Agriculture development and food security A/RES/67/228 Recalling also the adoption on 10 March 2010 of the Abuja Declaration on Development of Agribusiness and Agro-industries in Africa by the High-level Conference on the Development of Agribusiness and Agro-industries in Africa, endorsed by the Executive Council of the African Union at its eighteenth ordinary session, in which a call was made for, inter alia, renewed commitment to increasing allocations in national budgets to the agricultural sector and for the adoption of programmes to accelerate the development of value chains for strategic food commodities, build competitive food supply systems and reduce reliance on food imports, Stressing the importance of an enabling international and national environment to increase and sustain investment in the agriculture sector of developing countries and to create a more level playing field in agricultural trade through substantial improvement in market access, substantial reduction in trade-distorting national support and the parallel elimination of all forms of export subsidies and disciplines on all export measures with equivalent effect as provided in the mandate from the Doha Work Programme of the World Trade Organization, 15 the decision of 1 August 2004 of the General Council of the World Trade Organization and the Hong Kong Ministerial Declaration, Reaffirming the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger, so as to be able to fully develop and maintain his or her physical and mental capacities, and underlining the need to make special efforts to meet the nutritional needs, especially, of women, children, older persons, indigenous peoples and persons with disabilities, as well as those living in vulnerable situations, Stressing the importance of the preservation of the natural resource base for food security, Remaining deeply concerned about the continuing large-scale humanitarian disaster being faced by millions of people in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, Taking into account the urgent need for action to address the adverse effects of climate change on food security, as well as the root causes of food insecurity, in a manner consistent with the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of national food security, Acknowledging that food losses and waste, estimated at 1.3 billion tons annually, occur in both low- and high-income countries at all stages of the food supply chain, as well as the consumption stage, and recognizing the need to take urgent measures to reduce pre- and post-harvest losses and waste of food, Reiterating the importance of empowering rural women as critical agents for enhancing agricultural and rural development and food security and nutrition, Recognizing that farmers, including small-scale farmers and fisherfolk, pastoralists and foresters, can make important contributions to sustainable development through production activities that are environmentally sound, enhance food security and the livelihood of the poor and invigorate production and sustained economic growth, _______________ 15 See A/C.2/56/7, annex. 3/8