15/10/2014 Bangkok, Thailand

This year’s World Food Day (16 October) is celebrated across Asia and the Pacific with increasing optimism that the region could achieve the Millennium Development Goal on reducing hunger by 2015.

This was among the key messages delivered on the eve of World Food Day at a regional event in Bangkok to mark WFD 2014, convened by the Asia-Pacific regional office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The theme of this year’s celebration is ‘Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth.’

More than 80 percent of the food produced in Asia-Pacific comes from small-holder and family farms. Yet the members of these groups are often, themselves, among the poorest and most disadvantaged.

“Most people do not take time to think about the food they eat and where it came from. I ask, at least for today, that you stop and reflect on the miracles that bring so many different foods to your plates, and give thanks for all the work that is done by family farmers around the world,” said the Guest of Honour, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, during the regional ceremony.

“Inequity is a reality in our world. We live with a lack of fundamental equity – our most basic right – a right to food,” said Hiroyuki Konuma, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific. “So many of the people who bring us the food we eat – family and small holder farmers – themselves often face so many hurdles and challenges – even ‘nutritional hunger’ – where they might have enough food to fill their stomachs but lack the vitamins and minerals their bodies need.”     

The event focused on the importance of small holder and family farmers and the need to help them tackle the challenges they face in their efforts to produce more food for coming generations in a fair and equitable way that is also profitable for the farmers.

“We all know that we will need a doctor once in a while, a lawyer hopefully never or just once, but a farmer we will need three times a day – no farmer, no food,” said Esther Penunia, Secretary-General of the Asian Farmers Association and Special Ambassador to Asia for the International Year of Family Farming during her keynote speech.

“Thus for food security and nutrition, for eradicating hunger and poverty, for a sustainable, ecological and resilient agriculture, investments for small-scale family farmers in the region through enabling policies and programmes are definitely an imperative,” Penunia added.

In recognition of the importance of small-holder/family farmers, five farmers from across Asia-Pacific received awards at today’s World Food Day event for a series of innovative food production practices. The five – three men and two women – came from China, India, Myanmar, New Zealand and Thailand. The FAO awards were presented to the farmers by the Princess as Guest of Honour. (see citations and biographies for each farmer below)

Gains have been made to fight hunger and increase food production – but much more must be done by all

World Food Day is also a day to remember that the future of agriculture in Asia and the Pacific needs special attention – from land based food production of crops, livestock and other pastoral pursuits to fisheries and aquaculture – in order to nourish those chronically undernourished at present and produce yet more food to feed an ever growing population. At least 60 percent more food is needed by 2050 to feed an estimated nine billion people in the world – most of them in this region.

While home to most of the world’s hungry (62 percent), the number of hungry people continues to fall in this region. While there are still more than 500 million people chronically undernourished in Asia and the Pacific, the proportion of the population suffering from hunger has declined by nearly half since 1990. In order to meet the Millennium Development Goal on hunger reduction (MDG1) by next year, the remaining gap to be closed is less than one percent (0.7 percent). However, even when that target is met, there will still remain some 12 percent – one in nine people in this region – going to bed hungry each night.

“In many parts of Asia and the Pacific, the progress in fighting hunger has been impressive, but we mustn’t lose sight of the main goal – the total eradication of hunger. Neglecting the needs of the remaining half-billion hungry people in our region is simply not an option,” said Hiroyuki Konuma.

“However, governments are becoming more confident and more proactive in their efforts to eradicate hunger at national level and this can be seen in their moves toward launching of the National Zero Hunger Challenges started by Timor-Leste in January of this year, followed by Myanmar, Nepal, Viet Nam and more,” Konuma said.

Konuma added that in addition to the efforts of small-holder famers, everyone has a role to play in ensuring future food security, pointing out that huge amounts of food are lost or wasted each year – from poor post-harvest, transport and storage techniques – to sheer waste of food by consumers dining at home or in restaurants. 

In August 2013, FAO in Asia-Pacific, with the endorsement of governments across the region, launched the Save Food Asia-Pacific Campaign. Since then, many countries have stepped forward with plans and ideas for their own national save food campaigns.

 

CITATIONS: 

CHINA:

Mr Jin Yuepin
a model farmer from the People’s Republic of China
for success as a rice-fish farmer

As a boy from a farming family in China’s Zhe Jiang province, Jin Yuepin would stare at the tall peaks surrounding his village and wonder what lay beyond. As a teenager, he got a chance to find out. An uncle living in France sent for him. Because he lacked higher education, Jin began his working life as a dishwasher in a restaurant in Paris. Eventually, he became a chef, and saved enough to open restaurants of his own.

In 2007, Jin revisited his roots, traveling back to his hometown of Qingtian. With food hard to transport through the mountains, the farmers raised fish in the waters of their terraced rice fields, providing them with two sources of nutrition. “They have been farming that way for over a thousand years,’’ Jin says. But just before Jin arrived, FAO designated the dual method of Zhe Jiang’s farmers a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, worthy of preservation and promotion. With his entrepreneur’s eye, Jin saw opportunity.

Jin contracted the farmers to supply him with rice and a local strain of koi carp fish they raised. The fish are sought after for their tender meat and tasty skin. However, he soon realized that the farmers’ methods had shortcomings and problems. Too many fish were dying after being spawned.

Jin took courses at the Zhe Jiang Ocean University and began applying what he learned in his community. He built a Rice-Fish Farming Demonstration site, a breeding center for the local koi carp fish, and made a research study of the system at his own expense. He invested over a quarter million dollars in developing and improving rice fish farming in Zhe Jiang.

He also organized a rice-fish farmers’ cooperative, registered trademarks for the products and helped win both the rice and the fish national certification as “green food” in recognition of its natural qualities and environmental value.

Thanks to Jin’s efforts, Qingtian’s farmers are earning more and eating better, while preserving their traditions and their environment. And while he made far more money in restaurants than he has yet to make in rice-fish farming, Jin says profits are not always the most important thing. “We are all much happier now,’’ Jin says. And that is priceless.

 

INDIA:

Mrs Shailaja Popatlal Navandar
a model farmer from the Republic of India
for success in organic farming

The evolution of Shailaja Popatlal Navander as a farmer in many ways mirrors the evolution of farming in India and the region. “If my family had not changed the way we farm, we would be in deep debt,’’ she says.

But change they did, thanks to the value that Shailaja and her husband Popatlal placed on education. When they married and began farming on seven-and-a-half hectares in Umbri Balapur village in Maharashtra, they followed the trend of that time. In other words, they focused on one cash crop: wheat. And they did well.

But as time went by, monocropping began robbing the soil of essential nutrients. Chemical fertilizers became less and less effective. Yields were declining. Debts were starting to rise.

Other farmers in their village were also suffering. But Shailaja took the initiative. She approached agricultural extension workers in her area and asked for help. They began teaching her how to grow a variety of crops organically and with good environmental practices.

As a girl, Shailaja had wanted to be an engineer, but educational opportunities for women in India were limited at the time. Shailaja’s husband Popatlal, however, supported her efforts to acquire knowledge.

They learned to use natural compost and pesticides, level their land and build irrigation systems. They grow a variety of grains, sugarcane, flowers, fruits and vegetables. Their soil is once again rich and fertile. “Birds and butterflies visit my farm again,’’ she says.

Shailaja is changing farming in her community through its women. She organized thrift groups for women, and teaches them about organic farming methods. She has been appointed to the State Farmers Advisory Committee for Maharashtra.

Her farm has done so well, she and her husband were able to send their four children to university. Her son has chosen to work on the family farm, and her three daughters are now engineers.

“My dream is that women, especially women in farming families, will get the respect and opportunities they deserve,’’ she says.  Without a doubt, this woman farmer from Maharashtra is deeply deserving of everyone’s respect.

 

MYANMAR:

U Myo Thant
a model farmer from the Republic of the Union of Myanmar
for success in hybrid rice production

Opportunities were limited in Myanmar when U Myo Thant was a boy. The only school in his part of Mandalay Division was a Buddhist temple school. But his farmer parents stressed that if he wanted to be successful, he would need an education. That was, perhaps, the most important lesson of all.

At the age of 18, U Myo Thant left home and founded his own farm. He started with just slightly more than one hectare, one cow and one tractor. But he realized he could earn more by milling rice for other farmers and selling it on to markets. With the profits from milling, he bought more farmland, more cows and more equipment.

Myanmar was a relatively isolated country at the time. So when agricultural extension workers visited his village, U Myo Thant didn’t hesitate to seek them out and learn from them. “The other farmers were conservative and afraid to try new ideas,’’ he said. “But I followed every step the extension workers taught me.”

He learned how to level his fields and build better irrigation systems. His productivity began to increase. And when a Chinese agricultural expert visited, U Myo Thant asked him for hybrid rice seeds. Before long, his harvests increased from 80 baskets of rice per hectare to more than 200 baskets. “I thought that was impossible,’’ he says.

He also applied another key lesson from his parents: crop rotation. By growing beans and pulses in addition to rice, he was able to grow rice twice a year, and then three times a year. His neighbors were struggling to produce one harvest at best.

As Myanmar began opening up to the outside world, chemical fertilizers and pesticides became available. U Myo Thant experimented with them, but has abandoned them for the most part. He saw that the fish in his irrigation canals were dying, and so he realized the chemicals could also harm consumers and the environment.

Today, U Myo Thant has two farms of over 100 hectares each. He employs about 50 workers. But he’s most proud of teaching other farmers what he has learned. “I understand them, and I want to see them do better.” His own goal is to start exporting his rice.

He takes seriously President U Thein Sein’s words that agriculture is important for the future of Myanmar. But U Myo Thant says the President is only half right. With populations relentlessly growing everywhere, agriculture isn’t just important for Myanmar. He says “Agriculture is important for the world.’’

 

NEW ZEALAND:

Ms Ruth Yvette Hone
a model farmer from New Zealand
for success as a dairy farmer  

One of the greatest challenges facing farming today is the need to attract young people to become farmers. Unless young people take up farming, farming will have no future.

But for Ruth Hone, a 24-year-old young woman from New Zealand, the future is all about farming. Ruth never wanted to be anything except a dairy farmer. Her love for the rugged outdoor life, her affection for animals and her family’s heritage ensured that. Born in England but raised near the town of Rotorua, Ruth began tending to the nearly 600 cows on her parents’ dairy farm when still a young child. She never had to be coaxed or pushed into working the land.

“To be a good dairy farmer, you have to be passionate about it,’’ Ruth says.

And Ruth has no shortage of passion. She recently became the first woman to win the New Zealand Dairy Trainee of the Year, and was elected chairperson of the Tihoi Western Bays Young Farmers Club. She has served as an officer in half a dozen other young farmers’ associations.

Because Ruth is not just a young farmer, she is a young leader.

Ruth is the first New Zealander to be named a Model Farmer by FAO. New Zealand is one of the world’s largest dairy producers, its agricultural exports feed an estimated 20 million people worldwide.

As a young leader, Ruth is concerned about the future – not just of dairy farming, but also of the planet. That’s why she stays up-to-date on the latest methods to reduce the pollution and carbon footprint that are natural byproducts of dairy farming.

“We have to find new and better ways to balance our need for food with the need to protect the environment,’’ Ruth says.

That’s an approach she maintains as she diligently saves to buy her own dairy farm in the coming years. With her passion and dedication, she will undoubtedly achieve that goal. Because among the ranks of today’s young farmers, Ruth is the cream of the crop.

 

THAILAND:

Mr Patphong Mongkolkarnchanakhoon
a model farmer from the Kingdom of Thailand
for success in integrated farming

As a young man in Toong Na village in Western Thailand, Patphong Mongkholkanchanakhun (Mong cone kan chana koon) wanted to be a soldier. He liked the idea of serving his country. But rather than leave his young wife Naiyana, in 1995 they pooled their resources, bought some land and continued their families’ tradition of farming maize and chili.

Public service still appealed to Patphong, and so he got himself elected the head of his township. He soon realized that many of the farmers in his area had problems, the same problems that Patphong was beginning to face on his farm.

Anyone who has driven through Kanchanaburi province could be forgiven for thinking he was in Kansas. Fields of maize stretch out as far as the eye can see. But the conventional emphasis on growing mainly one crop was depleting the soil and yields were falling. To compensate, farmers relied ever more heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. “I saw many farmers become ill from the chemicals, and I developed skin rashes,’’ Patphong said.

But two factors helped turn things around. First, he learned about the Sufficiency Philosophy advocated by Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej.  The philosophy advises farmers to work in harmony with the environment by diversifying crops, breeding fish and poultry, and avoiding chemical fertilizers and pesticides.

Second, as a township official, he was offered training by several government agencies in alternative and better farming methods. Patphong took advantage of every opportunity to study, and then applied what he learned on his farm.

It wasn’t easy. Growing crops organically took longer and yields initially were lower. But he persevered. Today, he is one of the most successful farmers in Kanchanaburi. He grows everything from rice to mango and vegetables, while raising fish, pigs, chickens and ducks. He produces biogas from pig waste to power his home and farm. He is also involved in conservation efforts to protect elephants in his area.

Most importantly, he teaches other farmers what he has learned. And with the knowledge he shares, their outputs have increased and pollution levels have been reduced.

Although he never realized his ambition of becoming a soldier, Patphong has found a way to serve his community, his country and the planet.