OECD consensus seeks to achieve a more productive and sustainable global food system
The aim of the Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is to achieve a consensus among the ministers on the principles of agricultural policies to achieve a new policy paradigm for agriculture and feeding the world.
In this forum, considered the most important of the Agenda for Agriculture of the OECD and with the participation of 34 member countries and 19 guests as well as international organizations, it was stated that the main objective is to reach a consensus among the ministers on the principles of agricultural policies to achieve a more productive and sustainable global food system to the challenge of climate change and the behavior of international markets.
In addition, the outline a common vision for the future of global agriculture and agree on cooperation mechanisms needed to implement more coordinated, transparent and inclusive policies that address the challenges facing humanity to produce more food, protect natural resources and increase income of rural producers, mainly small farmers and reduce food waste.
The last Meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the OECD took place in 2010, which the agency is established as an international reference on “good agricultural policies”, through the ministerial meetings that adopt the guidelines for the design of local agricultural policies.
Today the OECD has 34 member countries are invited to participate in the Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture. there are also 19 countries invited to the meeting, among which Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, South Africa, China, India and Saudi Arabia
as well as international organizations involved in global agriculture as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, for its acronym in English); the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI, for its acronym in English).
Mexico takes the floor
With the personal representative of the holder of SAGARPA, José Calzada, the general coordinator of International Affairs, Raul Urteaga Trani, he participated in the first session entitled “A new policy paradigm for agriculture and food.”
Raul Urteaga Trani noted that this forum represents an opportunity to share with other countries the lessons that Mexico has undertaken in implementing major changes in agricultural policies.
Among which, he said, aimed at trade facilitation, creation of logistics corridors, improvement in the inspection process, sanitary and building a more agile to accelerate agricultural trade infrastructure.
He said that these actions contribute to expand trade with the rest of the world and place Mexico as the twelfth largest producer of agrifood; Today, the country obtains more income from food exports (26 000 600 million in 2015) that tourism, remittances and oil exports, he said.
As part of the agenda, Urteaga Trani met with representatives of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture of Germany, and the Commissioner of Agriculture of the European Union (EU), Phil Hogan, in order to discuss issues of fruitful trade relations in agricultural matters between Mexico and the EU, in addition to following up on the official visit last February, the Commissioner Hogan made to Mexico.
In both meetings the interest of Mexico was ratified by progress in the modernization of the Trade Agreement between Mexico and the European Union. In 2015, agri-food and seafood exports to the EU were worth 203 thousand million euros, representing an increase of 12 percent over the previous year.
On 7 and 8 April will be held the Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture OECD scenario where future lines of action for agricultural policies, with the aim of coordinating efforts that will increase agricultural productivity, will discuss improving security global food and address the challenge of climate change.
By Mexico also participate the representative of Mexico to the OECD, Dionisio Perez-Jacome, and the Minister of Agriculture of SAGARPA for European, Jorge Rueda Sousa; as well as the co-chairs of the meeting, the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, Thomas Vilsack and Minister of Agriculture of France, Stéphane Le Foll, and the Secretary General of the OECD, Angel Gurria.
Source: SAGARPA
