Bangkok--28 Jul--UNISBKK
At the invitation of Mr. Htay Oo, Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Dr. Noeleen Heyzer is visiting Myanmar to launch ESCAP’s study on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security. The agricultural economy is the most important sector in Myanmar and contributes 42 per cent of the country’s GDP and 70 per cent of its labour force. This is the first step in a development partnership with the Government of Myanmar to discuss its agricultural economy and policy.
Dr. Heyzer’s visit takes place at a critical time. The current economic crisis has led to a loss of employment, income and fall in commodity prices, causing enormous hardships for people living in the rural sector throughout Asia. As citizens working abroad return home to rural areas, many countries now face the additional pressure of providing adequate income and livelihood opportunities for people working in the agricultural sector.
ESCAP’s study was conducted in 2008, and published this year, at the request of member States who required timely analysis and policy options on how to ensure food security and sustainable agriculture. This was requested at the time when the region is facing triple threats to development, in terms of food-fuel volatility and the economic crisis, and when many in the region are developing stimulus packages to revitalize their economies. The Executive Secretary subsequently convened a Ministerial Roundtable during the sixty-fifth Commission session April 2009 to discuss the study’s key findings and delineate key policy responses for Member States’ consideration. The study was also a response to some of the key findings of ESCAP’s Economic and Social Survey 2008 which showed that investment in the agricultural sector was declining and that a lack of agricultural credit was driving up farmers’ indebtedness.
Dr. Heyzer stated that there are a number of key areas where immediate action could be taken by countries in the region. They include enhancing the purchasing power of the poor by undertaking pro-poor public expenditures, cash for work, rural infrastructure programmes and by developing the foundations for social protection. ESCAP’s agricultural study also indicates that agricultural income and profitability can be improved by allowing higher prices for agricultural products and by reducing production and transportation cost. The study finds that the marketing of agricultural produce may be improved by removing restrictions on the movement of food including rice. Regional cooperation is needed for the development and transfer of technologies for production, post harvest and storage of food.
“Adequate and sustained agricultural credit is crucial to prevent rural indebtedness and improve agricultural production, livelihoods and wage employment in rural areas,” observed Dr. Noeleen Heyzer. “These measures would reduce the hardships currently experienced by farmers and help address social impacts from the current economic crisis including return migration and human trafficking.”
The Executive Secretary stated that ESCAP is in a strategic position to be in a development partnership with the Government of Myanmar. “Launching the study here in Naypyitaw is the beginning of this development partnership,”observed the Executive Secretary. “As the regional arm of the United
Nations in the Asia Pacific, ESCAP provides a forum that allows groups of diverse countries to share experiences, to learn from peers, and coordinate their development activities for greater development impact through regional cooperation,” she stated. She went on to add that ESCAP facilitates cooperation among member States to develop common regional positions and solutions to global problems. By taking ownership of reviving their economies, regional members can ensure that the recovery is built on a new development paradigm that is both inclusive and sustainable. By doing so, developing countries will make a quantum leap from merely increasing their crisis-resilience, to becoming crisis-resistant, while ensuring that future growth truly helps the region and the people to live in greater freedom from want, from fear, and from discrimination.
The Executive Secretary will be discussing agricultural economic policies including for rice, agricultural credit, rural infrastructure and livelihood opportunities in Myanmar as possible stimulus for the economy and well being of the people. Besides meeting the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, ESCAP’s chief will hold talks with General Thein Sein, the Prime Minister, Mr. Nyan Win, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Soe Tha, the Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Mr. Kyaw Thu, Chairman, Civil Service Selection and Training Board. Discussions will consist of how ESCAP can support Myanmar in meeting its current development challenges in a comprehensive manner.
Dr. Heyzer outlined a number of areas where ESCAP has been requested by the Government of Myanmar to provide assistance. They include supporting the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals through capacity building; providing technical advice and support for relevant data analysis and statistics as well as for enhancing institutional capacity to deliver development services; and providing a platform for exchange of regional experiences and good practices in the Asian region.
The Executive Secretary of ESCAP will also be visiting a number of villages in rural areas of the arid zone, meeting with local people and officials.
For further queries, please contact:
Mr. Mitchell Hsieh
UN/ESCAP Information Services
Tel: (66) 2 288 1862-69
Email: [email protected] and [email protected]