Director-General of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS), Prof. Yerlan Baidaulet, addressing the opening of ‘IOFS Strategic Commodities and Food Safety Forum’ in Doha.
The Director-General of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS), Prof. Yerlan Baidaulet, has lauded Qatar’s achievements in food security.
In an interview with The Peninsula on the sidelines of ‘IOFS Strategic Commodities and Food Safety Forum’ being held in Doha, Baidaulet said that Qatar has shown its tremendous capacity towards achieving self-sufficiency in food.
“With the help of government and strong discipline, the country’s stakeholders are moving forward towards food security in a well-structured manner. It is the best example of food security governance. It was proved when Qatar was ranked number one in Arab countries and secured 24th place in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2021.”
He said that the IOSF was working with Qatar for the last two years. “I first visited Qatar in July 2021. I visited Baladna, had meetings with investment companies.”
IOFS Director-General said that Qatar’s hosting of ‘IOFS Strategic Commodities and Food Safety Forum’ reflects country’s openness and seriousness towards food security not only for the country but for all Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states.
He said that the IOFS would work closely with Qatari researchers and Hamad Bin Kahlifa University as well as other entities like Hassad Food to promote the cause. “The IOFS believes in systemic attitude and Qatar also believes in actions.”
“The State of Qatar is among the key IOFS member states and its constant support to the activities of the organisation is a clear testimony of its leadership’s commitment in advancing the agenda of food security in our geography, which need an even stronger understanding, path and common policies on developing strategic commodities that would be beneficial to progress the agriculture sector and improve the livelihood of our societies and communities.”
He said that the IOFS is OIC’s specialised organisation dealing with food security, agricultural and rural development. “The organisation was launched two years ago but despite challenges posed by the global pandemic, we have institutionalised the IOFS with the support and cooperation of OIC member states.”
Expressing his gratitude for Qatar’s support to the organisation, he said that the forum was first physical forum after the COVID-19 pandemic. “We have had many online meetings in the last two years but this forum in Doha is hybrid. We are working under OIC programs… we are developing several strategic activities especially on OIC action plan for strategic commodities goal.”
He said that the OIC goal was taken over by the IOSF in OIC ministerial meeting held in Istanbul last year where the IOSF was instructed by the member states to follow strategic commodities goal. “In the first phase we selected wheat, rice and cassava as they make main part of food consumption in OIC member states.”
He said that the IOFS core business is ensuring food security, sustainable agriculture, and rural development within the OIC geography. “The mission of IOFS is to safeguard sustainable food security in the OIC member states through socio-economic development and systemic promotion of targeted programs related to agriculture, science and technology, humanitarian aid and trade, and food to the member states.”
“The Program on Development of Strategic Commodities and the initiation of Creation of Centers of Excellence within the OIC for development of certain commodities, including wheat, rice and cassava was to provide the platform for interaction with the member states to enhance the current practices for reaching agricultural sustainability, through sharing information, creation of opportunities for scientists, researchers, farmers, and policymakers to find the best solutions and collect expert recommendations from the countries.”
He said that the development of the sustainable agriculture sector and food systems in OIC member states is mired by a multitude of constraints concerning agricultural resources, infrastructure, policy, and international commodity markets. “In fact, agriculture and food security are at the forefront of nations’ development strategies. The ability to ensure food security in a sustainable manner ensures a nation’s long-term peace and stability. This is especially important for OIC countries, where agriculture is still regarded as a vital economic sector.”
He said that the IOSF was developing an electronic platform to share data base from all Islamic countries to enhance strong cooperation and close collaboration between the OIC member states.
“There are many research institutions in OIC member countries and they are doing marvellous work but separately… we have to bring all stakeholders including governments, research academies together and for this a systemic approach is required that will ultimately create enabling environment for farmers.” He emphasised on the need of strong funding and support for researchers.
Talking on food production system, he said that it is also important to consider the mismatch between the growing demand of the population for food products and the capacities of agricultural production.
“It is widely acknowledged that effective food production and distribution systems are necessary for societies to expand and thrive. Individual country data, on the other hand, show that not all countries can produce enough food for their own people. A limited natural resource base, combined with a rapid population growth rate, has made it difficult for many countries, particularly vulnerable ones, to achieve and sustain self-sufficiency. As a result, many OIC and developing countries remain net importers of food and agricultural commodities.”
Talking on food security governance, he said that food security is directly impacted by factors such as difficult economic conditions, low commodity prices, a lack of adequate infrastructure, poverty, conflicts, adverse climatic conditions, and, most recently, the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
“Such factors have the potential to either prolong or worsen chronic and transitory food insecurity around the world. This, in turn, can have disastrous consequences for food availability, access, stability, and utilisation.”
He said that agricultural research and development is a crucial determinant of agricultural productivity and production. “The R&D brings the Agri science on the higer level and provides the best solutions for agricultural development. All countries have focused on R&D and attracting external researchers, gradually increasing their economic capacity and manufacturing more products; thus, human resource training appears to be a must-issue.”
Baidaulet noted that artificial intelligence, analytics, connected sensors, and other emerging technologies could further increase yields, improve the efficiency of water and other inputs, and build sustainability and resilience across crop cultivation and animal husbandry. “IOFS is introducing a new program within the Vision 2031 on Bio&AgriTech with focus on OIC domain.”
