COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION

摘要

I hear lots of interesting issues raised by UNDP colleagues, FAO colleagues, and other experts in Japan. Something that wasn't quite clearly indicated was that the reduction in the rate of malnutrition or hunger is in fact attributable to the greaterimprovements in China and Southeast Asian countries. Recently, Vietnam, a country that used to receive food aid, has started food aid to other countries. We are hoping that China will follow suit by giving food aid itself. In Sub-Saharan Africa, where westill see food availability roadblocks, the problem is basically attributed to the gap between the food production and the requirements. Unfortunately, this gap was really widened in the 1990s and we are very worried about the future. No doubt we have to invest more in agricultural sectors such as irrigation, especially small irrigation at the community level, and we need to have more crop varieties. To this end, research and analysis activities are very important.