Food security and
nutrition
Food security means that all people, at all times, have
physical and economic access to adequate food that is safe and in keeping with
social and cultural preferences, to be able to lead active and healthy lives.
FAO identifies four conditions of food security - adequate food supply;
stability of food supply without seasonal or yearly fluctuations; physical and
economic access to food; food quality and safety.
While there is no single formula to ensure food security,
production and distribution of food are key elements. Agriculture is the main
source of employment and income in Asia and the Pacific and any hunger reduction
strategy must focus on bringing about increases in the productivity and incomes
of the small and marginal rural producers.
FAO is also concerned about the impact on food security from
the liberalization and globalization of trade in agricultural products both at
the national level and for poor and disadvantaged groups at the household level.
FAO-RAP assists countries in incorporating a food security component into
national development plans and providing food at minimum cost to vulnerable
groups.
FAO-RAP is working to improve the efficiency of key national
food agencies and their distribution systems as well as national early-warning
systems. It extends technical network activities on food security training and
builds national capacities to identify pricing and technical
deficiencies.
As a follow-up to the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS), FAO has
conducted annual assessments of the food security situation at the regional,
subregional and national level. The findings are published in the State of
food insecurity in the world reports, which measure, year-by-year, national
progress in hunger reduction worldwide and provide a useful policy and planning
guidance tool to governments.
Under another postWFS initiative, FAO is assisting countries
in the region, as part of a global initiative, to set up national hunger
identification systems. The Food Insecurity and Vulnerability Information and
Mapping System (FIVIMS) provides reliable, accurate and consistent information
on the extent, nature and causes of food insecurity and vulnerability at
subnational, national, regional and global levels.
Food quality and safety control is equally important for food
security. The growing pressure of demand on food production, handling and
distribution systems could lead to potentially serious food quality and safety
problems. Developing countries must be able to meet internationally accepted
food quality and safety standards in order to gain from the liberalization of
agricultural trade through strengthening national food safety systems;
harmonizing food safety regulations; and participating effectively in the work
of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, set up by FAO and the World Health
Organization (WHO).
Reliable agricultural statistics are vital for national
planning and policymaking on agriculture and food security. The regional office
monitors developments in the fields of food and agricultural statistics. It
assists in conducting agricultural censuses and surveys (for example use of
appropriate methodologies, training of national personnel and the analysis and
dissemination of food and agricultural statistics), and works with other
international and technical assistance agencies to facilitate cross-sectoral
analyses.
FAO has established the World Agricultural Information Centre
(WAICENT) as its strategic framework for agricultural information management and
dissemination. WAICENT enables FAO members and others to access agricultural
information that is essential for reducing poverty and achieving food security
and sustainable rural development. WAICENT: (1) acts as a clearinghouse for
information by establishing norms and methodologies for quality, developing
standard categorization schemes and implementing metadata for efficient and
effective storage, dissemination, search and retrieval of information; (2)
provides outreach for agricultural development, food security and capacity
building through the transfer of best practices in information management
systems’ and tools’ development to national and international
information providers; and (3) acts as an intergovernmental forum for members
through the Consultation on Agricultural Information Management.
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Food security and nutrition
Developing resilient livelihood systems for sustainable
food security in low income food deficit countries (LIFDCs) within the framework
of the World Food Summit Plan of Action was prioritized. This entailed
strengthening policies to upgrade technology, management systems and
institutions for poverty alleviation in rural areas. There was also emphasis on
the monitoring and evaluation of developments in food and agriculture, and
policy analysis and formulation for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural
Development (SARD) through capacity building activities involving TCDC-oriented
technology transfer, training and advisory missions. This also necessitated the
strengthening of policies and upgrading of capacities for the provision of safe
and nutritious food for people in Asia and the Pacific; conducting agricultural
censuses; developing systems for food and agricultural statistics’
databases; and the analysis and dissemination of data related to the
agricultural sector. In this connection, emphasis was placed on capacity
building in survey/census design and implementation and on data analysis,
including the construction of food balance sheets and economic accounts in
agriculture.
Nutrition
Food and nutrition
information was strengthened through FIVIMS and the INFOODS regional data
centres. FAO supports the Asia-Pacific Network for Food and Nutrition, which
attaches great importance to the implementation of national FIVIMS systems,
networks of national information systems that assemble, analyse and disseminate
data on food insecurity and vulnerability. RAP 2002/29 Report of the regional
expert consultation of the Asia-Pacific network for food and nutrition on the
status of FIVIMS initiatives is an account of the consultation at FAO-RAP in
Bangkok in November 2002. The expert consultation took stock of advances made by
countries in design, implementation and monitoring of actions to address food
insecurity and vulnerability. The report provides conclusions and
recommendations from the papers presented and discussed, including progress by
countries in the region towards implementing FIVIMS.
An international workshop on
Food Consumption Surveys in Developing Countries: Future Challenges shared
expertise on the methodology of food consumption surveys, use of food
consumption data for nutrition assessment, exposure assessment and the study of
diet-disease relationships.
On 16 January 2003 FAO and the
Thai MoAC signed a project agreement dealing with meeting international food
safety standards for the exports of fruits and vegetables as required by
importing countries and set out by the WTO (World Trade Organization). FAO
agreed to offer its expertise to ensure that the production of fresh and
processed fruits and vegetables meets the WTO’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Agreement (SPS) and the food safety requirements spelled out by the FAO/WHO
Codex Alimentarius Commission. The FAO project will support Thailand to improve
the export inspection and certification systems for fruits and vegetables as
well as the technical capabilities of the food producers and processors. The
WTO’s SPS sets out detailed requirements and obligations regarding food
safety.
Support was given to the Fifth
International Conference on Dietary Assessment Methods, which encompassed
dietary assessment methodologies, sources of bias in dietary assessment and
their control and analysis and interpretation of dietary intake data.
Additionally, all the countries in the region received advice on effective
dietary guidance and nutrition education through the promotion of food-based
dietary guidelines.
A project was prepared for
Viet Nam to extend technical support to integrated home gardening, nutrition and
health education and micro-credit management for vulnerable households in 11
provinces.
Assistance was provided to
three projects: Women in development and nutrition in Cambodia and Nepal;
Promoting home gardens in Lao PDR for improving nutritional well-being; and
Integrated horticulture and nutrition development in Bangladesh. The
diversification of agriculture is leading progressively to increased consumption
of a diversified and balanced diet in the region.
Capabilities in food analysis
were strengthened, including international accreditation of the subregional food
laboratory at the University of the South Pacific and the publication of a new
version of the Pacific Island Food Consumption Table.
Case studies on rural
information systems in China were undertaken with WAICENT and the Ministry of
Agriculture in China.
Statistics
FAO-RAP supports
the Asia and Pacific Commission on Agricultural Statistics (APCAS) - see RAP
2003/03. This document presents the report of the 19th session of the
APCAS held in Seoul, Republic of Korea in October 2002. The conference assessed
the current status of food and agricultural statistical development in the
member countries and discussed new developments in agricultural statistics
including millennium development goals, image scanning technology for processing
of agricultural survey and census data, impact/ consequences of irregular
censuses, and preparations for the World Census of Agriculture 2010 and
indicators for agricultural policy analysis. A report on the Japan/FAO projects
to improve agricultural statistics in Asia and Pacific countries and strengthen
regional data exchange was also discussed, besides fishery and forestry
statistics. Recommendations and follow-up actions are included in the session
report.
A workshop on strengthening
food and agricultural statistics in the Pacific in support of food security and
poverty reduction policies and programmes was held in September 2003 in Noumea,
New Caledonia.
Selected indicators of food
and agriculture development in Asia-Pacific region 1999-2002 (RAP 2003/10)
is a comprehensive and detailed compilation of statistics on farming, livestock,
fishery, forestry and nutrition in Asia-Pacific countries for the period. The
statistics are listed separately for the developing and developed countries in
the region. The publication uses mostly FAO statistics, which in turn are based
on information provided by member countries. A table reporting on the status of
organic farming in the region has been included for the first time.
Food security
Six Asia-Pacific
countries were represented at a regional expert consultation, which was
organized by the FAO-RAP and India’s Central Research Institute for Dryland
Agriculture (CRIDA) in Hyderabad, India in January 2002. The 21 participants
shared experiences, information and concerns on a range of issues dealing with
livelihood and food security in the drought-prone areas of the region.
Under the FAO Netherlands
Partnership Programme on Food Security, support provided to Cambodia aimed at
the assessment and strengthening of institutional capacities and development of
hands-on methods for improving the livelihoods of the poorest and the most
vulnerable.
FAO helped formulate a
Regional programme for food security in the Pacific Island countries,
which was approved recently. The overall objective of the programme, funded by a
trust fund that has secured US$4.5 million already, is the strengthening of food
security at regional and national levels as well as community/household levels.
The programme will assist the PICs in adjusting to the new international trade
environment brought about by the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade
negotiations, and assist communities and small farmers in taking advantage of
new production and marketing opportunities.
FAO-RAP fielded several
missions to hold technical discussions with subregional organizations such as
ASEAN and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) towards
formulation of a Regional Programme for Food Security as well as to enhance
subregional cooperation in attaining the Millenium Development Goals of the WFS
Declaration. Discussions are ongoing.
A joint FAO/WFP mission
visited Timor- Leste from 15 April to 5 May 2003 to review and analyse the food
supply and demand situation in the context of the country’s macro-economic
situation, and to forecast import requirements including potential food needs in
marketing year 2003/04 (April/March), with particular attention to the needs of
the most vulnerable groups.
Central market feasibility
study and postharvest handling improvements (2003-2005): Market
opportunities for smallscale farmers in Palau and agro-processors are limited
and dependence on imported products from various sources is high. The government
is actively seeking to improve agricultural marketing and agro-processing and is
considering the construction of a new central market in the capital city. The
objective of the project is to carry out a feasibility study for a new central
market in Koror, based on a gender-sensitive review of farmers’ and
consumers’ requirements. In addition and to ensure maximum benefits from an
improved market infrastructure, farmers’ basic skills in postharvest
handling will be upgraded through the development of appropriate training
materials and the conduct of relevant training courses. As a result, it is
expected that farmers will be in a better position to provide more
market-oriented production for both local and tourist sectors, thus improving
their incomes and increasing their capacity to provide for their own food
security.
A joint report by FAO and the
World Food Programme (WFP) has indicated that a combination of insufficient
domestic production, the narrow and inadequate diet of much of the population
and growing disparities in access to food as the purchasing power of many
households declines, means that some 6.5 million vulnerable North Koreans will
require assistance in 2004. The report urged that 484 000 tonnes of commodities,
including 400 000 tonnes of cereals, be sought as food aid for 2004.
Three-quarters of the total is earmarked for children, pregnant and nursing
women and elderly people. Despite improvements in the operating environment for
aid agencies, the report noted that there are still restrictions on access to
the needy and to markets and shops. But it also says that the government has
been more forthcoming with information needed to assess household food security.
The report recommended that, "in addition to providing urgently needed food aid,
the international community enter with the government into a policy dialogue to
set an enabling framework to mobilise the economic, financial and other
assistance needed to promote sustainable food production and overall food
security."
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Sustainable rural
development
Strong, representative grassroots institutions are essential
for improving rural living conditions. Participation in organizations and
institutions at the local level significantly improves access to productive
resources and enables poor rural households to use them to better their lots.
Such institutions include elected bodies, farmers’ or other rural
producers’ associations or cooperatives, civil society and informal
networks that reflect common practices, cultural norms or beliefs.
However, local organizations and institutions in many
countries are unable to perform well either in their roles of facilitation,
information and advocacy, or in negotiations with external organizations and
institutions. Decentralization of and people’s participation in local
planning needs to be strengthened as well as access to information and
extension, credit and marketing services. Information and expertise in best
practices on rural development need to be encouraged, and socio-economic
indicators to measure progress in equity need to be refined.
Women make up more than 40 percent of the rural workforce in
the Asia-Pacific region and are the main performers of vital agricultural tasks
- from conservation of plant seed, sowing and weeding of crops, to processing
the harvest. Yet, their contribution is often underestimated and overlooked in
development plans and strategies; this is due in part to the lack of
gender-disaggregated data.
It is more difficult for women to get access to land, credit
and other agricultural inputs such as technology, extension, training and
services. Inheritance and land tenure laws limit women’s ownership and use
of land. In the poorest and most populous countries of the region, girls are
still denied access to basic education, further restricting their ability to
take advantage of the limited opportunities they have to improve their
circumstances.
The FAO Gender and Development Plan of Action (2002-2007)
provides an organizational framework to mainstream gender in FAO activities.
Priority areas identified for gender mainstreaming are food and nutrition,
natural resource management, agriculture support systems and agriculture and
rural development policy and planning.
Due to enormous variations in agro-ecological and
socio-economic contexts, Asia-Pacific countries need to tailor agricultural
extension programmes and methodological links to the needs of the farmers.
Alternative policies, strategies, approaches and systems need to address
extension management and extension-research-education linkages. Also gender
considerations need to be introduced in national agricultural education,
research, extension and development programmes.
Continuous planning, monitoring and evaluation of extension
programmes are needed, as well as the introduction of participatory and
cost-effective extension methodologies and gender-sensitive programmes based on
PRA.
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Sustainable rural development
The main theme has been addressing the rising inequity in
socio-economic development, which is a major constraint to SARD, and
strengthening rural institutions at decentralized levels by encouraging the
greater participation of the rural poor in decision-making and improving their
access to social and productive assets for better livelihoods. The target groups
were smallholders, the landless, indigenous groups, people with disabilities,
and women especially. Other important activities comprised: capacity building
and information support covering rural youth; biotechnology/biosafety;
agricultural and rural education; extension and communication. Within the
framework of the FAO Gender and Development Plan of Action (2002-2007), regional
priorities included the improvement of women’s access to productive
resources and household food security-related technologies; gender dimensions in
the management of agrobiodiversity; improving the database on rural women; and
distance education and the harnessing of information communication technologies
for the advancement of rural women.
Rural development
FAO supports the
Network for the Development of Agricultural Cooperatives (NEDAC) and the UN
System Network on Rural Development and Food Security. Networking continued in
collaboration with 19 governmental and CSO members of NEDAC covering 11 Asian
countries on agricultural cooperative development policies and strategies, and
capacity building in human resource development for small-scale enterprise
development.
In the context of cooperation
with civil society, framed within the follow up of the World Food Summit:
five years later and the parallel NGO Forum for Food Sovereignty held in
Rome in 2002, a decentralized implementation of the cooperation between the
International NGO/CSO Planning Committee (IPC) and FAO was institutionalized at
FAO-RAP in 2003 through the establishment of an NGO/CSO working group. The first
FAO-RAP/Subregional Office for the Pacific Islands (SAPA)/IPC joint planning
meeting was held in July 2003. The planning meeting initiated a process of
dialogue between FAO-RAP/SAPA and IPC Asia; translated the FAO-IPC cooperation
framework into a workplan at the Asia-Pacific regional level; and consolidated
cooperation and clarified working arrangements between FAO-RAP/SAPA and IPC
Asia. The agreed workplan is being implemented and includes the 2004 NGO/CSO
consultation in Beijing, China.
Science and technology have
played a vital role in keeping agricultural production a step ahead of rapid
global population growth in the past four decades. RAP 2002/02 outlines the
desirable features of a new technological revolution that is needed to tackle
the persisting hunger and poverty in Asia and the Pacific in the new millennium,
while cautioning against pitfalls.
RAP 2002/05 Case study on
educational opportunities for hill tribes in northern Thailand notes the
need for improved participation of and communication with the indigenous people
in planning and implementing the support activities; local curriculum
development; local capacity building; and closer coordination among the multiple
government support programmes for the hill tribes, as well as collaboration
among government agencies and NGOs.
A handbook for trainers on
participatory local development: The Panchayati Raj model in India (RAP
publication 2003/ 07) describes and supports the world’s biggest endeavour
in grassroots governance taking place in India. Some 238 000 Panchayats
(village councils) representing about 600 000 villages have been
constituted. Preparing the Panchayat members for their new roles as local
decision-makers calls for education and training on a massive scale, for which
adapted training methods and tools are needed. Although this handbook is
designed for the training needs of all categories of local functionaries
associated with the decentralization process in India, it provides guidance on
core issues in institutional capacity building for local development planning,
useful for other developing countries within the region.
There are an estimated 400
million persons with disabilities in Asia and the Pacific. The vast majority
live in rural areas and are small farmers dependent on the agricultural sector
for food and livelihood security. A handbook for training of disabled on
rural enterprise development (RAP 2003/09) identifies income-generating
opportunities for setting up small-scale businesses so that they may become
self-reliant while remaining in their community. It is based on an innovative
entrepreneurship training programme developed by FAO, enabling small farmers
with disabilities to overcome social, cultural and psychological hurdles to
becoming successful, self-employed rural entrepreneurs. Case studies of farmers
with disabilities are provided throughout, highlighting specific problems
encountered by the farmers and how they overcame their disabilities to become
successful entrepreneurs and, in some cases, decided to share their knowledge by
training others.
Senior professionals from 14
Asian countries, leading international research institutions, agencies and
regional NGOs met at the FAO regional office in July 2002 to review the changing
role and demands of agricultural extension in the region. Experts and officials
from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Nepal,
Pakistan, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam
produced a plan of action that included modalities, strategies and lessons
suitable for application to regional/national conditions (see RAP
2003/13).
Two national workshops on
Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems for Rural Development were held
in Malaysia and Pakistan to share findings on national case studies.
A TCP project on farming
systems was implemented in Vanuatu; the project includes capacity building and
extension.
A study relating to extension
training needs in a small island country was undertaken in Samoa.
Women in development
In Thailand,
policy guidelines were developed to improve rural women’s access to
technologies for poverty alleviation. A directory of institutions to facilitate
access to technology and information services and a technology resource manual
were published. A policy publication Gender responsive technology for poverty
alleviation in Thailand was produced.
Also in Thailand, support was
given for the training of trainers in agricultural cooperative development,
including capacity building of 8 000 village-level women farmers’ groups as
rural entrepreneurs under the government’s pro-poor rural enterprise
development policy, known as One Tambon, One Product. Savings and credit
unions by hill tribes were strengthened through village group enterprise
development. Training manuals in Thai and in English were published.
On 19 December 2003 Prime
Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand received the Ceres Medal from FAO in
recognition of her commitment to promoting international partnership and food
security towards a safe and just world. Since 1971 the Ceres Medal has been
awarded to distinguished women who have contributed to the fight against hunger.
Recipients have included, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina of Bangladesh, Panamanian
President Mireya Moscoso and former Brazilian First Lady Ruth Cardoso, as well
as the late Mother Teresa.
In Cambodia, a national
strategy on integration of rural women through interministerial collaboration
was developed and project interventions were directed at strengthening the
capacity of rural women to improve productivity.
In Viet Nam, policy directives
were developed to advise the government on integration of women in transitional
economies. A publication Gender dimensions in the transitional economy of
Viet Nam was produced.
Strategies were developed to
improve rural women’s education through distance education and to
facilitate development opportunities for rural women through information and
communication technologies. Three country case studies on distance education and
rural women were completed (India, the Philippines and Sri Lanka). A regional
publication Rural women and distance learning: regional strategies (RAP
2003/15) was produced.
A regional
consultation on Rural Women in Knowledge Society and a global dialogue on Women
in the Agriculture Profession were organized. A publication Rural women in
knowledge society (RAP 2003/16) was released.
Regional studies were
completed on gender dimensions in agrobiodiversity and food security.
Publications were produced on this theme for three countries (the Philippines,
India and Myanmar).
Two projects in Vanuatu and
the Cook Islands in support of rural women’s access to technology and
extension services were prepared.
Education, research, communications, youth
Support was
provided to the FAO/ UNESCO Education for all (EFA) flagship programme on
Education for Rural People (EFP). Three case studies in China, India and
Thailand were completed and included in a publication entitled Education for
rural development: Towards new policies responses, which presents new
perspectives on education for rural development. This work considers basic
education in primary schools to be a priority, but also emphasizes professional
training and higher education, based on experiences in Africa, Asia, and Latin
America.
Senior Asian government
officials from ministries of agriculture and education who are responsible for
education and training policy and planning, along with representatives from
NGOs, discussed planning and policy issues relevant to education for rural
development in the region at the FAO/UNESCO Seminar on Education for Rural
Development and Food Security in Asia: Experiences and Policy in Bangkok,
Thailand in November 2002. Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam were invited to
attend.
FAO’s Feeding minds,
fighting hunger projects were implemented in India, Indonesia and Nepal to
sensitize schools, communities and youth in addressing problems of hunger and
malnutrition.
One of the most crucial
elements for satisfying basic learning needs of rural populations, is expanding
access to education and improving school attendance in rural areas by promoting
or supporting initiatives aiming at improving children’s health, providing
food for children, easing the financial burden on parents who usually have to
feed their children, and in some cases generating income for the school, such as
school canteens and school gardens, fish ponds and raising of animals. (Other
important areas for support are: the use of information and communication
technology, and distance learning education; education of rural girls and women;
and lifelong education and skills for life in a rural environment.). Donations
from the public to FAO’s TeleFood campaign, fund small, self-contained
agricultural, livestock and fishery projects that help poor families produce
more food for their families and communities. In Asia, 10 TeleFood projects in
four countries (Cambodia, India, Mongolia and Thailand) provide inputs to rural
schools. They are an example of the efforts and alliances needed for ensuring
food for all.
In June 2003, Hiroyuki Konuma
visited Ubon Ratchathani Province in northeastern Thailand to present inputs
worth US$5 000 to schools under HRH Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s Agriculture
for school lunch programme. FAO attaches great importance to this crucial
royally sponsored programme, and the recent initiative of the Thai prime
minister to provide supplementary feeding to vulnerable primary school pupils.
Other school feeding programmes in Thailand supported from TeleFood are:
Remote area protein production in schools and the community in Tak province
and Sustainable production of protein resources by livestock raising in
remote area schools.
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