World Food Day Address by the FAO Director-General at UN Headquarters

Theme: "International Alliance Against Hunger"

New York, Dag Hammarskjold Auditorium, 17 October 2003

Excellencies,
Dear young girls and young boys,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to thank you all for being here with us to mark the 23rd observance of World Food Day.

World Food Day commemorates the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations on 16 October 1945, as the world faced the spectre of hunger and starvation at the end of the Second World War. FAO’s task is to ensure freedom from hunger for all mankind.

World Food Day is an occasion for reflection. Current estimates indicate that 840 million human beings on our Earth remain hungry, 800 million of them in the developing world and around 10 million in countries in transition. That figure represents a decrease of 2.5 million per year over the last eight years. It is true that the decline in the rate is far from sufficient to reach the World Food Summit goal of cutting by half the number of hungry by 2015. In fact, at the current rate, we will only reach the targeted level in 2150, about one hundred and forty years later.

However, we must have hope. I believe that we are now at the threshold of the end of this long struggle against global hunger.

There are three reasons for being hopeful about the future.

First of all, never before in the history of the world, has so much food been produced. If all the food produced this year were divided equally among the world’s inhabitants, global food production would provide each person with 2800 calories per day, an increase of 17 percent over levels 30 years ago. And this has been possible despite the fact that over the same period the population has grown by 70 percent.

Even in developing countries, where population has doubled, per capita food production has still increased by 30 percent over the past 30 years.

Secondly, there is now a broad international consensus that hunger and poverty must end. In June 2002, the international community met in Rome, on the occasion of the World Food Summit: five years later, to examine the persistent problem of hunger. 179 world leaders agreed unanimously to make a strong push towards fulfilling the earlier promises made in 1996 to achieve a significant reduction in the number of persons who go to bed hungry.

In Rome, world leaders were very clear. In the final Declaration of the World Food Summit: five years later, which is entitled “International Alliance against Hunger”, they recognized that governments alone cannot resolve the problem of hunger. In fact, it is only through the strong and uncompromising efforts of civil society acting in concert with the elected political leaders that this issue can be dealt with in a meaningful way.

I trust that the “International Alliance” will become a reality when partnerships are formed between food producers and consumers, local governments and community organizations, scientists, academics, religious groups, NGOs and policymakers, to work together at the national level in practical ways to help vulnerable groups and particularly disadvantaged small farmers to emerge from the hunger trap.

The private sector should be fully included in this process. Some private firms have simple, sustainable technologies for agricultural production, food processing and storage that can be transferred to help rural communities grow food, create jobs, raise incomes and reduce poverty. There are many private firms, who if called upon, will contribute technology, research and know-how as well as skilled human resources to helping this important cause.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

The third reason for my optimism today is that during the past year a number of countries have boldly put the fight against hunger at the forefront of national priorities. The leaders of these countries have embarked on programmes which translate verbal commitments to fight hunger into practical programmes that address the obstacles to ensuring the right to adequate food.

I bring to you today a strong message of hope that, together through an “International Alliance against Hunger”, governments, civil society, farmers’ organizations, private sector firms, financial institutions and a range of other partners will create a broad global coalition to deal with this problem. Everyone must be part of the solution.

A great deal can be learnt from the experiences of countries which have been successful in the fight against hunger. Many of the countries that are making rapid and broad-based progress in reducing hunger have applied a combination of measures. They have put in place programmes to improve the performance of smallholder agriculture, for example by improving infrastructure, access to farm supplies, storage, marketing and credit.

At the same time, they apply more direct measures to address urgent hunger needs, like food-for-work programmes, school feeding programmes and other safety nets. These programmes are directed to the poorest and most vulnerable members of the population.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Let us not forget that three-quarters of the poor live in rural areas and derive their livelihoods from agriculture or related activities. Investment in agriculture is therefore key to sustainable economic development. And yet, insufficient attention has been paid to small rural farmers who are key to feeding the poorest and hungriest, especially women who represent the majority of small farmers and yet are often denied access to essential resources like land, water and credit.

If rich countries really want to play their part, they must also continue to address distorting trade policies that keep developing nations from participating fully in agricultural trade.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On this 23rd World Food Day marking the 58th anniversary of FAO, I call on everyone – world leaders, governments, civil society organizations, the scientific community, the private sector, international organizations and the general public – to join in the “International Alliance against Hunger”, to mobilize their energies to fight hunger. For there can be no hope of a just, peaceful and prosperous world when 840 million of our fellow citizens do not have enough food to keep them alive and healthy.

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