VATICAN CITY, 24 APR 2008 (VIS) - On 17 April, Msgr. Renato Volante, Holy See permanent observer to the Rome-based United Nations Organisation for Food and Agriculture (FAO), participated in the FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, which was held in Brasilia, Brazil, on 17 and 18 April.
In his talk, the prelate praised the work FAO accomplishes in collaboration with various governments to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. He also reaffirmed the support of the Holy See, "with her essentially ethical perspective, for those political and social options capable of providing a concrete and coherent response to current needs. It is clear that the lack of adequate nutrition not only impedes the full development of the personality of men and women, but also constitutes an evident negation of their rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life, of which nutrition is an indispensable component".
This conference, said Msgr. Volante, shows how the main requirement is "to transfer to the human dimension those forces ... which technology and new scientific research make it possible apply to agriculture and, hence, to food production".
Going on to refer to one of the central questions being examined at the Brasilia meeting, that of food security, the permanent observer indicated that this involves "considering not only the difficulties in agricultural production provoked by environmental and territorial factors" but also "those deriving from unfavourable trade policies, ... caused by the absence of progress in multilateral negotiations on trade in agricultural products". In this context, he also recalled how the economy of many countries "depends almost exclusively on the export of a limited number of typical products, while their food security depends on the importation of many food products".
Agricultural reform continues to be an "open and problematic question", he said, "and its slow evolution in countries of the region confirms the need to adopt land ownership strategies and laws that can be effectively implemented. ... All agricultural reform must take account of the situation of smallholders and of indigenous communities, whose traditions are often far distant from the institutions and from the advantages offered by new production criteria. ... This is a priority objective to which the Catholic Church gives great attention, and in which she remains ready to collaborate using her structures, and through forms of association and co-operation".
DELSS/FOOD SECURITY/FAO:VOLANTE VIS 20080424 (400)
In his talk, the prelate praised the work FAO accomplishes in collaboration with various governments to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. He also reaffirmed the support of the Holy See, "with her essentially ethical perspective, for those political and social options capable of providing a concrete and coherent response to current needs. It is clear that the lack of adequate nutrition not only impedes the full development of the personality of men and women, but also constitutes an evident negation of their rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life, of which nutrition is an indispensable component".
This conference, said Msgr. Volante, shows how the main requirement is "to transfer to the human dimension those forces ... which technology and new scientific research make it possible apply to agriculture and, hence, to food production".
Going on to refer to one of the central questions being examined at the Brasilia meeting, that of food security, the permanent observer indicated that this involves "considering not only the difficulties in agricultural production provoked by environmental and territorial factors" but also "those deriving from unfavourable trade policies, ... caused by the absence of progress in multilateral negotiations on trade in agricultural products". In this context, he also recalled how the economy of many countries "depends almost exclusively on the export of a limited number of typical products, while their food security depends on the importation of many food products".
Agricultural reform continues to be an "open and problematic question", he said, "and its slow evolution in countries of the region confirms the need to adopt land ownership strategies and laws that can be effectively implemented. ... All agricultural reform must take account of the situation of smallholders and of indigenous communities, whose traditions are often far distant from the institutions and from the advantages offered by new production criteria. ... This is a priority objective to which the Catholic Church gives great attention, and in which she remains ready to collaborate using her structures, and through forms of association and co-operation".
DELSS/FOOD SECURITY/FAO:VOLANTE VIS 20080424 (400)
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