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Japan Appeals Full Implementation of the Scheme for East Asian Emergency Rice Reserve System
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The Scheme for East Asian Emergency Rice Reserve System is likely gather momentum for full fledged implementation. Agriculture ministers of the 13 countries of East Asia met on September 13 and confirmed "the importance of developing the scheme to a permanent system."
MR. Takayoshi Tsuneda, Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries participated in the agriculture ministers' meeting of AMAF+3
(AMAF: 10 ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture & Forestry), which was attended by agriculture ministers etc. of the 10 countries of ASEAN plus Japan, China and Korea. |
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At the meeting, Senior Vice Minister Tsuneda presented a progress report on the Scheme for East Asian Emergency Rice Reserve System, which has been under test operation of three years since the spring of 2004. In his presentation, he appealed saying: "the Scheme needs to be brought to full fledged operation in order to strengthen the food security in preparation for a major disaster such as the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami."
The Scheme is premised to be built up during the test period in such a way that participating countries report to the secretariat how much amount of rice they can earmark, which will be triggered in case of emergency. Additionally, a mechanism for making an initial response with in-kind reserve stock is also under consideration.
Whether or not to shift the scheme into a permanent system based on voluntary participation of respective countries will be decided after an evaluation is made of test period experience some time in the future. The proposal of Japan for a permanent system was supported by the Philippines and Laos etc.
The meeting was preceded by a meeting of AMAF (10 ASEAN Country Ministers of Agriculture & Forestry), which agreed on a regional framework for controlling and eliminating avian influenza in the region of ASEAN. The following meeting additionally attended by Japan, China and Korea also welcomed the framework.
Japan has, hitherto, been assisting such endeavors through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and Office International des Epizooties/World Organization for Animal Health, and intends to assist in the future as well.
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