This commitment was made at a conference on the "GMS: Towards Inclusive, Safe, and Sustainable Agriculture Value Chains", held recently in Siem Reap, Cambodia, which culminated with The Second GMS Agriculture Ministers' Meeting (GMS AMM-2).
The GMS comprises the Kingdom of Cambodia; People's Republic of China, specifically Yunnan province and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Republic of the Union of Myanmar; Kingdom of Thailand; and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
The AMM-2 brought together the agriculture ministers from these countries, who each endorsed the GMS Strategy and Siem Reap Action Plan for Promoting Safe and Environment-Friendly Agro-Based Value Chains in the GMS for 2018-2022.
Working with the GMS Working Group on Agriculture (GMS WGA) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), FIA engaged in a series of discussions with senior officials of the GMS ministries of agriculture, including a formal public-private dialogue and roundtable. The food industry body also facilitated a policy forum on food safety and sustainable management of land and water for the production of a reliable supply of safe and quality agri-food products, which highlighted the role of agri-food value chains in the development of the subregion, particularly its potential for agritourism.
Mr Matt Kovac, FIA's Executive Director, said, "Our ambition is to have strong collaboration between the private and public sectors in the GMS through sustainable multi-stakeholder partnerships designed to improve food safety standards through a range of capacity-building efforts."
In support of these efforts, representatives from FIA member companies Cargill, Nestle, GS1 and Waters Corporation participated in the AMM-2 and related discussions.
Mr Kim Keat Ng, Chairman of FIA's Science and Technical Committee, delivered a statement at the AMM-2, detailing the commitment made by FIA. He highlighted a number of areas for collaboration that are expected to immediately yield positive results, including:
1. Traceability through the piloting of GS1 barcode-based systems for facilitation and monitoring of cross-border trade, as well as the establishment of Government-to-Government, Business-to-Government, and Government-to-Business data-sharing;
2. Establishment of mechanisms for laboratory capacity-building across leadership, management and technical levels;
3. Food safety risk communication through the collaborative development of the ICT platforms such as AINS 2.0 as a GMS food safety communication tool and knowledge repository unit;
4. Promotion of the harmonisation of food safety standards that will enhance trade through the facilitation of public-private dialogues; and
5. Enhancing national legislation and regulations on food safety through public-private forums.
FIA, according to the statement delivered by Mr Ng, "recognises that a regional approach to food policy, driven by private and public interests, will enhance protection of consumers and suppliers in the GMS, support scaling up of productivity and quality of products, and thus facilitate product marketing."
"Using the power of partnership, FIA and the GMS WGA have the opportunity to improve food safety in the region through multi-stakeholder efforts, with the adoption of a risk-based approach built on successful models that address the whole supply chain, while simultaneously promoting a climate for sustainable growth," the statement added.
Positive reaction from the GMS WGA was elicited for the suggestions provided by Mr Ng on FIA's behalf. In the coming months, the working group will make progress on how those suggestions can be pushed forward, as well as other initiatives that will ensure the production of safe and environment-friendly food, while forging closer links between the GMS's ministries of agriculture and FIA.