The private sector and the fight against hunger
WFS:FYL PARALLEL EVENT - PRIVATE SECTOR FORUM

Rome, 12 June 2002

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are all gathered here at this time in Rome to confront one of the greatest challenges facing humanity at this beginning of millennium: overcoming hunger. The World Food Summit: five years later was supposed to serve as the springboard for a future free from hunger thanks to the different development partners and, in particular, to those of the private sector, whom you represent here, today.

The representation of the private sector at the Summit was decisive, as nearly 500 of your national and international representatives participated.

Five years later, numerous indicators suggest that progress towards the objective set by the 1996 Summit is too slow. At the present pace of net reduction of 6 million undernourished people per year, it will take 45 additional years to reach the 1996 target of reducing the number of undernourished persons to 400 million.

We must therefore firmly establish the notion that hunger incurs huge economic cost: one-point loss of annual rate of economic growth, with loss of productivity, higher incidence of disease, and greater vulnerability of people, especially children.

Official development assistance continues to fall each year and the proportion to agriculture and rural development has shrunk by 50 percent since 1990. At the same time, the transfer of funds from the OECD countries to the rural populations of the developing countries amount to some 8 billion dollars per year, against over 300 billion to their own rural populations.

Structural adjustment, privatization and other important political and economic changes, such as globalization, have led to a reduced role for the State, with new players taking over, notably the private sector, the non-governmental organizations and civil society. FAO must support these players in their work and step up its cooperation with them.

The additional investment required to achieve the objectives of food security will have to come mainly from the private sector. All the studies have shown that very few countries have achieved rapid economic growth without preceding or accompanying agricultural growth.

However, private sector investment in the developing countries is strongly influenced by the governance, legal framework, financial services, and transport, communications and energy infrastructure.

Local entrepreneurs and multinationals need to be involved in the construction and development of such an economic and political environment.

Of equal note, all viable investment in the agricultural production of a developing country, financed by a private partner from a developed country, is assured of a ̉returnÓ in the form of purchase of inputs and payment of transport, processing or salaries of expatriate technical staff. Thus, contrary to preconceived ideas, the search for profit by private enterprise is not necessarily at odds with moral principle and humanitarian conduct. An enterprise is not an end in itself, but a means at the service of society.

At the international and national level, FAO has already entered into dialogue with the agro-food industry in order to jointly define food safety standards. Collaboration also exists for the development of sustainable agriculture using integrated control practices and improved systems of water management.

At the local level, partnership is pursued with small farmers of developing countries and operators of developed countries. These relations are most beneficial and can play a catalytic role in launching pilot projects, such as the Special Programme for Food Security and the TeleFood projects. This collaboration is also useful in creating a regulatory framework for quality of food products through the Codex Alimentarius. It would also be useful in the work against plant and animal disease carried out by the EMPRES prevention programme and in the implementation of plant and animal health standards.

The World Food Summit: five years later is, for you, the representatives of the private sector, a unique opportunity to contribute effectively and extensively to the fight against hunger and poverty, while at the same time enlarging your scope of activity and your markets.

Thank you for your kind attention.

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