A SENIOR legislator has urged Asean to strengthen agricultural resilience to climate threats to ensure a stable food supply for the bloc’s fast-growing population.
Cheam Yeap, first vice-president of Cambodia’s National Assembly, said the world is currently facing multiple crises, including climate crisis and food insecurity.
“Our South-East Asian region is not immune from these risks.
“Indeed, it is no longer a mere climate change but an acute climate crisis our global community needs to address together,” he said yesterday at the opening ceremony of a parliamentary multi- stakeholder dialogue on responsible investment for food and climate security in Asean.
Yeap said climate unpredictability, extreme weather events and environmental degradation are directly disrupting regional agricultural production and straining food systems.
Climate resilience is fundamental to food security and it demands a holistic and coherent legal, policy and societal response, he noted.
“Strengthening the resilience of our agricultural and food systems is essential. It is the only way we can ensure a stable food supply for our fast-growing populations, protect the livelihoods of our communities and sustain our long-term economic and social development,” he added.
Farmers across South-East Asia face severe vulnerabilities from volatile weather patterns, including intensified droughts and devastating floods.
To mitigate these threats, Yeap called for a strategic shift in regional funding.
“It is necessary to invest more in developing climate-resilient agriculture, climate adaptation, water resource management and smart early warning systems,” he said.
Yeap also highlighted that the Asean Guidelines on Promoting Responsible Investment in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (Asean Rai), adopted in 2018, serve as a visionary framework.
He urged members of parliament across the region to actively monitor executive branches and relevant agencies to ensure that national agricultural strategies and investment promotion policies actually deliver on food and climate security. — Xinhua
