In a speech to a webinar on public-private partnerships and information sharing on food security in the Asia-Pacific late last year, Taulelei, who is chief executive of Maori food and beverage producer Kono, said the public and private sectors need to work together on practical steps that can be taken to improve food security.
“Indeed it is the ABAC’s firm belief that we need to look at these complex issues from the ‘whole of system’ perspective,” Taulelei said.
“Policymakers make a valuable contribution to solving these issues, of course, but we also need to take into account the views of farmers – big and small – as well as food processors, food distributors, exporters and importers.
“The supply side of the food equation is, quite simply, impossible without the private sector,” she said.
Taulelei says the challenge of food security has become an increasingly urgent and complex task, with the covid-19 pandemic having significant effects on production, distribution and trade in agriculture and food.
“We have experienced huge disruption across different food sectors and throughout the food value chain,” she said.
“For example, meat processing plants in many economies have had to contend with worker illness and social distancing requirements, horticulture sectors in many economies have struggled to find labour, ports have been disrupted and foodservice sectors, such as restaurants and school cafeterias, have been shuttered.”
But she says even before covid there were a raft of challenges to ensuring safe, sufficient and affordable food for everyone.
They include feeding a growing population, lower crop yields, inadequate infrastructure, food loss and waste through the supply chain, protectionism and market distortions, and the increasingly disruptive effect of climate change.
Taulelei says it is crucial to build strong foundations for the way food moves across borders.
“That means getting rid of unjustified export restrictions, reducing or eliminating tariffs and non-tariff barriers, trying to reduce distortions in production and enhancing transparency in food production, distribution and trade flows,” she said.
“At a practical level, enhancing the digital facilitation of trade will help supply chains for the better – for example through the universal acceptance of e-certificates, the use of global data standards, or through the region-wide adoption of digital single windows.”
Another practical step would be to implement a mechanism to identify and resolve non-tariff barriers to food trade, which could be based on the cross-cutting principles for non-tariff measures developed by ABAC and taken up by Apec leaders a few years ago.
“Finally, it is also vital for Apec to tackle the root cause of trade distortions by committing to a meaningful cut in trade distorting domestic support in agriculture,” she said.
She says this is a core element in ABAC’s World Trade Organisation (WTO) statement last year.
Although the covid-19 pandemic has created huge challenges, it did deliver one silver lining – demonstrating the huge potential for food security and digitalisation.
“Digital tools for precision agriculture help farmers to become more efficient and supply chains more resilient and lower cost,” she said.
Smart farming can also mean that agriculture trends more likely on the planet, which helps with the challenges of low yields, environmental sustainability and inadequate infrastructure.
E-commerce and digital payment systems enable farmers and producers to connect directly with consumers, which can unlock opportunities for smallholders, small agri-food businesses, women and indigenous communities.
She says in ABAC’s view this points to the need to prioritise further investment in digital infrastructure and capacity building.
“In time, that will allow us to make greater use of innovative technologies such as The Internet of Things (IoT), big data analytics, artificial intelligence, cognitive computing and blockchain,” she said.
“These tools can unlock even greater productivity gains and value-chain efficiency for all.”
ABAC recognises the importance of transparency in production, consumption and trade.
“Digital tools are crucial in this, too,” she said.
“If we are to utilise real-time data we can track fluctuations in production and trends within and across markets more effectively.
“That helps to anticipate future food supply disruptions and needs.”
She says sustainable or even regenerative approaches to production – taking into account water, soil, carbon and waste – are crucial.
“This is not just about satisfying consumer demand for more sustainable food, although of course we can create value by leveraging particular product attributes and meeting customers’ needs in that way,” she said.
“But this goes far beyond merely commercial considerations.
“Sustainability is quite simply the right thing to do.
“It must be the foundation of food security for the sake not only of this generation, but also the sake of our children and our children’s children.
“We must treasure the planet, even as we make use of its natural resources.”
