(VOVWORLD) - ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) have issued a Joint Statement, reaffirming commitment to ensure food security, food safety and nutrition in the region during the COVID-19 outbreak.
The current AMAF Chair Dato Ali Apong, Minister of Primary Resources and Tourism of Brunei Darussalam, affirmed that ASEAN will continue working to ensure the sustainable supply of sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meet the dietary requirement of ASEAN populations during and after the outbreak of the COVID-19.
The ministers urged ASEAN members to implement necessary measures, projects and programs at the national level to meet the immediate food needs of the ASEAN population, particularly vulnerable groups. They highlighted the need to boost ASEAN countries’ social protection programs for smallholder farmers, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises to increase food production and ensure food security in the region.