The 37th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific was held in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, from Feb. 19 to 22. Ma Youxiang, Vice Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, led the Chinese delegation. 

Vice Minister Ma pointed out in the country statement that the Chinese government attaches great importance to food security. China has always prioritized the work of developing agriculture, increasing farmers’ income, and enriching rural areas, and has continued to introduce new policies and improve existing ones to strengthen agriculture, deliver benefits to rural communities, and enrich farmers. As a result, China has achieved tremendous results in agricultural and rural development. China’s grain output has remained steady at more than 650 million tons for nine consecutive years. Farmers’ income has continued to increase. Agricultural inputs, technology, and equipment have risen to new levels. Green agricultural development is accelerating. Rural development has advanced in an orderly manner. To jointly promote regional and global food security, Vice Minister Ma put forth three proposals: 1) continue to prioritize development and strive to increase comprehensive grain production capacity; 2) drive green development and enhance the resilience of agrifood systems; and 3) stick to the people-centered approach and build up the capacity of small farmers.  

During the meeting, Vice Minister Ma attended the Ministerial Roundtable on Food Security and Nutrition in the Asia-Pacific Region: Lessons from Convergent Crises and Actions Going Forward. He highlighted China’s experience and practices for safeguarding food security in macro strategies, institutional underpinnings, technological equipment, development concepts, international cooperation endeavors, and other areas. 

Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Agriculture and Plantation Industries of Sri Lanka, Qu Dongyu, FAO Director-General, as well as delegations at ministrial level from 36 member countries from Asia and the Pacific region attended the meeting.