated knowledge-sharing initiatives in the form of workshops, field trips and development of consensus-based materials. Members propose that the presentations and findings of these activities provide the basis of a compendium of best practices and practical applications after the conclusion of each workshop. By the end of the 2023 APEC year, this proposal would result in a collection of reports or materials—or what we propose to refer to as “field guides”—that would be accessible, adaptable, customizable and achievable across the APEC region. In keeping with the APEC review and clearance process, each of these field guides would be circulated for comment and, upon reaching consensus, be permitted to be published on the APEC website. The United States will be following this approach with their self-funded workshops and invites other economies to consider adding to the collection of field guides through other workshops proposed for the 2023 APEC year.
In order to strengthen and expand the whole-of-system approach within APEC, all relevant stakeholders—particularly across fora and sub-fora focused on food and ag systems— are also invited to contribute to the compilation of the field guides, including the Agricultural Technical Cooperation Working Group (ATCWG), the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB), the Ocean and Fisheries Working Group (OFWG), and Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC).
2. Development of a Principles Document
3. Development of an APEC Ministerial Declaration on Food Security
In anticipation of the Food Security Ministerial Meeting in SOM3, the United States will prepare and lead the development of a 2023 Ministerial Declaration.
4. PPFS Joint Meeting
PPFS will convene a joint meeting with HLPDAB, ATCWG, SCSC, OFWG and EGILAT in SOM3.
5. Workshops and Events
- SOM1 (February)
- Climate Side Event
- Ag-APEC Kick-off Event and Reception
- PPFS-ATCWG Joint Workshop: on Reducing GHGs: “A Three-Tiered Approach to Decreasing Agriculturally Generated Greenhouse Gas Emissions in APEC” (Field Trip and Field Guide)
- PPFS -ATCWG Joint Workshop: Approaches to Decreasing Agriculturally Generated Greenhouse Gas Emissions in APEC (Field Guide)
- SOM3 (August)
- Concept Notes Under Development:
- PPFS Workshop: Harnessing Market-Based Incentive Policies for Climate and Food Security (Field Guide)
- PPFS Workshop: Policy Interactions of Climate, Food Security, and Open Markets (Field Guide)
- Concept Notes Under Development: