Although the year 1996 was rich in momentous developments, the World Food Summit surely was among the major events of the year. The historic importance of the Summit should not be understated. Never before had leaders of the world gathered in such large numbers to work together for such a deserving cause.
The Summit has conveyed one fundamental message: although hundreds of millions of people around the world are still suffering from hunger and malnutrition, world food security is an achievable goal. Indeed, participants of the Summit committed themselves to halve the number of malnourished by the year 2015 at the latest. There is no doubt that securing food for all is an immense task. It is equally true, however, that no other endeavour can be compared in urgency with the achievement of world food security. This is so on moral grounds – freedom from hunger is a right of everyone, as was repeatedly emphasized at the Summit – but also because ensuring world food security is of critical interest to all, being a precondition for world peace and security.
We are confident that the Summit’s message has been heard. This optimism is derived from the fact that an impressive number of countries and parties, represented at the highest levels of technical competence and responsibility, worked together to make this meeting a success; heads of state and government unanimously endorsed the Rome Declaration and the World Food Summit Plan of Action, a realistic and necessary guide for defining and implementing food-related policies at the national and international levels; and many countries have already initiated activities aimed at translating the principles contained in the Plan of Action into specific policy action.
The State of Food and Agriculture this year reports that numerous concrete initiatives have recently been taken or strengthened to address the various dimensions of food security, including through formulating and coordinating the implementation of integrated food security programmes. We also welcome the fact that, after earlier positive signs, many poor countries have seen their prospects for food security further improve because of their success in creating a policy environment conducive to sustained economic and agricultural growth. Although economic and food security problems remain serious in Africa, the improvement made in much of the region over the past two years is most heartening in this respect. Furthermore, a number of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and Asia and the Pacific appear to have entered a phase of solidly based growth, sustained in many cases by a good performance of the agricultural sector. The fact that many economies that are crucially dependent on commodity exports have shown resilience to the weakening prices of several of these commodities since 1994-95 has been a significant and encouraging feature of the past year.
Despite these positive developments we cannot ignore the fact that, for many parts of the world, the current situation and future prospects are less than bright. The global economic environment demonstrates many positive features and favourable trends, but it also shows uncertainties and latent risks, including that of perpetuating or even accentuating inequities. The concept of globalization could become a threat for many economies and large segments of society that are facing increasing risks of marginalization. Many delegations at the World Food Summit raised the point that privatization, free market and foreign direct investment cannot obviate the need for development aid; yet such aid, including for agricultural development, continues to shrink. Many countries continue to be ensnared by debt and therefore face major obstacles to creating a basis for sustainable growth or an environment that attracts foreign capital. Many others find it impossible to gain competitiveness to the extent and at the speed required by the rising tide of free trade. In these circumstances, it is hardly surprising that income and food security gaps among countries have tended to widen in recent years, as indicated in this publication.
This year’s special chapter of The State of Food and Agriculture focuses on the agroprocessing industry and its symbiotic links with economic and agricultural and rural development. The problem of food security is also related in a significant measure to the efficient processing and distribution of agricultural products. Agroprocessing industries represent in many countries an important component of overall economic activity and trade, as well as being a sizeable source of employment and income and, thus, access to food. The special chapter explores the rapidly changing conditions for agroprocessing development in the face of factors such as liberalizing world markets, technological innovation, changing patterns of consumption and the increasing importance of international capital activities in agro-industry. It focuses on the implications of these trends and issues for the developing countries and explores the policy lines that might optimize agro-industry’s contribution to sustainable economic and agricultural development.
Jacques Diouf
DIRECTOR-GENERAL
The State of Food and Agriculture 1997 was prepared by a team from the Agriculture and Economic Development Analysis Division, led by F.L. Zegarra and comprising J. Skoet, L. Glassco and S. Teodosijevic. Secretarial support was provided by S. Di Lorenzo and P. Di Santo. Statistical and research support was provided by G. Arena and P.L. Iacoacci.
Contributions and background papers for the World review were prepared by M. Palmieri (Forestry: production and trade), FAO Fisheries Department (Fisheries: catch, disposition and trade), L. Naiken and P. Narain (External assistance to agriculture), D. Vanzetti (Global climate change abatement policies: implications for developing countries), R. Stringer and L. Drewery (Raising women’s productivity in agriculture) and S.M. Braatz (Forests in a global context). The sections on food shortages and emergencies, the cereal market situation, food aid and international agricultural prices were prepared by the staff of the Commodities and Trade Division units supervised by J. Greenfield, P. Fortucci, W. Lamadé, A. Rashid and H. Ryan.
Contributions and background papers for the Regional review were prepared by P. Bonnard (Angola and Mozambique), D.H. Brooks (Asia and the Pacific), L. Glassco (Bangladesh), S. Hafeez (Near East and North Africa), J. Budavari (Central and Eastern Europe) and W. Liefert (Russian Federation).
The special chapter, Agroprocessing industry and economic development, was prepared by J. Skoet with contributions from P. Scandizzo, M. Spinedi and P. De Castro.
The State of Food and Agriculture 1997 was edited by R. Tucker. The graphics were prepared by G. Maxwell, the layout by M. Criscuolo with G. Ancona and S. Fava, cover and illustrations by O. Bolbol.
ACPC
Association of Coffee Producing Countries
APRA
American Popular Revolutionary Alliance (Peru)
AsDB
Asian Development Bank
ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
BADC
Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation
CAC
Codex Alimentarius Commission
CAP
Common Agricultural Policy
CEFTA
Central European Free Trade Agreement
CGIAR
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
CIS
Commonwealth of Independent States
COMESA
Common Market for East and Southern Africa
CPI
Consumer price index
CSD
Commission on Sustainable Development (UN)
DAC
Development Assistance Committee
DES
Dietary energy supply
ECLAC
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
EHDAEs
Economies highly dependent on agricultural exports
ERSAP
Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Programme (Egypt)
ESAF
Enhanced structural adjustment facility
EU
European Union
FAC
Food Aid Convention
FDI
Foreign direct investment
FRELIMO
Frente para a Libertação de Moçambique
GCC
Gulf Cooperation Council
GCMs
General circulation models
GDP
Gross domestic product
GNP
Gross national product
HIPCs
Heavily indebted poor countries
HYVs
High-yielding varieties
IBRD
International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICAC
International Cotton Advisory Committee
IDA
International Development Association
IEFR
International Emergency Food Reserve
IFAD
International Fund for Agricultural Development
IFPRI
International Food Policy Research Institute
IMF
International Monetary Fund
IRRI
International Rice Research Institute
ISA
International Sugar Agreement
ISIC
International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (UN)
LIFDCs
Low-income food-deficit countries
MERCOSUR
Southern Common Market
MMA
Minimum market access
MP
Muriate of potash
MPLA
Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola
MVA
Manufacturing value added
NGO
Non-governmental organization
NIEs
Newly industrializing economies
OECD
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OPEC
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
PRE
Economic Rehabilitation Programme (Mozambique)
PRESA
Programa de Reactivación Agropecuaria y Seguridad Alimentaria (Peru)
PRONAA
Programa Nacional de Ayuda a la Alimentación (Peru)
PSE
Producer subsidy equivalent
RENAMO
Resistência Nacional Moçambicana
SAARC
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
SADC
Southern African Development Community
SARD
Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
TSP
Triple superphosphate
UNCED
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
UNCTAD
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNDP
United Nations Development Programme
UNEP
United Nations Environment Programme
UNIDO
United Nations Industrial Development Organization
UNITA
União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola
WAEMU
West African Economic and Monetary Union
WFP
World Food Programme
WHO
World Health Organization
WTO
World Trade Organization
The following symbols are used:
- = none or negligible (in tables)
... = not available (in tables)
$ = US dollars
The following forms are used to denote years or groups of years:
1996/97 = a crop, marketing or fiscal year running from one calendar year to the next
1996-97 = the average for the two calendar years
Unless otherwise indicated, the metric system is used in this publication.
"Billion" = 1 000 million.
Figures in statistical tables may not add up because of rounding. Annual changes and rates of change have been calculated from unrounded figures.
Production indices
The FAO indices of agricultural production show the relative level of the aggregate volume of agricultural production for each year in comparison with the base period 1989-91. They are based on the sum of price-weighted quantities of different agricultural commodities after the quantities used as seed and feed (similarly weighted) have been deducted. The resulting aggregate therefore represents disposable production for any use except seed and feed.
All indices, whether at the country, regional or world level, are calculated by the Laspeyres formula. Production quantities of each commodity are weighted by 1989-91 average international commodity prices and summed for each year. To obtain the index, the aggregate for a given year is divided by the average aggregate for the base period 1989-91.
Trade indices
The indices of trade in agricultural products are also based on the base period 1989-91. They include all the commodities and countries shown in the FAO Trade Yearbook. Indices of total food products include those edible products generally classified as "food".
All indices represent changes in current values of exports (free on board [f.o.b.]) and imports (cost, insurance, freight [c.i.f.]), expressed in US dollars. When countries report imports valued at f.o.b., these are adjusted to approximate c.i.f. values.
Volumes and unit value indices represent the changes in the price-weighted sum of quantities and of the quantity-weighted unit values of products traded between countries. The weights are, respectively, the price and quantity averages of 1989-91, which is the base reference period used for all the index number series currently computed by FAO. The Laspeyres formula is used to construct the index numbers.
Geographical designations
The Annex Table shows the regions and groupings in which countries are classified for statistical purposes.
Developing countries include those in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Near East and North Africa1 and Asia and the Pacific.2 The countries in transition are classified as developed countries.3
Country and city designations used in this publication are those current during the period in which the data were prepared.
1 The Near East and North Africa includes: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.2 Asia and the Pacific also includes the former Asian centrally planned economies: Cambodia, China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mongolia and Viet Nam.
3 The "countries in transition" include:Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Yugoslavia and the newly independent republics, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.