On Tuesday 26 September 2017, Mr. Thani Thongpakdi, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, delivered a keynote speech at the ministerial opening session of the Sustainable Agro-Food Business Forum at United Nations Conference Center (UNCC), Bangkok. The Forum strives to identify ways to establish sustainable food value chain from producer to the end consumers and to develop a roadmap to establish a Sustainable Agro Food Platform.

In his speech, the Deputy Permanent Secretary shared Thailand’s views and experiences in promoting sustainability along agriculture and food value chain in order to cope with challenges facing many countries such as the dramatic increase of the world population, aging society, climate change, deforestation, and the erosion of biodiversity.

The elements that Thailand has considered to be essential in achieving a sustainable agricultural and food value chain are:
1) R&D on agricultural production and products , which the Royal Thai Government has launched “Food Innopolis” with an aim to become a global food innovation hub;
2) Infrastructure and connectivity improvement to ensure food availability and quality from farm to table, as well as to expand trade and market opportunity for agricultural and food products;
3) Youth participation in the agricultural sector to prepare for the transition towards an aging society;
4) Environmental preservation and efficient use of natural resources by assisting farmers to adopt more eco-friendly cultivation practices based on His Majesty the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Sufficiency Economy Philosophy and the New Agricultural Theory;
5) Inclusive Government Policy so called “Pracharat” which encourages collaboration between the public and private sectors on capacity building activities; and
6) Concerted efforts of the public and private sectors and synchronization in policy implementation by promoting responsible business practices among food companies of all sizes.

In addition, the Deputy Permanent Secretary highlighted the Royal Thai Government’s effort in preventing and combating Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing with a goal to achieve sustainability in the Thai Fisheries sector and to promote ocean governance at the international level.

The above-mentioned actions will lead to more efficient and sustainable agricultural and food value chain. This will also mark an important step towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially, in achieving Goal 2, which is to end hunger. In this regard, Thailand is pleased that Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is appointed as the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Special Ambassador for Zero Hunger.

Over the next five years, Thailand will host three important summits or the “Triple As” meeting namely ACMECS in 2018, ASEAN in 2019, and APEC in 2022. Food security will definitely be one of the core agenda during those meetings.