OIC Ministers of Agriculture: Need for enhancing joint investment opportunities on food security Istanbul, Turkey – The Sixth OIC Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development could not have been held at a more crucial time as disasters of draught, flooding, clime change, and poverty continue to increase in rate coupled with a world population that hit the 7 billion mark in September. The Conference held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 3 -6 October 2011 preceded by a Senior Officials Meeting. A total of 216 delegates participated at the Conference, comprising Ministers and Heads of Delegation from OIC Member States, ObserverCountries, International Organizations and Institutions. In his speech before the Conference Prof. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), expressed appreciation to the OIC Task Force on Food Security for the work so far accomplished towards the elaboration of the OIC Executive Framework for Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Security. He urged Member States to continue to support the earlier conclusion of this comprehensive blue-print for intra-OIC cooperation on food security. Meanwhile, in his opening address, Mehmet Mehdi Eker, the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Livestock of Turkey and Chairman of the Conference, drew attention to the challenges of price volatilities in the agricultural commodity markets and the need to determine the causes of this phenomenon, while also suggesting that the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for the Islamic Countries (SESRIC) could be entrusted with the task of compiling and updating the inventories on agricultural production in OIC Member States. Dr. David Nabarro, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of United Nations on Food Security and Nutrition, elaborated on the diverse areas of possible cooperation between the OIC and the UN family towards ensuring sustainable agricultural development and food security in OIC Member States. Ministers and Heads of Delegation addressed the Conference on their national programs on food security, and agricultural and rural development, detailing their respective countries’ experiences and recommending required actions for active intra-OIC cooperation. At the Senior Officials Meeting the presentations of the delegations of Member States featured actions and challenges in the various areas such as state subsidies to farmers, natural resource management, water saving, information sharing, diversification of crop production, climate change, establishment of grain reserves, as well as exchanging agricultural experts, researchers, planners and policy makers, among others. Other areas considered included risk management, establishment of agricultural insurance systems, creation of cereals strategic reserves, role of private sector, transparency and good economic corporate governance, training, research and development. The meeting
also listened to presentations on the need for certification of food products as well as creation of an appropriate emergency response mechanism. The FAO representative briefed the Meeting about the establishment of a website for the collation of information from member states. The Conference also reviewed the various presentations on possible areas of collaboration between OIC and other international organizations and institutions, such as the COMCEC Coordination Office, World Food Program (WFP), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The Ministers reiterated the need for the OIC Member States to allocate more resources from their national budgets to agricultural development and food security programs. They commended those OIC Member States, which have established capacity building programs for OIC countries and special funds for food security programs, and urged other countries to establish similar programs within the framework of OIC South-South Cooperation. The Agriculture Ministers made a recommendation for enhancing joint investment opportunities between Member States through conducting inventory studies, exploring potentials, exchange of know-how and enhancing the transparency of information, in the area of agriculture and food security. They also recommended the establishment of safety nets, risk management mechanisms, agricultural insurance systems, and measures to facilitate market access for the products of smallholders and to mitigate the effects of price volatilities. Meanwhile, they urged OIC Member States to continue to support cross-border and regional projects aimed at enhancing intra-OIC cooperation in the area of agriculture, rural development and food security. The Ministers supported the proposal by Kazakhstan on the establishment of an OIC Food Security Office in Kazakhstan. They called upon the Public and Private Companies operating in the field of Agro-Business Industry in the OIC Member States to actively participate in fairs and exhibitions in order to improve intra-OIC trade. The Conference commended the on-going regional and international partnerships for the implementation of Food Security Programs in OIC Member States. It also commended the tripartite agreement initiative established by IDB, FAO and other development partners, aimed at intensifying SouthSouth cooperation within the OIC and the framework cofinancing agreement for US$ 1.5 billion signed between IDB and IFAD. Senegal offered to host the Seventh Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development in December 2012. 63