Secretary Arthur Yap of the Department of Agriculture (DA) has welcomed the recent declaration by heads of governments and other officials of 180 countries to consider the Philippine proposal to develop the biofuels sector within the context of global food security, saying such a united call will help reverse the unparalleled international woes driven by a confluence of factors such as climate change and declining farm productivity.

Yap also expressed the hope that the proposal by these global leaders during the recently concluded High Level Conference on World Food Security hosted by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome for industrialized economies and multilateral institutions to address climbing food prices and tightening supply along with the challenges posed by bioenergy and climate change, would soon translate into concrete benefits for developing nations via food security and higher farm growth.

Also attended the FAO conference are Agriculture Assistant Secretary Josyline Chio-Javelosa, PADCC President Marriz Agbon and Philippine Agricultural Attache to Rome Noel de Luna.

The secretary also lauded the call by these leaders during the same FAO forum for development partners to help moderate unusual fluctuations in grain prices and assist countries in building up their food stock capacities, as this dovetailed with his proposal for a UN body to put up and manage a Food Reserve (FR) or global stockpile for the benefit of both food-exporting and –importing countries at this time of an unprecedented global food crisis.

" I am happy that the conference has renewed the world's interest on agriculture and there seems to be a more disciplined approach in looking at bioenergy now," Yap said in reaction to the FAO declaration. "The conference gave the world a lot of hope. But now I think we are still looking where so much hope was generated and we are still waiting for the benefits."

Javelosa, who returned to Manila recently after attending this Rome summit with Yap, said that the final declaration stated, among other points, that "it is essential to address the challenges and opportunities posed by biofuels, in view of the world's food security, energy and sustainable development needs."

" We are further convinced of the desirability of exchanging experiences on biofuels technologies, norms and regulations. We call upon relevant intergovernmental organizations, including FAO, within their mandates and areas of expertise, with the involvement of national governments, partnerships, the private sector, and civil society, to foster a coherent, effective and results-oriented international dialogue on biofuels in the context of food security and sustainable development needs," the Declaration further stated.

The Yap-led Philippine delegation to that FAO event had called on industrialized economies during the summit to assist developing economies like the Philippines produce biofuels from non-food crops so as not to worsen the global woes arising from declining food production.

At the same time, Yap had urged the world's economic powers to invest more in research and development on technologies that will help farmers adjust to increasingly severe growing conditions triggered by climate change.

During the conference, Yap had proposed the establishment of an FR to help stabilize prices of basic staple like rice, wheat and corn.

On this point, Agbon said at the FAO declaration it was stated that: "Development partners are called upon to undertake initiatives to moderate unusual fluctuations in the food grain prices. In particular, we call on relevant institutions to assist countries in developing their food stock capacities and consider other measures to strengthen food security risk management for affected countries."

The Declaration ended, said Javelosa, with the statement that: "We firmly resolve to use all means to alleviate the suffering caused by the current crisis, to stimulate food production and to increase investment in agriculture, to address obstacles to food access and to use the planet's resources sustainability, for present and future generations."

In his proposal, Yap said an FR would have to be run by an agency with the track record and competence to implement it—such as the World Food Programme—to help remove partiality and de-politicize the process.

Participation in this proposed FR plan, he said, will be on a voluntary basis with actual food stocks warehoused in countries or regions most likely to experience food shortfalls, for immediate access in times of need.

He said such an FR will benefit both deficit and surplus countries because a price band will be maintained and, which, at the low end, will serve to protect producers in exporting countries from falling prices. The high end of the band, he added, will serve to shield consumers of importing countries from the impact of soaring prices such as the trend now buffeting the world.

As to the challenge posed by bioenergy, Yap said in a US-hosted dialogue on the sidelines of the FAO conference that "the shift from fossil fuel to biofuels must not happen at the expense of the welfare of hungry people everywhere.