A continuation of the roundtable session on “Poverty Eradication and Food Security” was held at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Convention Hall (BMICH) Thursday afternoon.

Representing the Government of Myanmar, Union Minister and the Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement Dr. Myat Myat Ohn Khin addressed the roundtable discussion. The Minister stated that the new civilian Government of Myanmar has embarked on the path of democratization and launched a series of economic, social and policy reforms to improve the socio-economic lives of the people. Talking about Myanmar’s experience in poverty eradication and food security, the Minister emphasized social protection stating that “investing in resources on social protection to ensure access to health, education
and protection can widen opportunities for broad sectors of the population, opening channels for economic growth, social mobility and generating stable processes for social integration.”

Mr. Anushka Wijesinha from the Institute of Policy Studies, who represented youth in the roundtable session, highlighted the ability to use technology to eradicate poverty. He noticed that youth participation in the agriculture industry has been dropping over time. However, citing an example from the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, he stated that the youth who are already engaged in the agriculture industry use mobile phone applications to support trading. Further, he also commented on the use of social media at the global scale in order to support the agriculture industry while concluding that technology is a great method to eradicate poverty and address food security.