FFTC: Celebrating 40 years of service to small-scale farmers in the ASPAC region

FFTC's 40 years of service to small-scale farmers

April 1 2010

TAIPEI, TAIWAN ROC - To mark FFTC’s 40 years of existence as a regional information center, the Center has organized an international symposium on Perspectives on Agriculture in the Asian and Pacific (ASPAC) Region to be held on April 22-24, 2010 at the Howard Intl. House, Taipei. The said symposium will primarily serve as an opportunity to share and exchange current perspectives and challenges that all countries in the region must face and respond to in order to achieve a competitive and sustainable agriculture. The symposium is also envisioned as a platform to assess FFTC’s performance and achievements in the last 40 years, and to deliberate on future policy and program directions and strategies to enable the Center to make a more significant impact on the region’s sustainable agricultural development.

Specifically, the symposium shall draw valuable insights from leading agricultural experts on issues and concerns that are deemed to have the greatest impact on the present and future agricultural development goals in the ASPAC, namely, globalization, global warming, food safety and traceability, agricultural biotechnology, and agricultural biodiversity.

The anniversary symposium will be held back to back with the 20th FFTC Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) Meeting. The FFTC-TAC, composed of leading agricultural scientists/experts in the ASPAC region, meets every two years to: provide policy and program advice in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of FFTC work programs and activities; deliberate on the agricultural needs and requirements of countries in the region; and suggest ways to improve the performance and effectiveness of the Center’s operation.

FFTC’s 40th anniversary is a fitting opportunity for the Center to reflect on its performance and achievements in view of the changing global agricultural environment, and on the crucial need for the Center to respond and make a difference for millions of small-scale farmers in the region. FFTC’s commitment revolves around how the Center might best be able to help them, in the best way that the Center can.

In four decades, FFTC’s programs and activities have left significant marks in terms of contributing to the overall attainment of the region’s sustainable agricultural development, as well as in bridging the technological and economic gap between developed and developing countries in the ASPAC. On its 40th anniversary celebration, FFTC gives full credit to all its member countries and partner organizations, for continuously providing technical, financial and manpower support to enable the Center to carry on and implement programs and activities for the benefit of small-scale farmers in the region.