Need for food security plan cited

MANILA, Philippines - It is not enough that countries have sufficient food today; it is important to ensure that there will continue to be sufficient food tomorrow.

This was stressed recently by leading European agriculture executive Martin Taylor before the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) and the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (AMCHAM).

According to Taylor, increasing food security “in an environmentally sustainable way” is an issue that must be addressed not just by the Philippines but by the international community as well.

Taylor expressed concern that there are “seven billion people in the world who do not have enough to east despite significant growth in production over the past 50 years.”

He said global food production needs to grow by 70 percent if countries are to meet the growing food requirement. The need is for global food security, not just food sufficiency, he added.

This calls for a well planned strategy backed by both governments and the private sector, he underscored.

Concerning the Philippines, Taylor said the challenge to the business and agriculture sectors is “to give small farmers access to technology” to increase production and move closer to food security. He noted that most farmers in the country are considered small since they generally till one to three hectares of farmland.

Taylor said technology does not only include the use of modern tools and equipment but also the development of seeds and farm inputs that enable farmlands to produce more despite their dwindling sizes, and without harming the environment.

Taylor was formerly a member of the British Parliament select Committee for Science and Technology and chaired the board of international agriculture firm Syngenta A. G. and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture.

He was also a member of the Institute for Public Policy Research and served as secretary-general of the Bildelberg Conference, annual exclusive gathering of influential European and North American leaders in government, politics, finance, education, business and industries.