The 28th Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations kicked off in Jakarta on Monday to review the state of agriculture and food security, which were crucial themes for both farmers and consumers in the region.

Agricultural ministers and senior officials from 46 Asia- Pacific countries attended the meeting from Monday to Friday to address topics such as food security, poverty alleviation, bird flu prevention, natural disaster containment, pesticide management, transboundary animal disease prevention and bioenergy development.

The delegates will also elect the Chairperson and Vice Chairpersons and appoint Rapporteur on Monday afternoon.

Indonesian Agricultural Minister Anton Apriyantono inaugurated the meeting, saying that with two-thirds of the world's 850 million severely undernourished people, the region deserved to be a main focus of global plans of action for reducing hunger and poverty by half by 2015.

The conference, held once every two years, consists of senior officials' meeting and ministerial plenary session. Top officials from Indonesian government and the FAO will deliver speeches during the session.

The FAO was established in 1945 to act as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy and help developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all.

Source: Xinhua