Theera Wongsamut, Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister of Thailand said during the opening ceremony that many factors would generate negative impact on food security including increasing world population, natural resource degradation, more frequent and more severe of natural disaster occurrences, global climate changes as well as rising fuel and factor input prices.

"For instance, the soaring food price in 2008 has led to rising number of undernourished people in the world," the minister said, "Also the decrease of food production as a result of natural disaster due to the climate change has led to food shortage in many countries."

Last week, the United Nations Asia-Pacific regional office said in its annual social and economic report that high food and oil prices could keep an additional 42 million people in poverty in the region and threaten economic growth.

Thailand, the world's major rice producer and exporter, has also been facing floods and landslides and the disasters have caused severe damage to food production in vast areas of the country.

The conference has attracted some 150 officials, academics and experts on food and agriculture from 20 countries and international organizations such as ASEAN, the Eurpoean Union and World Food Programme.