NAM rejects use of food as leverage

JAKARTA (JP): The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) of developing countries rejected the use of food aid as a means of political and economic pressure yesterday.

After a two-day meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, NAM's agricultural and food ministers said in a 20-point declaration that every human being has the fundamental right to food and that efforts to use food as an instrument of political and economic pressure should be rejected.

The ministers also urged donor countries and international institutions like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to support "South- South" cooperation in research and development programs aimed at increasing food production for food security in developing nations.

They acknowledged that every government is required to improve the food security of its own people but stressed that low income and food deficit countries, which total 78 according to the FAO, need support from the international community.

The Bali meeting, opened by President Soeharto on Monday, was attended by representatives from 62 countries, of which 53 are NAM members.

Action programs

In the press conference that followed the meeting, Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Sjarifudin Baharsjah was quoted by a Kompas correspondent as saying that the ministerial meeting produced action programs detailing steps of cooperation to secure food supplies in developing countries for both short and long terms.

The action programs include policy reform, improvement of agricultural productivity, South-South technical cooperation, agricultural research cooperation, cooperation between food exporters and importers, special program for the improvement of food production in Africa and food assistance for African countries.

Under the policy reform, the ministers suggested that developing countries put a high priority on spending for such agricultural development programs as the construction of irrigation facilities, roads, telecommunications systems, ports and systems for food distribution.

Under a program for agriculture productivity improvement, developing countries hope to improve training for farmers, adopt apprenticeship programs, exchange experts and establish joint ventures.

Developing countries in the South are also advised to set up regional cooperation for the establishment of food and fertilizer production facilities and for the development of human resources.

In research cooperation, developing countries can hold regular meetings of researchers, establish research networks, exchange research information and transfer technology among themselves.

The ministers suggested that developing countries establish regional cooperation in food trade and bufferstocking to guarantee continuous supplies and price stability.

They also agreed on a program to train agricultural planners, policy makers and farmers in African countries to improve their food production.

To help a number of African countries facing shortages of food supplies and production, the ministers committed their support to promote the introduction of grants for them.

In the meantime, Nana Sutresna, the chairman of NAM's executive board, told Antara that the Bali Declaration will strengthen the bargaining position of the NAM countries in facing the developed nations, especially in food-related matters.

"Some donor countries like Germany and Japan have already shown interest in financing internship programs for farmers and agricultural experts from NAM countries to study Indonesia's success," he said. (hdj/riz)