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2012/SOM1/PPFS/MC/010
Agenda Item: 9
Summary Report of the Workshop on Food Security in Japan
Purpose: Information
Submitted by: Japan
/ Policy Partnership on Food Security - Management Council MeetingMoscow, Russia
5 February 2012
Summary Reportof theWorkshop on Food Security in Japan
The first Ministerial Meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on Food Security held on 16-17 October 2010 in Niigata, Japan.Ministers agreed that APEC economies would collectively pursue the shared goals of (i) sustainable development of the agricultural sector, and (ii) facilitation of investment, trade and markets. Ministers also endorsed an APEC Action Plan on Food Security, which identifies specific activities to be implemented by APEC economies to strengthen regional food security.This year Japan implements several activities indicated in the Niigata Action Plan; No. 5, No. 31, etc..
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan held APEC workshop on a food security with participants from APEC member economies, January 17 to 19 2012in Tokyo, Japan. This workshop has endorsed by ATCWG members in October 2011.
This workshop consists of five parts as follows;
-Addressing the Linkages between Climate Change and Vulnerability to Food Insecurity, (Niigata Action Plan No. 7)
-Demonstration of APEC Information Platform on Food Security, (Niigata Action Plan No. 1)
-Discussion of information on the use of water and land resource and farmers-participatory irrigation management in collaboration with the International Network for Water and Ecosystem in Paddy Field, (Niigata Action Plan No. 5)
-Dissemination of feasible adaptation and mitigation measures identified by the food security mapping system incorporating climate change factorable data, (Niigata Action Plan No. 31)
-Field Trip to the facilities on Food Security
I. Addressing the Linkages between Climate Change and Vulnerability to Food Insecurity
In this session, the speaker and participants examined the new Japanfunded FAO project on climate change and food security, the Analysis and Mapping of Impacts of Climate Change for Adaptation and Food Security (AMICAF) project
The key insights of this session are as follows:
AMICAF project consists of the four steps in three years, starting October last year. First, the project conducts a climate change impact assessmenton crop production. Secondly, the project conducts analysis and mapping of vulnerability to food insecurity at local level. Thirdly, community-based adaptation in vulnerable communities would be identified. And finally, in the fourth step, the project would conduct awareness raisingamong relevant stakeholders.
For the dissemination of the output, FAO/AMICAF website will be developed and international workshop with APEC Economies will be held in 2013
II. Demonstration of APEC Information Platform on Food Security
This session was focused onthe outline of Asia Pacific Food Security Information Platform (APIP). Speakers introduced its object and purpose and made a demonstration of the information platform, the Asia Pacific Food Security Information Platform. In this session, the participants identified, via the demonstration, that APIPwas not one member economy’s voluntary effort alone, but a member-driven platform. The participants were also requested to provide opinions how to use the database, what kind of information needed for further developing the platform, and so on.
The key insights of this session are as follows:
As a part of the action plan, the information platform has been formed.Information that APEC Member Economies hold should be collected and shared. Thepurpose of APIP project is to first just collect the information from economies and each member economy was requested to provide information.
With the inputs from each economy, APIP would be upgraded and the quality of the information platform could be improved. Each economy was expected to further promote programs on food security by using the information platform.
III. Sharing Information on the Adaptation and Mitigation Measures to Cope with Climate Change
In this session, the speakers and participants shared information and views on the adaptation and mitigation measures to cope with climate change. Speakers from APEC member economies presented their experience and views on the importance of mainstreaming adaptation and mitigation into usual policy making and the needs for further international collaboration. Interactive discussions were conducted between speakers and participants, and participants identified that there was plenty of room for benefitting all countries by collaborating in the research field with each other
The key insights of this session are as follows:
Agriculture was going to be affected by climate change. It was quite likely that many economies in the APEC region were going to be affected by climate change, and it was quite likely that most of those impacts could be quite negative. So economies needed to do something.
Agriculture was also a source of GHG emission, especially methane and N2O. The world average agriculture accounted for 13.5% of the total GHG emission. So the agriculture sector needed to do something again, also for mitigating climate change.
Adaptation and mitigation needed to be harmonized by strengthening the complimentary linkage or reducing the trade-offs between adaptation measures and mitigation measures.
The result of the recent research in many countries had given some promising outputs. Several speakers showed that cutting-edge researches had been contributing to identifying some measures for mitigation as well as adaptation and gave an important lesson as to the need for monitoring the impact of climate change or agriculture using very advanced technologies, including remote sensing. .
IV. Sharing Information on the Use of Water and Land Resources and Farmers-Participatory Irrigation Management
In this session, the speakers and participants discussed on sustainable agriculture developments, in particular managing land and water resources.Interactive discussions were conducted between participants about how to increase the economic incentives and profitability of the farming activities, or managing resource activities, and identified the needs to conserve the environment and to increase the benefits to the environment.
The key insights of this session are as follows:
Member economieshad this kind of good platform for exchanging information about good practices. By utilizing this platform, member economies could even learn some failures that happened, so that theycould learn lessons from these examples of failure.
In order to achieve that kind of sustainable development,it was important to increase the efficiency of resource use— in particular water and land. For that purposes, technology or new and different infrastructure, or modernization of the infrastructure, would be needed.
It was challenging but also important to consider how member economiescould encourage the farmer participation, or mobilize them. Sometimes, an association could contribute well for that purposes, but it was not always easy to build such associations. On the other hand, if one could share a common vision for the future that could unite the people. And the target generation for sharing a vision was not only for that of the old people or our generation, but even for that of the younger people—particularly children.
Climate change had implications in particular for the management of water resources. Member economies had adaptation measures for water harvesting, or some kind of pumping support, or things like that. But climate change was very uncertain. Nobody knew what would happen next. The important thing was how member economies could increase the capacity of the farmers, or farming associations, to cope with these sudden changes, including climate change.
V. Excursion to the Food Security Facilities
Participants visited to the food security related facilities of Japan, such as NNAFA Analysis Center, Agriculture Research Hall, and JAXA Tsukuba Space Center.
APEC Workshop on Food Security
17-18 January 2011, Tokyo, JAPAN
Programme
Day-1: Tuesday 17 January 2012Part 1 : Opening Remarks
Opening Remarks
Mr. ShujiYAMADA
Vice-Minister for International Affairs [MAFF, Japan]
APEC Food Security
APEC Food Security Priorities – 2012
Mr. Andrey RAKHMANOV [Russia]
Part 2 : Addressing the Linkages between Climate Change and Vulnerability to Food Insecurity
Analysis and Mapping of Impacts under Climate Change for Adaptation and Food Security: Project Concept; Presentation and Q&A
Mr. Yasuro FUNAKI [MAFF, Japan]
Part 3 : Demonstration of APEC Information Platform on Food Security
Mr. Yoshiaki HATA [MAFF, Japan]
Mr. Kensuke SHIMURA [MURC, Japan]
Part 4 : Sharing Information on the Adaptation and Mitigation Measures to Cope
with Climate Change
Presentation and Q&A
(Chair: Professor Mikitaro SHOBAYASHI, Gakushuin Women's College)
(1) Opening Remarks
Professor Mikitaro SHOBAYASHI [Gakushuin Women's College, Japan]
(2)Climate Resilient Agriculture
Dr. Anbumozhi Venkatachalam [ADBI]
(3) Rice Improvement Research for Climate Change
Dr. Masa IWANAGA [JIRCAS, Japan]
(4) Adaptation and Mitigation Study in the Agriculture Sector in Japan and its Possible Contribution to the Asia Pacific
Dr.Toshihiro HASEGAWA
[National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Japan]
(5) Agricultural Monitoring by Earth Observation Satellite
Mr. Toru FUKUDA [JAXA, Japan]
(6) Global Research Alliance: Enhancing cooperation in Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research
Ms. Nicci Stilwell [New Zealand]
(7) Green Growth and Climate Change
Dr. Kim, Chang-Gil [Korea]
(8) Concluding Remarks
Professor Mikitaro SHOBAYASHI [Gakushuin Women's College, Japan]
Day-2: Wednesday 18 January 2012
Part 5: Sharing Information on the Use of Water and Land Resources and Farmers-Participatory Irrigation Management
Presentation and Q&A
(1) Opening Remarks
Mr. Shigezane SANESHIGE [MAFF, Japan]
(2) Presentation on the Projects Japan Carried Out
- Study on prevention of desertification in arid and semi-arid areas in Asia
- Estudio de Validacion del Desarrollo Rural Participativo Basado en la Conservacion del Suelo
- Guideline for the On-Farm Irrigation Development and Management in Monsoon Asia
Mr. Kunihiko NAITO [MAFF, Japan]
(3) The Project on Conservation of the Environment and Rural Development with Farmers' Participation for the Mediterranean Dryland Zone of Chile
Dr.Claudio Perez [Chile]
(4) The Project on Eco-environment Rehabilitation and Poverty Reduction in Yanmenguan Region, Shanxi Province
Mr. LIJINCHUAN [China]
(5) Examples of Participatory Irrigation Management (PIM) in Mexico
MVZ Mario Gallegos Acosta [Mexico]
(6) The Project for Capacity Development of Participatory Irrigation Management System for Improvement of Agricultural Productivity in Vietnam
Dr. Nguyen Tung Phong [Vietnam]
(7) Round Table Discussion
Chair: Professor Nobumasa HACCHO [Kinki University, Japan]
(8) Wrap Up and Closing Remarks
Professor Nobumasa HACCHO [Kinki University, Japan]
Part 6 : Closing
Closing
Mr. Hitoshi TSURUTA [MAFF, Japan]
Day-3: Thursday 19 January 2012
Excursion to the Food Security Facilities
Visiting to:
(1)NNAFA Analysis Center
(2)Agriculture Research Hall
(3)JAXA Tsukuba Space Center