The e-Consultation on Hunger, Food and Nutrition Security
Update:
Third phase of the thematic consultation on food and nutrition security
High level Consultation hosted by the Governments of Spain and Colombia
Madrid, April 4th
A Vision and Building Blocks for a Global Agenda EN/ES/FR
Background and Agenda of the Madrid High-Level Consultation EN/ES
Joint Chairs and co-Leads Synthesis Report of the Meeting EN/ES/FR
Remarks of the Secretary-General of the UN
Report on the Event with Pictures
How stakeholders’ comments received were addressed in the final phase of the Consultation
The FAO-WFP led thematic consultation on food and nutrition security consists of three phases, meant to engage the broadest range of possible actors, and collecting their views on both lessons learned from MDGs as well as on the Post 2015 Development Agenda.
- An on line discussion, moderated by the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum), which yielded an Issues Paper available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish
- WFP-FAO convened consultation of the Committee on World Food Security stakeholders, which refining the emerged issues in the on line consultation and yielded a vision and building blocks for a global agenda
-
A High level consultation hosted by the Governments of Spain and Colombia, to be held in Madrid on April 4th
Background and Agenda of the Madrid High-Level Consultation
WFP-FAO convened consultation of the Committee on World Food
Security stakeholders
11th February 2013 – This meeting aimed at refining the emerged issues in the on line consultation and define key messages for the Post 2015 Framework on Food Security and Nutrition.
Read the Co-Chair’s Summary of the meeting
To watch a recording of the event please follow the link:
http://webcast.fao.org/20130211-ESW-floor
Also available in english / french / spanish / arabic / chinese / russian
Written contributions to the WFP-FAO convened consultation of the Committee on World Food Security stakeholders:
- Government of Spain
- UN Women
- International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty
- Government of Japan
- Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on the right to food
- Government of Switzerland
- United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition
- Government of the Netherlands
- Civil Society organisations
- Private Sector Mechanism
This is YOUR OPPORTUNITY to contribute to this global debate
As the target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approaches, a number of processes have been put in place to seek inputs from country, regional and global levels, into the “Post-2015 Development Agenda and Framework”. For more background information click here.
This is your opportunity to help identify the actions, goals, targets and indicators needed to achieve food and nutrition security, and the eradication of hunger, in a post-2015 world. Many food security and nutrition policies, strategies and action plans have been written over the past number of years. Challenges and opportunities towards achieving food and nutrition security in a sustainable way have been identified, and many countries are making good progress. Nevertheless, close to 870 million people around the world remain undernourished and do not have access to a healthy diet. It is time for everyone to take urgent action – in a concerted manner – and to elaborate a new development agenda around lasting concerns of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.
The outcome of this e-consultation, together with the proposed CFS consultation, will feed into the high level consultation to be hosted by the Government of Spain in March 2013.
Ultimately, your contributions will feed into the UN General Assembly discussions beginning September 2013 for the elaboration of an agreed post 2015 global development agenda.
E-Consultation – the next 4 weeks
Over the next four weeks, FAO and WFP will facilitate this e-consultation in drawing on the widest possible group of stakeholders and interested parties on how best to address hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition at all levels, and to seek your inputs on the elaboration of a new agenda for action beyond the current MDG framework.
We also invite you to submit papers, findings, or on-going work on the topic of hunger, food and nutrition security.
We seek your inputs on the following three themes:
Theme 1:
What do you see as the key lessons learned during the current Millennium Development Goals (MDG) Framework (1990-2015), in particular in relation to the MDGs of relevance to hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition?
What do you consider the main challenges and opportunities towards achieving food and nutrition security in the coming years?
Theme 2:
What works best? Drawing on existing knowledge, please tell us how we should go about addressing the hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition challenges head on.
Provide us with your own experiences and insights. For example, how important are questions of improved governance, rights-based approaches, accountability and political commitment in achieving food and nutrition security?
Furthermore, how could we best draw upon current initiatives, including the Zero Hunger Challenge, launched by the UN Secretary General at the Rio+20 UN Conference on Sustainable Development (www.zerohungerchallenge.org), and the Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition elaborated by the CFS?
Theme 3:
For the Post-2015 Global Development Framework to be complete, global (and regional or national) objectives, targets and indicators will be identified towards tackling hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. A set of objectives has been put forward by the UN Secretary-General under Zero Hunger Challenge (ZHC):
a. 100% access to adequate food all year round
b. Zero stunted children less than 2 years old
c. All food systems are sustainable
d. 100% increase in smallholder productivity and income
e. Zero loss or waste of food.
Please provide us with your feedback on the above list of objectives – or provide your own proposals. Should some objectives be country-specific, or regional, rather than global? Should the objectives be time-bound?
Sponsor
This thematic discussion is led by FAO and WFP in collaboration with “The World We Want”.
The consultation is facilitated by the Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)
The lessons learnt are that for potential solutions to the food crisis to be realised, flagrant violations of all human rights, including the rights to food must be recognised and prevented, and that participation of all stakeholders – including vulnerable women, youth, indigenous people and other marginalised population groups – in the formulation, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all development planning and programmes results in fairer access to means of production and better dividends for the poor from national economic growth.
Among the key lessons learnt from all available indices is that in a world that is richer than ever before and that already produces more than enough food to feed the global population, we need political solutions, rather than complicated technical solutions to get rid of hunger. The global food crisis has reinforced two issues about the future of agriculture: the first is that a growing world population, higher incomes and changes in diet are pushing up global demand for food faster than farmers can supply it, and the second is that throwing up new barriers to farm trade on this congested planet is not the path to solution. Getting rid of hunger should therefore not only be a question of finding resources and developing new technologies. It is also a question of challenging structural inequities, imbalances in gender relations and other socio-economic inequalities. The overarching premise of my argument is that an integrative rights-based approach is sine qua non to effectively curtail hunger.
¿Qué funciona mejor?
En nuestro país, la Republica Dominicana fue creado en los años 80 el Instituto Nacional de Estabilización de Precios (INESPRE), con el objetivo de ofrecer a la población productos alimentarios a bajo precio por el hecho que se eliminaba la intermediación y de ese hecho, la población podía tener acceso a alimentos más baratos.
Esa iniciativa que promovía los mercados de productores directamente al consumidor tenía el merito de reducir las perdidas post-cosecha y de evitar la especulación, contribuyó a una reducción significativa del hambre no solo en las ciudades donde la población pudo obtener alimentos a mas bajo costo, si no en los campos donde el pequeño productor obtuvo un incremento de recursos por la venta de sus productos.
Esta experiencia cayó en desgracia fruto de los ataques de la todopoderosa corriente liberal que con el pretexto de que los productos alimenticios también debían obedecer al libre juego de la oferta y la demanda, condenando al hambre una parte importante de la población.
Me parece evidente que en países pobres, el comercio de los alimentos lejos de ser únicamente el resultado de la fría ley de la oferta y la demanda, debe ser considerado como prioritario por los gobiernos afín de brindar una protección a la población mas vulnerable.
En nuestros países, el desafío del hambre debe ser abordado por los gobiernos creando iniciativas para acercar productores y consumidores, aún a costo de contradecir los potentes sectores comerciales.
Como abordar la mal nutrición?
La mal nutrición tiene una importante dimensión cultural y educativa. Es sorprendente que los programas escolares en nuestros países carecen de Nutrición como materia fundamental y de instrucciones y programas sobre una nutrición adecuada.
Proponemos que la nutrición forme parte de los programas escolares al mismo nivel que las otras materias y desde la más temprana edad.
Además de la existencia de una ley sobre la seguridad alimentaria, necesitamos que el derecho a una alimentación suficiente y de calidad sea consagrado en la constitución como un derecho fundamental.
Julio BALBUENA, Ph.D.
We have to create market opportunities and then it will work itslef out.
The key lessons learnt is that not all planned systems can be implemented as planned due to either time lapse or need to change modalities. In our case, disability issues as well tend to hamper inclusive desires and often exclusive nurtured ways have to be combated or changed in order to have acceptable inclusive rights and opportunities targeted to beneficiaries; often what is desired and what is implemented do not have the same tune, the same time, and more or less those who fight to implement are not those who benefit. Changes take time and actors of change hardly are the real beneficiaries on the same being placed up for change.
MDG are a challenge that is taken up by governments only when they are well versed with the strategy and when actually it is tax payer money being used to build up on the goals with that of the development partners. This is when we realized that MDGs in themselves are a cross cutting issues depending each other for successful turnout. Making Hunger, Nutrition, Poverty, Illiteracy, Malnourishment, Meaningful agriculture rely on Education, Health, Agriculture, Social welfare to reach such goals. However, society and communities do not understand well these unless conformed in their specialized spheres of influence and often governmental channels are not looked with a kind face by the beneficiaries on the ground. These very cross cutting issues are for advanced minds and therefore total participation by all is limited to the many being led by a few giving gaps of corruptive elements taking their show on the same stage that otherwise would not have occurred if the beneficiary were literate enough to know their rights and opportunities within established laws and regulations.
A change of supervision in the programs causes changes that sometimes deter progressive elements and discourage continuance thus making initial investment measures redundant where manpower has to relocate in other spheres or work in other countries. Measurably is hard to pin investment returns as were viable enough nor sustainable as many programs have timelines that are not suitable for sustainability measures to be appreciated fully by all stakeholders. Government systems stag much on developing Management Information Systems MIS that often strategize earlier or later changes especially when financially squeezed or under financed. It is very hearty to note that nutrition efforts responses organizationally if civil society is given chance to be actors of change.
These past two years under the SUN movements guidance in Tanzania A partnership of Civil Organisations has been created to combat malnutrition that is called PANITA Partnership for Nutrition in Tanzania; many people now understand the basic core and what needs to be done easily via those they trust most on the ground, Civil Society and its organizations.
Estimados:
Soy un academico y un activista en DIDH comprometido, entre otras cosas, con la consecucion del derecho a la alimentacion para todos. A la vista del fracaso de las politicas experimentadas en los ultimos años para reducir a la mitad la cifra de hambrientos en el mundo conforme a los ODM, a mi juicio se impone cambiar drasticamente de estrategia.
Como jurista les reitero mi convicción de que solamente progresaremos si conseguimos establecer obligaciones más claras para los Estados y las Organizaciones internacionales en la lucha contra el hambre. Las directrices voluntarias no bastan. Pero se pueden aprovechar para la redacción de un (segundo) protocolo facultativo al Pacto Internacional de Derechos Economicos, Sociales y Culturales, enteramente dedicado a la regulación internacional del derecho a la alimentación. En tal protocolo se podrán precisar las obligaciones de los Estados, entre otras, la adopción de politicas publicas efectivas para la erradicacion del hambre tanto en sus respectivos paises como en el mundo, a través de la cooperación internacional para el desarrollo.
Adjunto para su informacion un trabajo de mi autoria sobre esta materia.
Cordiales saludos
Carlos
Dear Friends,
Government of India is in a process of enacting the National Food Security Act, as part of the efforts to eliminate hunger and food insecurity in India. But the main concern is that Government is strongly following a targeted approach; which means: a particular group of people will not be entitled for food security as per law; but a particular group called Primary Households (who are identified as poor) will be given subsidized food grain; where as another group called General Households will get smaller quantity of food grains at relatively higher prices. And rest will be leftout.
Please see the note attached.
Sachin Kumar Jain
India
Traditional Knowledge based agriculture and food and nutrition security in the Himalayan Region
This note looks into the traditional knowledge based agriculture and its relevance to enhance food and nutrition security in the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR). Traditional subsistence agriculture has been practiced in the IHR for the centuries, which carried enough food security and nutrition. There were many ethno-botanical plants – cultivated and wild, used as medicinal plants. Local health care system was dependent on this practice. This system was eco-friendly, obtaining high agro-biodiversity. In due course of time, as population increased tremendously and the impact of global changes fell on the traditional knowledge based cultivation of subsistence agriculture, the farmers of the region were more inclined towards cultivation of cash generating crops and largely for the cultivation of paddy and wheat. The entire shift in the cropping pattern and the reducing number of the farmers, which were engaged in the practice of traditional knowledge based agriculture, mostly on the valley regions and mid altitudes, the traditionally cultivated subsistence crops were no more in use in these areas.
Along with cultivation of paddy and wheat, chemical fertilizers were used largely to increase the production of crops. Until several years, it worked satisfactorily and supplied reasonable amount of food to the inhabitants but, this practice could not remain continue because, soil fertility started declined with increase in uses of chemical fertilizers. Meanwhile, the farmers also started cultivating various types of cash generating crops and fruits in different mountain niches. This practice too, did not earn any progress due to lack of market and transportation facilities.
Here, it is inevitable to discuss on the availability of cultivable land, upon which the further discussion will rely. The cultivable land in this region is below 12% of the total geographical area. Further, whatever the cultivable land is available; the landscape is steep and fragile and henceforth, soil erosion is high. The scope of extension of farmland on the mountain niche is too little. To feed the vast number of population, the present cultivable land and agricultural practices are not sufficient. Water resources are abundant but at the same time water availability for all purposes is less thus, water scarcity prevails everywhere.
Under such circumstances, what would be the possible measures to enhance food and nutritional security in this region are discussed below:
1. Agricultural practices are the main stay of the population and any practices other then agriculture and animal husbandry is just impossible because the slope and landscape do not permit to commence them.
2. Traditional knowledge based agriculture of subsistence crops should be retained for the two reasons: The first reason is its nutrition and medicinal values. Here, traditional subsistence crops can be grown in all climatic conditions and zones without requiring enough irrigation facility. Second, it is ecologically fit and obtains high agro-biodiversity.
3. About 75% of the geographical land is covered by vegetation where numbers of medicinal plants grow and many other non-timber forest products are found. These forest based products can be utilized largely for food security.
4. Along with subsistence agriculture, substantial cultivation of cash generating crops should be assured as the agro-climatic conditions in this region is considerably very suitable for cultivating them. This practice will also restore ecology and landscape and will prevent excessive soil erosion.
5. All above that the policy interventions for harnessing these niche based products more smoothly, are off course is the need of hours. Market facilities for selling medicinal plants and non timber forest products should be assured so that the farmers may enjoy the fruits of their hard work. There are instances when several times, farmers stopped cultivating medicinal plants only owing to non availability of market.
6. Irrigation is essential for rice and wheat crops, thus, water resource management, either through traditional wisdom or new technology, may enhance food productivity and thus food security.
With summing up, crop diversity is essential for food security in this region. This may be attended while opting the traditional wisdom as well as the current practices of agriculture.
Prof. Vishwambhar Prasad Sati
Dear FSN Forum participants,
In regard to the first theme of this consultation, there is an interesting document produced by the UN Task Team on the post 2015 development agenda with lessons learned from the overall MDG process. It summarises strengths and weaknesses - and provides useful lessons on how we can go about developing a better development agenda beyond 2015. It highlights the importance of a bottom-up approach, country-level consultations and the need to consider goals, targets and indicators that reflect continental, even country-level differences. It also recognises the importance of local conditions and the need to take into account the complexity of the development process.
These are all good points. The question is: how can these lessons help us do better in formulating the next longer term (25-year?) development agenda? The report does not say much about hunger, food security and nutrition issues. Hence, it would be good to hear from those of you working at country and regional levels on what are some of the specific lessons on this topic.
For example, to what extent has the hunger target under MDG1 been a useful instrument for achieving food and nutrition security objectives in your country or region? Are there other, more effective ways, of ensuring food security and nutrition concerns are brought to the top of the policy agenda? And, beyond policies and programmes, what will it take to make a real difference at household - or even individual - level?
The full MDG lessons learned report can be found here:
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/untaskteam_undf/mdg_assessment.pdf
Looking forward to a great discussion!
Mark Smulders, FAO/Rome
Please find attached my contribution for discussion. I would like to understand why the challenges of childhood hunger and malnutrition are given less space while policies, especially in the context of growth, are being prioritized.
Sachin Kumar Jain
India