7 - 13 February 2002
Issue No.572
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 February 2002 Issue No.572 |
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War on hunger, when?
There is enough food for everybody, so why are so many people hungry? Fatemah Farag looks for answers at a FAO gathering in Cairo this week
At the 22nd Food and Agriculture Oganisation (FAO) regional conference currently being held from 4 to 8 February in Cairo, the mood is determined, but grave. "We are meeting again on behalf of the millions of hungry and poor people on our continent to discuss the issues that will impact their very existence," Bamdele F Dada, assistant director- general and FAO regional representative for Africa, soberly told those attending the inauguration of the Technical Committee Meeting. He added: "Unfortunately, the performance of the agricultural sector in many countries in the region [Africa] over the last biennium has been disappointing."
Meeting on behalf of millions of hungry people: the opening ceremony of the 22nd FAO regional conference in Cairo(photo: Hassan Shawki)
It is a distressing state of affairs, especially when considered within the global context. According to the FAO's 1990 annual report, the number of undernourished worldwide was falling by an average rate of six million each year -- far below the rate of 22 million needed to reach the FAO's goal of eradicating hunger by the year 2015. Sub-Saharan Africa is faring the worst. The region was identified by the report as having the highest percentage of undernourished inhabitants -- more than one-third of the population was undernourished in the time frame between 1977 1999.
This week's Cairo conference finds its origins in the World Food Summit (WFS) held by the FAO in Rome in November 1996. The largest of the United Nations specialised agencies, the FAO was established in 1945. Since its inception, the organisation has been the centre of efforts by the international community to alleviate poverty and global hunger by promoting agricultural development, improved nutrition and the pursuit of food security.
The 1996 summit was attended by 112 countries and was aimed at securing a political commitment by nations worldwide to tackle the underlying causes of widespread hunger and malnutrition. Focusing on the active involvement of many sector ministries, the summit culminated in the issuance of both the Rome Declaration on World Food Security, the WFS Plan of Action and a pledge to eradicate hunger from the world by the year 2015.
More than five years down the line, the organisation fears the failure of its pledge. In a document distributed at the current conference, the need for a "new impetus five years after the summit" to try and boost political support was identified. "In fact, the FAO's latest assessment ... gives grounds for even greater concern about the slow progress being made towards the reduction of hunger," the document noted bluntly.
Hence the convergence of high- level delegations representing the agricultural sectors of 52 African nations. The Cairo meeting is one of several regional conferences that will take place across the globe; the findings of which will be taken into consideration by the Open-Ended Working Group of the Council, meeting this summer alongside the Committee on World Food Security from 6 to 8 June. A final document will be submitted to the WFS summit to be held from 10 to 13 June in Rome.
If the mechanisms for reducing hunger currently in motion cannot succeed in mobilising the world towards a more serious commitment, the FAO fears that the earliest date the organisation's goal could be reached would be 2030. A shame when you consider the underpinnings of the WFS's goals -- described in the conference literature as "based on the conviction that given the required political determination, it should be possible, through current technical, institutional and financial capacities, to eradicate hunger within a very short time, provided the objective is addressed directly rather than obliquely."
Political determination is the key. The FAO notes that in spite of the fact that the world's population has doubled over the past 40 years, food production has outgrown this population increase. At the global level, the amount of food available per person has increased by almost 20 per cent. The 1990 FAO report indicates that food availability per person in the developing world amounts to less that 2,100 calories per day, while in the countries of the North, the average tops 3,200. Further, the richest one- fifth of the world population consumes 45 per cent of all the world's meat and fish, while the poorest one- fifth gets five per cent. Over and above developing agricultural production, it would seem that the larger challenge is making sure that surplus food already being produced gets into the hands and mouths of the people who lack it.
At the Cairo conference focusing on Africa, regional representative Dada identified high population growth as one of the main reasons that the number of hungry and "food insecure" Africans is expected to remain at an approximate constant until 2015. Other key factors include the low level of investment in the agricultural sector, civil wars and natural disasters such as drought, heavy flooding and tropical hurricanes.
According to information made available by the conference, in the period between 2000 and 2001, several countries in Africa recorded a sharp decline in their annual growth rate in almost all sectors of agricultural production. At the same time, populations continue to grow at about 2.6 per cent per year. Regional livestock production has dropped from 2.0 per cent in the 1998-1999 period to 0.3 per cent in 2000-2001. Roots and tuber production has dropped from 2.9 per cent to 0.1 per cent in the same period. Oil seeds went from 8.5 per cent to 0.8 per cent. "Indeed, in per capita terms, agricultural production continues to stagnate, with levels for agriculture, cereals and food items in 2000 being virtually identical to those attained in 1990," the FAO's Dada concluded.
Of course the aggregate figures do not show the individual successes some countries have made in specific areas of agricultural development. In the statement made by Egypt's Ministry of Agriculture, an increase in the production of seeds from 8 million tons in 1982 to approximately 18.5 million tons in 2000 was highlighted. The ministry also noted that the production of vegetables and fruits in Egypt has increased from approximately 12 million tons in 1982 to 22 million tones in 2000. According to the statement, Egypt has also succeeded in achieving self- sufficiency in poultry, eggs, milk and fish. "The current strategy for agricultural development in Egypt until the year 2017 aims at achieving an annual rate of growth estimated at 4.1 per cent," the ministry statement read. In fact, according to Michael Hage, the FAO's regional information officer, Egypt is being looked to as a source of agricultural expertise that would greatly benefit other African countries.
The four-day conference's agenda will zero in on the following topics: the effects of HIV-AIDS on agriculture and food security (see p.26), the development of fisheries on the continent, the new FAO gender and development plan of action for 2002- 2007 and mountain and highland agricultural development. But after all the technical issues have been discussed and resolved, the question as to whether the world can muster up enough compassion and intelligence to finally feed the world's hungry will still hang in the balance.
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