Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies adopted a set of principles aimed at enhancing the resilience of food systems through innovation and digitalization during the 11th APEC Food Security Ministerial Meeting held Tuesday in Hangzhou, China. The guidelines seek to address mounting challenges to agriculture in the region, including extreme weather events, supply chain disruptions, and rising production costs.
The jointly endorsed document, titled the Principles for Strengthening Food Systems Resilience in the APEC Region through Innovation and Digitalization, emphasizes the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, digital tools, and agricultural biotechnology to boost productivity and mitigate risks faced by farmers and rural communities. These measures come amid growing concerns about climate impacts and economic uncertainties affecting food security across the interconnected Asia-Pacific region.
China’s Vice Premier Liu Guozhong highlighted APEC’s significant role in maintaining global food security and expressed China’s commitment to collaborating with other economies to establish a more robust food system. Liu called for enhanced efforts in innovation and deeper cooperation in agricultural science and technology to develop new approaches to safeguarding food security.
Eduardo Pedrosa, executive director of the APEC Secretariat, described food security as one of the defining challenges facing the region. He pointed to factors such as increasingly severe weather events, disruptions in supply chains, and rising costs of fertilizers and fuel as amplifiers of uncertainty for stakeholders across the agricultural sector. Pedrosa noted that while innovation is key to strengthening food systems and supporting adaptation, closing the digital divide between economies at varying levels of technological development remains a crucial challenge. He also underscored the importance of facilitating food trade and reducing post-harvest losses as immediate priorities.
Peruvian Ambassador to China Carlos Vasquez advocated for prioritizing research and development, innovation, and digitalization in regional agricultural cooperation. Focusing on the anticipated impact of a potentially strong El Niño event later this year, Vasquez emphasized that intensive deployment of digital technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, could help mitigate related disruptions. He also highlighted the need to improve access for smallholder farmers—who represent the backbone of Peru’s agricultural sector—to digital training, financing, and infrastructure that would connect them more effectively to markets.
From Papua New Guinea, Nelson Simbiken, director-general of the National Agricultural Research Institute, called for leveraging digital tools to map diverse ecosystems and develop smart farming systems tailored to local conditions. Simbiken also urged greater data sharing and collaborative efforts in environmental sustainability and agricultural planning among APEC economies to build resilience in the region’s food systems.
The principles adopted at the Hangzhou meeting reflect APEC’s concerted approach to fostering innovation and digitalization as vital components of a sustainable and resilient food system amid evolving environmental and economic challenges.