The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold the 7th Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development from 26 – 28 April 2016 in Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan. The conference would discuss the current state of agriculture and food security in the Member States and the establishment of the Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS) in Kazakhstan.

The OIC Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development is being held to support the various programmes and projects implemented by the OIC and its institutions. These include the Jeddah Declaration on Food Security and related programmes being implemented by the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development, the OIC Plan of Action for Cooperation with Central Asia and other programmes and projects.

The Astana conference is also expected to discuss the ongoing difficulties and challenges facing agricultural development and food security in OIC Member States amid the declining ratio of agriculture in Member States’ GDP at 10.3% in 2013 compared with 16.3% in 1990. The statistics for 2015 also indicate that 28 OIC Member States fall under the 54 countries of the world grappling with food shortages.

The Agriculture Ministers in Astana will also discuss the latest developments relating to the OIC food security reserve, the implementation of the Jeddah Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security, the agricultural components of the SPDA, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development, the OIC Cotton Action Plan and the Cooperation Framework on Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Security.

The Ministers will review the reports submitted by the OIC General Secretariat, the Islamic Development Bank Group, the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC) and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture.

Source :WAM