Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland were guests of honour at the Commonwealth Agricultural Conference in Singapore last week – the first time the event has been held in Asia in its 53-year history.
Her Royal Highness, Princess Anne, and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland were guests of honour at the Commonwealth Agricultural Conference in Singapore last week – the first time the event has been held in Asia in its 53-year history.
Conference delegates explored the best methods and latest technologies in farming, with a focus on putting agriculture back at the centre of sustainable development, particularly for small and developing countries. It is estimated the world will need to produce 70 per cent more food for an additional 2.3 billion people by 2050, with improved agriculture key to reaching this ambitious target.
Princess Anne said in her opening address: “One of our challenges in many countries is that agriculture is seldom seen at the centre of discussion. Meeting the demand for an increase of food by some 70 per cent is going to be a real challenge for everybody. If agriculture isn’t seen centrally, it is seen as a popular place to subsidise - and that destroys the market.”
At the event, the Commonwealth Secretary General spoke of forthcoming Commonwealth initiatives to support the association’s 52 member counties, especially small and vulnerable developing countries.
The soon-to-be established Commonwealth Office of Civil and Criminal Justice Reform will craft template legislation and best practice toolkits for matters relating to land tenure and procurement, among other legal issues, she said. These toolkits could be shared with farmers, growers, and buyers of agricultural and horticultural produce across the Commonwealth.
The Secretary-General said: “Commonwealth member states benefit from shared inheritances of the common law, common language, and similar systems of governance. It is good business sense to make the most of these unique Commonwealth advantages for the greater good of all our citizens.
“We must use this, and our innate sense of kinship and affinity, to build stronger links and new Commonwealth mechanisms for the world of today, and of tomorrow.”
The conference theme ‘Agriculture at The Crossroad: Bridging the Rural-urban Divide’ underscored the need for urban communities to participate in delivering the sustainable development goals. Other issues on the agenda included promoting the role of women in agriculture and rolling out new innovative technologies for smallholders in least developed countries.
Find out more: therasc.com/singapore-2016-com-crop