UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - ETATS-UNIS D'AMERIQUE - ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA

The Honourable Dan Glickman, Secretary of Agriculture of the United States of America

The United States shares the belief that hunger is a fundamentally unacceptable human condition, whether it exists on American soil or anywhere else in the world. Our goal is nothing short of changing the course of history. If we look 25 years down the road, the projections for our world are grim. The pessimists among us say that we have passed the point of no return. The optimists, if we can call them that, say we have hit the fork in the road. The easy path is a brisk short walk downhill; the harder path requires urgent national action, unity and an unprecedented global commitment. It is the only path that will lead us to a brighter future. As the poet Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck". This conference will help determine if this world is ready to seize that opportunity.

Today the conscience of the world is confronted with a vast humanitarian crisis in the Great Lakes region of Africa. The United States has already provided a major share of the humanitarian assistance to this region and is prepared to provide additional humanitarian assistance and support as soon as mechanisms can be established which will permit the flow of assistance. While civil strife is the immediate cause of malnutrition and hunger in that region of the world, the litany of contributing factors, both in Central Africa and worldwide, from rapid population growth to inadequate development, protectionist trade policies, to poverty, to environmental degradation, are all too familiar. The more we tackle each problem, the fewer people go hungry and the faster we advance into a food-secure future.

In a food-secure world countries are more self-reliant, free and fair trade promotes global prosperity and plenty; population is stable and does not exceed the Earth's bounty; we protect and preserve the land that feeds us; men and women face the challenges ahead as equal partners; and we settle our differences without raising our fists. Every nation, including the United States, has a critical interest in ending world hunger because it is an essential key to creating world peace and security. The United States will continue to answer the call of those in need. We are the leading supplier of food to the world and among the world's most reliable suppliers of food. We are also a major supplier of food and development assistance. Domestic market reforms have unleashed the full potential of American agriculture. Our farmers now plant for world demand instead of for government programmes. We have also led international research efforts and increased our focus on sustainable development to ensure that the progress we make today does not come at the expense of food security tomorrow.

In short, the United States is more prepared and dedicated than ever to feeding a hungry world. Ours is a winnable war, but our strategy must be realistic. We need a paradigm to attack hunger at its roots and sow the seeds of long-term global food security. The Rome Declaration and Plan of Action sets us on the right course to achieve that goal. It is a realistic road map for a journey we can only complete together.

The leaders of the developing world must be furthest out-front; they alone can enact the reforms necessary to pull their countries out of poverty and dependence. In a time of limited resources, the United States stands ready to help those nations that demonstrate the political will necessary to achieve food security. We will also step up our quest for a global farmers' market so agricultural goods can be traded across borders, meeting the food needs of the world. Used wisely, trade can serve as a food security valve, releasing extreme market pressures by spreading them more evenly around the world. It also promotes investment in the developing world. In these ways trade is essential to global food security. History shows that protectionism and isolationism have never been the right answer. Every nation must embrace the world and every farmer, including family farmers, should be empowered to compete in the global market.

As we focus our attention on the concentration of hunger in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, we should not turn a blind eye to its rise in the developed world, including the United States of America. Every nation owes its citizens a safety net that ensures the necessities of life and every nation should ensure that good food does not go to waste. Reducing post-harvest losses can dramatically enhance food security in the developed world. Even in the United States there are tremendous private efforts underway to rescue food that would otherwise spoil.

The private sector is the great untapped frontier in the world war on hunger. As we attack the root problems we should look beyond political leaders for solutions to these problems. We will not end hunger solely on a government-to-government basis; we need the private and non-profit sectors. In today's world, the lion's share of wealth and expertise is not in the hands of government. In fact we will hear throughout this Summit that the governments of the world are under serious fiscal constraints. Large corporations, cooperatives and foundations have a moral obligation to become intimately involved in the hunger and development efforts. They have the resources, they have the expertise and I challenge every one of them to join our alliance and answer the call of their conscience. It is the right thing to do and it is also smart business. Strong economies in the developing world make strong markets.

But money alone cannot solve the problem. Without a serious commitment to sustainable development we will never know real food security. In the past year this theme has driven historic reforms of the United States conservation policies. We are bringing productive farmland back into use while protecting highly erodible land. If we think from a perspective beyond our own years, then sustainable development should rank among the highest global priorities, whether it is preserving farmland, forests or fisheries, or reducing population pressures on our resources. The United States stands ready to share our expertise and promote worldwide sustainable development. We will continue to support the implementation of the Cairo Programme of Action and move towards voluntary population stabilization.

We will also strengthen our support for food security-related research and bio-technology. For 1997, we have revitalised our commitment to the international agricultural research system, especially the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research system. Next week a new plant gene bank will be opened in India, a joint United States-India project for germplasm preservation, training and scientific collaboration.

Today the world's population is increasing by the equivalent of a New York City every month, a Mexico every year, and a China every decade. Without bio-technology we will be forced to exploit highly erodible farm and forest land. This may meet our short-term needs, but in the end our legacy to future generations will be a barren Earth. Some say this is impossible, but science, sound science, is on our side. Right now researchers are revolutionising agriculture by finding new ways to dramatically increase yields without using up limited natural resources. Bio-technology can give us a quantum leap forward in food security by improving disease- and pest-resistance, increasing tolerance to environmental stress, raising crop yields and preserving plant and animal diversity. As world leaders, we should not fight sound science. Countries that choose to turn away from bio-technology should recognize that there are consequences of their actions to the whole world.

We will also improve global access to vital agricultural information. We want to see the day when a farmer in rural Africa or the Andes of Latin America can use the Internet to connect with a farmer in America, a meteorologist in Switzerland or a researcher in the Philippines and get the latest information on new uses, on weather patterns or on best practices that use less water and less pesticides. In the race to feed a growing world, information should know no boundaries. Out of pure necessity the history of agriculture has always been one of rapid technological advancement.

Government, educational institutions and the private sector must do everything in our power to help the world's farmers keep up the pace. Achieving global world food security is a goal we will not reach tomorrow or perhaps in our lifetimes, but ending world hunger is a goal that, if it is ever abandoned, takes with it our very humanity. May we return home from this Summit and face our common enemy with the same conviction with which we condemn it today.