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Statement by Ms. Chen Yingzhu of the Chinese Delegation at the Second Committee of the 66th Session of the General Assembly under Item 25: Agricultural Development and Food Security

2011-10-24 05:22
 

 

Mr. Chairman:

The Chinese delegation wishes to thank the Secretary General for his report submitted under this item and associates itself with the statement made by Argentina on behalf of G77 and China.

Mr. Chairman:

At present, world economic recovery is at best fragile, the political situation in some West Asian and North African countries remain turbulent, major natural disasters strike from time to time, and food prices are severely volatile. All this has rendered the global food security even more precarious. The developing countries are hit the hardest. Today there are nearly 1 billion people in the world living in hunger. In the eastern part of the Horn of Africa, the famine caused by drought and other factors has led to a grave humanitarian crisis. The developing countries are fighting an uphill battle in their endeavor to realize the MDGs.

Food security not only is crucial to the economy and livelihood of countries, but also bears on global development and security. The international community should be guided by the concept of common development and pay high attention to the issue of food and agriculture and address them accordingly. It should strengthen cooperation and take active and effective coordinating action to stabilize the prices of food and other bulk commodities so as to prevent excessive speculation and price hyping in an effort to safeguard world food security.

Firstly, countries should pay attention to agricultural development, invest more in agriculture, raise the scientific and technological levels of farming, prevent and mitigate the effects of natural disasters and promote global food production, especially to enhance the food producing capacities of the developing countries.

Secondly, countries should oppose trade protectionism and move the Doha Round forward with a view to achieving positive results and establishing a fair and equitable multilateral trade system. The developed countries should demonstrate more good will, show flexibility on issues of agricultural subsidies and trade barriers, and expand market access to the developing countries taking into full consideration their special needs.

Thirdly, price hyping by international speculative capital for bulk agricultural commodities, especially food, must be reined in and the regulation of international capital flow and the financial derivatives market strengthened. It is also necessary to strike a proper balance between biomass fuel and food security.

Fourthly, the developed countries should truly honor their international obligations, implement the L'Aquila Declaration and other relevant development assistance commitments and see to it that the pledged funds are put in place in a timely manner. The developing countries should strengthen South-South cooperation and work together towards the implementation of the MDGs.

Fifthly, China supports the discussion of the issue of agriculture and food security as an important part of green economy at next year's UN Conference on Sustainable Development in order to make green economy an active force for global food security.

Mr. Chairman:

The Chinese government has always attached high importance to agriculture, especially food. It has all along sought to ensure food security by relying on domestic production and continuously enhancing productivity. With less than 9% of the world's arable land and 6.5 % of fresh water resources, China has managed on its own to feed nearly 21% of the world population, made a historic jump in the living standards of its people from being poorly fed and clothed to an overall enjoyment of a fairly comfortable life and achieved the MDG on poverty reduction ahead of schedule, thus making a positive contribution to the world food security.

At the same time, China attaches great importance to and actively joined the efforts of the international community to eliminate hunger and reduce poverty and helped the developing countries, especially African countries, to develop agriculture and food production. Recently, in order to help the countries in the Horn of Africa to cope with the drought and famine, the Chinese government has provided emergency food assistance in the amount of RMB 443.3 million (about $70 million). China is willing to join hands with the international community to safeguard world food security and promote the realization of the MDGs on time.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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