Oleh/By : DATO' SERI DR. MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue : THE HILTON HOTEL, KUALA LUMPUR
Tarikh/Date : 20/10/88
Tajuk/Title : THE OPENING CEREMONY OF THE TENTH
MEETING OF THE ASEAN MINISTERS ON
AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY (AMAF)
Your Excellencies;
Distinguished Delegates;
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is indeed a pleasure and privilege for me to address
this distinguished gathering of the ASEAN Ministers on
Agriculture and Forestry this morning. On behalf of the
Government of Malaysia, let me take this opportunity to
extend our warm and sincere welcome to Your Excellencies and
distinguished delegates to Malaysia. This is the second
occasion that Malaysia is playing host to the Meeting of the
ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry; the first
occasion being, in October 1982. It is my sincere hope that
your deliberations will be fruitful and that your stay here
will be most pleasant.
Ladies and gentlemen,
2. ASEAN has emerged as a strong regional grouping
committed to maintaining political and economic stability in
the region through cooperative endeavours among its member
nations. Apart from resolving issues of political
consequences to the stability of the region, economic
co-operation in the field of agriculture, fisheries and
forestry assume special significance within ASEAN.
Agriculture is still the mainstay of the majority of the
economies of ASEAN member countries. It still provides
employment and livelihood to a majority of our populace, and
as a common feature, the agricultural sector as a whole is
still faced with problems of poverty and malnutrition.
3. In Malaysia for example, though it is putting greater
emphasis on the manufacturing industries, rural and
consequently agricultural development is still a subject of
high priority. The objective in rural development has been
and continues to be the redressal of poverty among the rural
population made up of subsistence farmers, smallholders,
fishermen and landless agricultural workers.
4. Urban poverty does exist and it would be grossly unfair
and unjust not to recognise it and to ameliorate it. But
poverty in the developing countries is largely rural and
involves agriculturists. The belief that mere
redistribution of land would overcome rural poverty has not
been fully proven. Even where land is owned by the tillers
of the soil extreme poverty persists. If the developing
countries are going to rely on agriculture, and they must if
they want to avoid hunger, then they must reexamine their
agricultural practices in order that they do not impoverish
the farmers who supply them with food.
5. ASEAN, like many other developing countries, have not
neglected agriculture or rural development. We can be
justly proud of the notable achievements that have been made
in technical as well as economic co-operation in our region.
However, much more can be done if we could strengthen our
co-operation in the area of agricultural practices and
trade. We have a need to learn from each other and to
present a more united front when dealing with the developed
world, our major market. It is not a cartel that we should
propose but it is important to remember that the developed
countries are getting closer together and they will soon
adopt a single policy or approach in their trade with us.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
6. The contribution of the industrialised countries
towards the development of third world countries is well
recognised. The developed or industrialised countries have
done much in providing technical assistance to the
developing countries in order to accelerate rural
development. But developing countries need money with which
to develope. Although aid, both technical and financial,
can help, in the final analysis it is equitable trade which
will enable rural poverty to be reduced. As the rural areas
are agricultural, trade in agricultural produce means a
great deal not only to a developing country but to the
farmers themselves.
7. Presently, the economic activitiies of the developing
countries are adversely affected by the economic policies
and trade practices of the industrialised countries. Among
these are manipulation of food surpluses in the rich
industrial countries, control over commodity trading and
prices and protectionist policies which have direct and
adverse consequences on the economies of the developing
countries.
8. In recent years, food surpluses in the rich
industrialised countries have increased tremendously because
massive farm subsidies tend to encourage farmers to produce
more and more. That their local market cannot absorb what
they produce seems of little concern to them. They are even
less concerned with the disruption they cause in the
international market where their surplus is sold at below
cost. Unable to compete in this environment, the farmers of
developing countries are doomed to poverty. Technically
they are less efficient but it is the distortions caused by
massive subsidies in developed countries which is killing
them, frequently literally.
9. If indeed the developing countries are to progress in
the true sense of the word, then the apparent contradiction,
of on the one hand helping developing countries to increase
their outputs whilst on the other hand denying them market
outlets, must be overcome. ASEAN as a grouping of
developing countries still dependent on agriculture must
work closely together in the GATT rounds of talks in order
to persuade the developed North to adhere to the
understanding on standstill and roll-back of subsidies for
farmers. It is worthwhile to note that developing countries
like Malaysia not only deny subsidies for agricultural
production but impose cess and export duties on them.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
10. To my mind, ASEAN, as a regional grouping, must address
this problem in a determined and concerted manner. In this
connection, future collaborative efforts in the field of
agriculture and forestry should not stop purely at
agro-technical fields, but must also be geared towards
obtaining more favarouble trade arrangements for the benefit
of member countries.
11. ASEAN's agricultural trade has traditionally been based
on the export of primary commodities. In the past few
years, we have seen how the decline in prices of commodities
in the world market have depressed agricultural commodity
trading and affected our respective economies. The
declining commodity prices have affected the terms of trade
so much that for the same amount of manufactured goods from
the developed countries we have to sell two to three times
more of the commodities we export. Additionally we are
meeting more and more unethical trade practices on the part
of powerful competitors from the North. The cost of
countering such unfair practices is so high that alone we
will fall one by one. The need to cooperate is therefore
more urgent now.
12. Regional interests aside, ASEAN must lend support to
global efforts at eliminating protectionism. To this end,
ASEAN must support the MTN - Uruguay Rounds which is to be
held for a period of four years beginning this year. There
is no denying that the Uruguay Rounds is of special interest
to us as it involves negotiations with other member
countries of the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade
(GATT) for the purpose of eliminating protectionism. As you
are all aware, the Uruguay Rounds was specially called for
by the Ministerial Declaration at the Special Meeting on MTN
in Punta Del Este in September 1986 in view of the
increasing number of GATT member countries that are
exercising protectionist policies.
13. It is relevant to mention here that the group on
agriculture has carried out several rounds of negotiations
in Geneva, but without much encouraging results so far.
This has been largely due to the posture adopted by certain
highly industrialised countries with regard to the approach
in reducing subsidies in the production and trading of
agricultural commodities.
14. Nonetheless, I am happy to note that the "Cairns
Group", of which Malaysia is a member, is currently working
on a proposal which the group feels will be acceptable to
the developed countries concerned. The proposal will be
submitted for Ministerial approval at the Mid-Term Review of
the Uruguay Rounds scheduled to be held in Montreal, Canada
in December this year. Hopefully, this effort will lead to
the liberalisation of agricultural trade at the
international level in the long run.
Ladies and Gentlemen.
15. I am very optimistic that with close collaboration
between member countries, ASEAN can overcome the obstacles
to economic progress in the region. At this juncture, I
would like to take the opportunity to congratulate the
Committee on Food, Agriculture and Forestry for the
commendable efforts it has undertaken thus far towards
accelerating agricultural development in the region.
16. I am glad that the Committee, through its various
subsidiary bodies has formulated several collaborative
projects for the benefit of member countries. It is noted
that many of these projects have been either successfully
implemented or ongoing, while delay in the implementation of
some projects have been occasioned by the inability to
secure third party funding for those projects.
17. However, it is heartening to note that the Committee on
Food, Agriculture and Forestry in its efforts to overcome
the constraints, has embarked on new initiatives to further
enhance co-operation in the field of food, agriculture and
forestry. These new initiatives which were considered and
approved at the ASEAN Summit Meeting in December 1987
highlighted, among others, the main areas of cooperation and
the mechanism for their implementation which include
generation of funds from within ASEAN itself, and the
participation of the private sector in the implementation of
the projects.
18. These initiatives by the Committee are indeed
commendable, for such efforts will surely go a long way
towards speedier implementation of projects and encourage
the sharing of available resources within the region for
mutual benefit. It is my fervent hope, therefore, that the
Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry, the Committee on
Food, Agriculture and Forestry and the various subsidiary
bodies under it will address themselves to the Summit
decisions and translate into meaningful activities the
"Programme of Action", especially with respect to
participation of the private sector, in order to ensure the
achievement of the immediate and long term goals of ASEAN in
food, agriculture and forestry.
19. I am convinced that these endeavours if relentlessly
pursued, will not only help ASEAN to bring about positive
institutional changes in the agricultural sector but will
also ensure the desired human resources development in that
sector.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
20. Given the above framework, I know that the task you
have before you is not an easy one. Nevertheless, I am
confident that you will give the best of your efforts to
achieve our objectives in the true spirit of ASEAN
solidarity, co-operation and understanding so clearly
manifested up till now. Once again, I wish you all a
fruitful and successful deliberation.
21. With great pleasure I now declare this Tenth Meeting of
the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry open.
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