MALDIVES - MALDIVAS

His Excellency Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of Maldives

In the past few years we have recast the global agenda. From Rio de Janeiro to Cairo, and from Copenhagen to Beijing, we have focused on the most pressing problems facing us today. As we pursue these issues, it is most befitting that Italy, with its great importance in international affairs, and this glorious city, Rome, which is associated with one of the finest civilizations of the ancient world, be added to our itinerary. I am particularly delighted to be here amongst the friendly people of Italy, a country with which the Maldives enjoys very warm relations.

I am happy to join previous speakers in congratulating you, Mr. Chairman, on your election to preside over this important gathering. I have no doubt that under your able and skillful guidance, our deliberations will lead to genuine progress on the critical issues before us. My delegation and I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the Italian Government and to FAO, for the excellent arrangements made for the Summit, and for the warm welcome accorded to us.

The World Food Conference of 1974 recognized "the inalienable right of every man, woman and child to be free from hunger and malnutrition". Yet, tragically and inexcusably, it has been but a dream deferred.

It is tragic because hunger is crippling and destabilizing. It is inexcusable because for the past 40 years, world food production has exceeded global food needs. In spite of that, one-fifth of humanity will go to bed tonight with hunger gnawing at their bodies and souls. This is a man-made calamity that can neither be ignored, nor justified.

In order to assure access to adequate and safe food for every individual, the world has to overcome several critical challenges:

· One, given the current rate of growth in global population, world food production has to increase by 75 percent over the next 30 years. However, the most fertile lands are already under the plough; water is becoming scarce; agricultural employment is declining. The worst affected regions are those with negative economic growth, prolonged conflicts, and endangered ecosystems. By contrast, where access to adequate, safe and nutritious food has been ensured, there is peace, prosperity, and technological advancement. In these regions, which mostly lie in the developed world, a distinctly higher output can be obtained with a much smaller and ecologically sustainable effort;

· Two, a comprehensive and united global strategy has to be devised and scrupulously carried out. Many developing nations cannot produce enough food for their peoples. Sustainable food security can only be realized with real and more vigorous international cooperation;

· Three, action must be taken to control and stabilize the rate of population growth worldwide. No increase in food production will be adequate to feed humanity if the present population explosion is allowed to continue;

· Four, we cannot eliminate hunger and malnutrition without improving food distribution, ensuring availability of food to all peoples at affordable prices. Greed, protectionism and over-commercialization of the trade in agricultural products have led to hoarding and even dumping of food supplies, while millions have been dying of starvation. Such unethical, immoral and irresponsible practices must be stopped;

· Five, food security cannot be attained while armed conflicts continue to displace communities. Urgent and lasting solutions must be found to the problems of the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa, to name but a few.

In meeting the above challenges, the international community must give special consideration to the needs of small island developing states. These states, over and above their inherent economic vulnerability, face the threat of land loss and erosion, due to climate change and sea level rise.

The importance of these issues is not lost on my country. Fish is the main source of our protein, and the fishing industry is the most important provider of rural employment. You may have heard of the unspoilt charm and beauty of our Indian Ocean archipelago, but our islands are tiny specks of land where major crop cultivation is quite impossible. We cannot, therefore, meet the nutritional needs of our people through domestic food production.

In spite of these constraints, the Maldives has improved its food supply and distribution by over 155 percent during the past 20 years. We have succeeded in doing so, by the careful development of fisheries and by the planned promotion of tourism, both of which are based on the sustainable use of our natural environment. Clearly, as a food importer, securing easy access to food supplies at reasonable prices is crucial.

Despite our achievements, there is still an acute need for national programmes, as well as, foreign assistance to make further strides against food insecurity. The Maldives and FAO can work together to develop our agricultural sector, to increase production and ensure the availability of food supplies at all times. The significant role played by FAO, during the past half century to promote access to safe nutritional food needs to be mentioned with much appreciation.

The Maldives, is in great need also of bilateral and multilateral assistance towards achieving and maintaining food security. Here, I wish to thank all our development partners which have contributed so much to our overall development, and especially, those which have provided food assistance to us over the years.

As we shape the agenda for the future, at the threshold of a new millennium we have to further strengthen our efforts to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. For, good nutrition is not a privilege; it is a necessity. To be free from hunger is not a luxury, it is an inalienable right.

If we are to make the next century the dawn of a new renaissance all over the world, every child born on this earth should have the same nutritional head start as the next child. I earnestly hope, that the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action, will be instrumental in making this a reality.

Food security for all is not a utopian fantasy. It can indeed be attained through real commitment and genuine cooperation on a global scale.

Today, here in Rome, we can resolve to mobilize the world's resources, once and forever, to eradicate hunger.

The question is "Do we have the will? And if we don't, what will save our souls?"