Mexico City, February 29 (RHC) -- The 34th session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean began on Monday, in Mexico City. The regional conference, which runs through March 3rd, is focusing on ways to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Agriculture, environment and social development ministers from 33 countries in the region are debating food security and other key topics of agriculture at the conference, an FAO official has said.

Ricardo Rapallo, a food security officer of the FAO office for Latin America and the Caribbean, said the organization must make enormous leaps forward as the region is facing huge challenges, including about 34 million people living in hunger and 27 million in extreme poverty.

The FAO official stressed the need to give priority to investment and financing policies, while creating coordinated multi-sector strategies for rural development.