Agriculture ministers to review food availability in OIC region

The Sixth Ministerial Conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Food Security and Agricultural Development will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 3-6 October this month. Under the theme "Agricultural Development and Access to Food and Nutrition in OIC Member States", the Ministers will review the state of food security and performance of agriculture in OIC Member States. Specifically, the Ministers will dwell on ways and means of promoting intra-OIC cooperation in the area of agriculture, rural development and food security. The meeting will receive presentations by Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Food and Agriculture Organisation on "South-South Cooperation in the area of agriculture, rural development and food security" within the OIC community. Similarly, the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC) will present its study on "The State of Food Security and Agriculture Development in OIC Countries: Opportunities for Cooperation". Most importantly, the Meeting will examine the Progress Report submitted by the COMCEC Task Force on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Security with regard to the elaboration of the Executive Framework for Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Security in OIC Member States. Essentially, the Ministers would consider the projected activities in the proposed Executive Framework for Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Security as well as issues relating to their validation by Member States. In addition, the meeting will also provide the Ministers and Heads of Delegation with opportunity to share their country experiences on strategies, achievements and challenges in promoting agricultural development and enhancing food security. They are also to identify specific areas of intra-OIC cooperation in this critical sector within the context of South-South Cooperation and consider modalities for implementation of the resolution that would be adopted at the end of the meeting.