THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE ROME DECLARATION ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY AND THE WORLD SUMMIT PLAN OF ACTION ON THE EMPRES CONCEPT AND ACTIVITIES
The declaration on World Food Security clearly incorporates the concept of EMPRES and what it aims to achieve. Underlying the declaration is the ongoing effort to eradicate hunger in all countries. Certain statements can be abstracted that are directly pertinent to EMPRES and are as follows. Most of them are largely self evident. In the opening general statement of the Declaration the following points are made;
· A target has been set to reduce by 50% the number of undernourished people by the year 2015 and the emphasis is clearly on the developing countries,· Compounding factors that lead to the present situation are the instability of food supplies as a result of natural and man made disasters,
· Poverty is a major cause of food insecurity and in many parts of the developing world the economic environment is closely tied with agriculture,
· The revitalisation of rural areas is needed to enhance social stability and reduce immigration into the urban areas,
· Individual governments have to develop an enabling environment for economic stability and to do this there must be co-operation,
· It is recognised that there is a need to adopt policies to promote research and infrastructure for achieving food security, and
· Particular attention should be paid to those who are affected by natural disasters and the urgent need to combat pests and diseases.
The plan of action further develops the core issues which are;
· Each nation must adopt a strategy consistent with its resources and capacities,· Co-ordinated and shared responsibilities are essential,
· Food assistance is a short term solution and measures should be taken for more sustainable provision including appropriate technology,
· Farmers are crucial in achieving food security and their full involvement is vital for success,
· To reverse the trend towards urban migration and the resultant social instability,
· To sustain and improve national resources to feed a growing world population,
· Progress should be targeted on minimising the vulnerability to and impact of pests and diseases. Response to such disasters should be timely and effective,
· Sub Saharan Africa has particularly high levels of undernourished people and special efforts should be made at reducing this, and
· The international community has a key role in providing technical assistance in fostering food security.
The Commitments and Action expand on the themes for support for rural peoples and development in rural areas, the provision of inputs such as training, finance and appropriate technology and technology transfer to promote a sustainable food supply, in part by combating pests and disease. Commitment 3 particularly identifies pests and diseases of a transboundary nature such as rinderpest, cattle tick, foot and mouth disease and the desert locust.
The issues addressed above can be summarised. There is recognition by all Parties to the Declaration that there is world wide poverty and that there is a special need for stable food supplies in the developing countries. The main source of supplies is local agriculture which is dependent on the livelihood and economy in the rural areas. These are susceptible to many adverse factors and as a result, the countries are threatened by uncertainty of food supplies and consequent economic and social instability.
Livestock are a fundamental component of the developing country agriculture. It cannot be emphasised enough that livestock provide an indispensable high protein source of food in subsistence cultures, and a source of power and fertiliser. A 1974 study from Cornell University illustrated the impact that the introduction of dairy cows can have on human protein supplies. It indicated that a small farm of two hectares is assumed to yield about 61,000 megacalories (Mcal) of metabolizable energy from the grain and plant residue. If the grain from one hectare and residue from both hectares is fed to cows the total energy available as human food falls by only 8.4% but the total protein available rises by 165%.
In developing countries there is a comparatively high economic return on the sale of milk and meat and the demand around the urban areas high. Even in nomadic societies the sale of livestock, meat and milk provide a major source of income, which promotes the local economy. Often this is in semi-arid ecological areas that do not support other types of traditional agriculture above subsistence level. One has only to visit the bustling little "bush" communities in many parts of East Africa to appreciate the busy commerce that is going on and to see the crowds of school children, most of whose school fees are paid for by locally generated family member income.
FAO-EMPRES
FAO-EMPRES has correctly identified the eradication of rinderpest as a primary objective. As it reiterates, rinderpest is an old Asiatic plague that repeatedly invaded Europe in medieval and later times and at the end of the 19th century ravaged cattle and ungulate wildlife throughout Africa. It is the most dread of all animal diseases because of its high mortality and thereby its impact on food security. The level of dread is reflected in the concept of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse-War, Plague, Famine and Death. The plague was rinderpest, associated with war and moving armies, famine and death followed. In modem time it is still true. The introduction of rinderpest into Africa was associated with a military campaign into Abyssinia, and the remaining endemic foci in Africa are in areas of civil strife, both on going and in recent past.
While rinderpest is the most dreaded, it is one of the more easily controlled diseases and, as experienced with programs like JP-15 in the 1960's in Africa and the Pan African Rinderpest Campaign (PARC) in the 1980's-90's, lends itself to eradication if programs are properly and consistently applied.
The Declaration identifies a special need in sub-Saharan Africa and the EMPRES emphasis on rinderpest eradication and on Contagious Bovine Pleuro-Pneumonia (CBPP) control clearly meets these needs. However the need is still world-wide.
Situation in Europe.
There are two significant lessons to be learnt from present and recent events and, though the aim of EMPRES is largely directed at the developing world the consequences of catastrophic diseases can be seen in the developed world.
The present ongoing outbreak of classical swine fever in the Netherlands is a case in point. The Netherlands first reported the disease at the beginning of the year and, to date, it is not fully controlled. One quarter of the swine population, 3-4 million hogs, have been destroyed, either from disease or because of loss of markets; new born pigs, destined for future export, are piling up by the hundreds of thousands with nowhere to go. The economic losses are similarly enormous, close to $1 billion, from both direct costs and the loss of exports to the rest of the EU and elsewhere. The Netherlands was a major live pig and pork exporter. The lesson, of which we are all aware, is that eradication and freedom from disease without vaccination creates, depending on the disease, a situation of extreme epidemic instability. If the disease is smouldering in neighbouring countries with different control strategies the recipe for disaster is in place. An identical situation exists with rinderpest between countries in Africa that have eradicated the disease and are now stopping vaccination while countries in east Africa, particularly Kenya, have persistent foci of the disease.
Last summer there was a fairly extensive outbreak of foot and mouth disease, Type A, in the Balkans, and also a more persistent Type O outbreak in Greece. In October a single Type O outbreak in Bulgaria occurred and more extensive outbreaks of Type O in the latter part of the year were reported from Turkey. The outbreak in the Balkans was controlled only by the timely intervention of the FAO European Commission for the Control of Foot and Mouth Disease (EUFMD) and EC financial assistance. After the ravages of years of internecine war, the countries of the former Republic of Yugoslavia, as they struggle to rebuild surely qualify as developing countries. Certainly much poverty exists.
At a Balkan Animal Health Workshop held in Macedonia under the auspices of USAID, the veterinary participants from nine countries in the Balkans and surrounding area quickly recognised the need to work regionally to prevent the incursion of FMD and to co-operate in its control when that became necessary. Considering the turbulent political history, this fledgling co-operation deserves much support not only to benefit animal husbandry in the area but also the threat FMD outbreaks pose to the unvaccinated livestock of the EU and Central Europe. The threat was realised in 1993 with outbreaks stemming, it is reported, from foci in the Balkans.
It is likely that outbreaks of FMD will sporadically occur in the future in SE Europe; many veterinary authorities in the area do not have the resources to police their borders, and it is widely recognised that much traffic in animals and animal products are transiting the area from collection points further east into the EU. This traffic is of great concern to Slovenia and Hungary, who fear that illegal collection points, accompanied by false certification, extend well into the former CIS countries and western Asia. An EMPRES FMD focus on the poorer countries of the Balkans, such as Bosnia, would not only help to alleviate the rural poverty there as the farmers rebuild their animal stocks with improved breeds, but also benefit the rest of Europe by minimising the risk of another CSF/Netherlands type of situation. The lesson is that there is advantage to the developed world in controlling and eradicating disease from the developing world.
Trade
The Declaration pointed out the special needs of sub-Saharan Africa. In this respect it is interesting to look at the historical role education and health have played in the economic development of areas of the world. In the 1950s the former Zaire and some other countries in Africa were at the same income level as South Korea, but since then there has been a increasing dichotomy. Research into reasons has shown some surprising findings. In brief the formula was an outward-oriented market based economic policy coupled with an emphasis on education and health care. The Asian model is being adopted elsewhere, for example Chile in South America and at least four countries in Africa-Uganda, Angola, Lesotho and Malawi-enjoy economic growth rates of 10%.
As is stated frequently in the Declaration the key to alleviating poverty is the stimulation of economic growth of developing countries. Though perhaps a more distant goal than the task of food self sufficiency, the development of an agricultural export industry will contribute to such economic growth. No longer, however, will it be enough to produce excess. Though many factors have contributed to the current international agricultural trade environment, no single event has had more profound impact than the signing of the World Trade Organisation's Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (WTO-SPS). Among the special provisions of the WTO-SPS Agreement are;
· the advantage of using international standards,· regionalization, or
· the recognition of pest and disease free zones for trade purposes, and
· equivalency between respective national sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
Regionalization
Under the provision of regionalization, countries are required to permit imports of animals and animal products from areas or zones considered to pose low disease or pest risk. Historically, entire countries have been considered free or not free of a certain disease agent; import and export protocols were developed accordingly. Most scientific and agricultural communities now view "zero" risk as arbitrary and incompatible with trade liberalisation. It is recognised that disease agents may not be evenly distributed across countries. One of the negative aspects of the "country by country" doctrine is that there is not an incentive to producers to improve their husbandry and animal health management practices. For effective regionalization to work the exporting country needs to have a credible infrastructure with reliable surveillance and monitoring systems.
Standards
The establishment of import and export standards cannot be arbitrary. They must be scientifically based, transparent and defensible. The development of such standards requires a process of risk assessment which itself requires a uniform and internationally accepted approach. This is one of the major, contentious issues in international trade negotiations at the present time. While risk assessment gauges the level of danger in a particular situation the next step of risk management determines what steps need to be taken to reduce the risk to an acceptable level, steps such as defining conditions of entry, activating a monitoring system. The final, most important step, is risk communication or the open, two-way exchange of information and opinion about risk, that will lead to better and more effective measures on both sides.
There is clearly some way to go in these two-way discussions and there will be many challenges, advances and retreats, but it is only a question of time before the WTO-SPS principles are fully implemented. Countries with sound infrastructure and a demonstrated record of containing and controlling disease outbreaks will begin to benefit from a significant trade advantages and, of course, have access to hard currency earnings for agricultural commodities. These surveillance and monitoring systems will rapidly become a "value added" label to livestock products, because of providing known and documented valid information on the health, origin, and quality for each commodity.
The vision of EMPRES goes a long way as a catalyst to assisting changes that can lead to conformity with the WTO-SPS and future trade possibilities, economic growth and reduction in poverty. By attacking diseases that are recognised as destructive by all levels of society in the developing countries there is a wide acceptance of its aims. There is almost immediate political realisation that, to combat them, there has to be bilateral dialogues and, to control them, there has to be practical and effective international co-operation. This dialogue can and should be expanded for other animal health discussions and the establishment of regional forums to address other disease concerns. EMPRES insistence on inter-government co- operation for control of transboundary diseases should provide a starting point for wider co- operation in animal health disease control. Such interactions when seen to be mutually advantageous may lead to wider economic and even political co-operation.
With EMPRES inputs of technical expertise and training, information on international standards can be transferred for disease surveillance, monitoring and reporting. With inputs of financial help the veterinary structure will be improved. Two considerations should be addressed: Conditions similar to that imposed by the EC, and administered by PARC, where political support for national funding and improvement of the veterinary services is a condition of international assistance. This is crucial in order to maintain critical surveillance and monitoring capabilities after the eradication of rinderpest is achieved and the urgency diminished.
There is increasing discussion of debt relief for developing countries. A general condition of such concessions could be a commitment on the part of all the benefiting countries to invest and improve their national veterinary services to improve food supplies. A particular case should be made for countries combating transboundary diseases.
The system of surveillance and monitoring set up by EMPRES can be adapted to other diseases of trading concern leading to an established record of disease control.
A final consideration. One of the legacies of colonial rule in sub-Saharan has been the explosive growth of livestock populations as modern vaccine and drugs were wielded by efficient veterinary services and land cleared of tsetse fly opened to grazing. The net result has been the degradation of range-lands and contributed to the extensive negative impact on the environment. There has to be a strong emphasis on a holistic approach to disease control and eradication, with concomitant efforts towards social and cultural changes to livestock ownership. Creating specific disease-free animal populations that later crash as a result of drought or other natural disasters is not a recipe for sustainability and food sufficiency.
Situation in Asia
The different regions in Asia (Far East, South-East Asia, South Asia, Middle East) are at varying levels of political, economic and social development. This is also true of the different countries within a Region. Economically, it stretches from the industrialised and developed nations such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore to the rest of Asia that is at different levels of development. As a Regional entity, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), is perhaps more cohesive. With the impending entry of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, ASEAN will consist of 10 nations in South-East Asia. Even within ASEAN there are wide differences in political, economic and social policies. This is especially so in matters related to agriculture and in particular to veterinary infrastructure, regulatory mechanisms, laboratory facilities and preparedness vis a vis livestock disease control.
Of the six named transboundary livestock diseases under the EMPRES Programme, FMD is the most important or perhaps the only disease that matters as far as South-East Asia and ASEAN are concerned. In South Asia and the Middle East, in addition to FMD, rinderpest, PPR, and CBPP are the transboundary diseases of importance.
The World Food Summit Plan of Action, under the Third Commitment seeks to ensure effective prevention and progressive control of plant and animal pests and diseases, especially those of transboundary nature. This is seen as important as these diseases can cause major food shortages, destabilise markets and trigger trade measures. Although this is true for countries with a developed and flourishing livestock industry, the negative effects of transboundary diseases are only now being recognised by most countries in Asia. This is because of the largely subsistence-level and extensive livestock farming practised in these countries.
Transboundary diseases were not seen as a constraint to livestock and livestock product trade in the past. It is with the large-scale introduction and development of intensive, commercial livestock management systems that disease becomes a major constraint and it is only when importing countries demand disease-free livestock and livestock products that transboundary diseases become major obstacles to trade. In many Asian countries today these changes in the livestock farming practices have and are taking place with the consequent recognition by both livestock farmers and government of the importance of economically important and public health significant livestock diseases.
Thus there is an awareness and commitment to prevent the entry and spread of infectious diseases and to speedily control and eradicate them. This change in policy and attitude is not uniform among countries within a region and even within a nation. Thus you have countries unable to meet regulatory conditions imposed by importing countries and importing countries unable to prevent the entry of livestock diseases because of inadequate legislation, veterinary infrastructure, human and material resources, disease intelligence, surveillance and monitoring. For example, illegal movement of animals is by far the major component of livestock trade in the ASEAN region. At every bilateral or regional meeting in ASEAN or of the FAO Regional Animal Production and Health Commission for Asia and the Pacific (APHCA), concern over unregulated livestock movement across national borders have been expressed as the major cause for FMD outbreaks.
The World Food Summit Declaration and Plan of Action provides a clear indication of the commitment of the signatory nations to prevent, control and eradicate transboundary diseases that have direct effect on food production, availability and security. The EMPRES Programme of the FAO envisages "the prompt and effective containment and control of the most serious epidemic livestock diseases, as well as newly emerging diseases, by progressive elimination on a regional and global basis through international co-operation involving early warning, early/rapid reaction, enabling research and co-ordination". We have come to the stage of implementation on a national and on a regional basis, of the components of the EMPRES Programme.
Some countries in Asia, such as Malaysia and Thailand, have on a bilateral level implemented measures, particularly at borders, that seek to reduce the risks of disease through entry of livestock and livestock products. These have been through import regulations, border controls, quarantine, vaccination, buffer zones, surveillance and monitoring. These measures are subject to supply and demand forces that regulate livestock trade. For example, it is estimated that 300,000 to 400,000 beef cattle and buffaloes per year move into Thailand illegally from bordering areas of Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. Illegal movement of cattle and buffaloes into Malaysia is in the order of 30,000 per year, similar in numbers to the annual legal imports. Even if these countries make a commitment to reduce this illegal trade it will be difficult to implement because of the lack of adequate legislation or its enforcement, and the inadequate veterinary infrastructure in some of these countries. It is, therefore, of prime importance to add another ingredient to the EMPRES Programme on a national level-mat of enabling infrastructure.
Regionalisation is an essential progression of national and bilateral measures for effective prevention and control of transboundary livestock diseases and is the declared objective of the EMPRES Programme. Regionalisation is also important from the point of view of formulation, development and implementation of control and eradication programmes for specific diseases, such as FMD in the ASEAN Region and rinderpest in the Indian sub- continent. The WFS Plan of Action emphasises that co-ordinated and shared responsibilities among nations within a region are essential. There are a number of constraints in enabling and encouraging this to take place.
Malaysia and Thailand, in spite of having a sound veterinary infrastructure, resources and the political will to control and eradicate FMD, has not achieved the targets because of widespread disease incursions into their territories from neighbouring countries. It is, therefore, important to view eradication programmes as being implemented on a regional basis as in the case of rinderpest under the GREP. Otherwise, efforts of one or two countries in a region will not achieve the desired results especially with the liberalisation of trade and trade practices under the WTO's Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement.
To implement the EMPRES Programme against transboundary livestock diseases, simultaneously in all the affected countries of a region, with different levels of political and economic development and especially varying levels of veterinary infrastructure, will pose major problems. One option would be to implement the Programme on a zonal basis with the view of creating Disease-Free Zones (DFZ). If the DFZs are also inclusive of border areas an effective mechanism for the prevention and control of transboundary diseases, that spread by movement of animals, may be obtained. With EMPRES inputs of technical expertise and training, surveillance, monitoring and reporting of transboundary diseases can be achieved. These efforts can be augmented with inputs of training and laboratory capabilities provided within the region by countries that are more advanced in disease prevention and control strategies. This will meet the objective of having co-ordinated and shared responsibilities among neighbouring countries.
