Myanmar President U Thein Sein has called on ASEAN member states to take sustainable agricultural development, food security and nutrition as the main national duties in implementing tasks for meeting the objectives of ASEAN Community, official report said Wednesday.

"ASEAN member states must work hand in hand to meet the objectives of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG) with the aim of zero hunger by 2025," U Thein Sein told the 36th Meeting of ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) in Nay Pyi Taw.

He cited figures as saying that global population is increasing annually and current population of 7 billion is projected to increase over 9 billion to 10 billion in 2050.

Warning that at present a total of 850 million people are facing food security and mal-nutrition, he called for doubling the food production.

As the year 2014 is the International Year of Farming, designated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), he called for putting entire efforts on developing small-holder farmers and family farming system since they contribute to more than 80 percent of the global agricultural production.

He also warned that ASEAN countries and global community are also facing the challenges imposed by global warming in couple with environmental deterioration and climate change.

He urged ASEAN member states to double efforts to conserve natural resources including water and forest resources and protect ecological system.

The 36th Meeting of AMAF, which began on Tuesday, discussed the proposals on government-private cooperation for establishing proper food stuff value chains between ASEAN and Japan, that on challenge of poverty, that on stability of paddy production and market and that on sectorwise cooperation for food sufficiency and agricultural development for emergence of developed Asian region submitted by the World Business Forum.

Myanmar is the rotating chair of ASEAN this year with a theme chosen as "Moving Forward in Unity to a Peaceful and Prosperous Community." Endi

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