Clayton Campanhola, Director of FAO's Plant Production and Protection Division, appreciated the pioneering efforts of experts from national programmes and other international and regional organizations in preparation of these standards.

The Genebank Standards are voluntary but have a universal value and utility in guiding genebank management for seeds, for germplasm maintained in field collections, as well as conserved through cryopreservation and in vitro culture. They were developed in response to the new technical advances and the increased coverage of plant diversity collections. A systematic application of these standards will require mobilization of financial resources for upgrading professional skills in developing countries.

The Genebank Standards will be available in all UN official languages.

Sekandi met with Graziano da Silva on behalf of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, during the FAO chief's one-day visit to Uganda.

Graziano da Silva commended the government of Uganda for its leadership in the country's efforts to improve agricultural development and climate change mitigation. He also pointed out that Uganda needs a major boost in agriculture to accelerate development. The agriculture sector employs more than 80 percent of Uganda's population.

"We agreed that for the agriculture sector to grow, Ugandans need to support both the small-scale rural subsistence farmers as well as building the bridge for small scale farmers who want to go into commercial farming," said the Director-General, who pledged FAO's support in transforming the country's agriculture sector.

Although Uganda generally has food, its food security and nutrition situation continues to face challenges, such as unequal food distribution and pockets of food insecurity in areas like Karamoja, in the northeast. Efforts, therefore, need to be made to ensure that nutritious food is well distributed and consumed in all parts of Uganda.

Priority areas and activities

Since 1981, FAO has been working with the Government of Uganda to design and implement policies and programmes aimed at eradicating the root causes of hunger, malnutrition and poverty, develop farmer organizations, study storage capabilities, and improve integrated water management systems and water harvesting.

FAO is currently implementing the  Country Programming Framework (2010-2014), which outlines priority areas and activities for FAO's assistance to Uganda, in support of the government's national development policy objectives in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, forestry, natural resources, and rural development.

Women and food security

As the world community observed International Women's Day, Graziano da Silva lamented that, in spite of the major role played by women in producing food and feeding their families, little attention has been paid to the key role rural women play in ensuring decent livelihoods for their households. 

"We will continue to support FAO member governments, including Uganda, in helping cooperatives and producer organizations to thrive, by developing adequate policies, legal frameworks, economic incentives, capacity building, and forums for dialogue on policy making," the FAO Director-General declared in a press conference.

In fulfilling its mandate to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty in sustainable ways, FAO generates evidence, knowledge and good practices which support the emergence of more self-reliant, inclusive, gender-equitable, and market-oriented producer organizations and cooperatives.

While in Uganda, Graziano da Silva met government officials and representatives of the private sector, academia, farmer organizations, and civil society, with whom he discussed the status of Uganda's agricultural sector, their respective contributions and the need for further assistance, especially through FAO.

In discussions with ministers, he underscored the importance of multi-sectoral and inter-ministerial coordination in tackling obstacles to agricultural development.

In order to improve the performance of small-scale and commercial farmers in the agriculture sector, Graziano da Silva emphasized the importance of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, and said the country needs to urgently start a process of implementing the guidelines. This process would involve civil society and the private sector.

They agreed they should start this process with FAO's support.

According to the FAO Director-General, Malawi has made important progress against hunger: “It is on track to meet the first Millennium Development Goal and can realistically set even higher targets.”

However, he recalled that the country still faces many challenges and that many of them are immediate.
 
“As President Banda pointed out, late rains in the current agricultural season put additional pressure on food security especially in the southern region,” he said.

Banda, Graziano da Silva and Piebalgs also discussed how Malawi could benefit from the experiences of and lessons learned from other countries in tackling hunger and malnutrition, such as the Brazilian Zero Hunger Strategy. President Banda welcomed the proposal and also gave her support to the partnership between FAO, the African Union and Instituto Lula to intensify efforts to end hunger in Africa.

Graziano da Silva and the EU Commissioner are also visiting several EU and FAO projects during their stay in Malawi. In Chingonthi, for example, FAO supports a community grain storage project that aims to reduce post-harvest losses of maize by improving storage facilities and marketing.

The communities will receive further support and training to ultimately become cooperatives, so that they can scale up their farming activities with better market integration.  

"In many countries the potential of agroforestry to enrich farmers, communities and industry has not been fully exploited," said Eduardo Mansur, Director of FAO's Forest Assessment, Management and Conservation Division. "Despite the numerous benefits of agroforestry, the sector is largely hampered by adverse policies, legal constraints and lack of coordination between the sectors to which it contributes, namely, agriculture, forestry, rural development, environment and trade."

New opportunities provided by agroforestry are emerging, for example, within the miombo woodlands of central, eastern and southern Africa, which cover three million square kilometers over 11 countries and  contribute significantly to the livelihoods of some 100 million low-income people. Among these new opportunities is the potential to curb greenhouse gas emissions by slowing forest conversion to farmland and to sequester carbon in trees on farms, as a result of the financial incentives offered by carbon trade and the REDD+ initiative.  Similarly, the expansion of natural regeneration of over five million hectares of dry degraded land in Niger will contribute to mitigating climate change and increase rural income.

Policy action

The guide provides ten major tracks for policy action, including: raising awareness of agroforestry systems to farmers and the global community; reforming unfavourable regulations in forestry, agricultural and rural codes; and clarifying land-use policy regulations.

The latter does not necessarily mean formal land titling. Research has found that some customary forms of tenure provide the security to plant trees, while reducing the formalities and costs of administration.

Providing environmental services

Farmers introducing trees on farms should be rewarded for the ecosystem services they provide to society through financial or other incentives in the form of grants, tax exemptions, cost sharing programmes, microcredits or delivery in kind, especially extension services and infrastructure development, according to the guide.

Long-term credit is also crucial, as benefits to farmers planting trees reach them only after some years. The value of carbon sequestered and other environmental services provided by the trees could even be applied to paying the interest.

In Costa Rica, a national forestry financing fund assigned in 1996 by law to subsidize forestry activities was extended in 2001 and 2005 to agroforestry systems combining crops, trees and cattle. Over the last eight years, more than 10,000 contracts have been signed for agroforestry, which resulted in planting of more than 3.5 million trees on farms.

The guide was developed by FAO in cooperation with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Centre (CATIE) and the Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD).

"Latin America and the Caribbean have understood this and this was the first region to take on the challenge of fully eradicating hunger and not only diminishing it, by launching the Hunger Free Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative in 2005", he added.

Graziano da Silva highlighted the many initiatives that have emerged in the region, such as Hunger Zero in Brazil and the Crusade Against Hunger in Mexico - launched this week - which will help more than 7.4 million Mexicans living in extreme poverty and food insecurity.

"When a country decides to say 'no more hunger', the improvements that can be achieved are surprising," said the FAO Director General.

Graziano also highlighted the fact that Antigua and Barbuda has joined the UN Zero Hunger Challenge: Zero Hunger in Antigua and Barbuda has the full support of the FAO, and other agencies such as the World Food Programme (WFP), the World Bank, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA),  the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as well as the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM).

Latin America on the front line  against hunger

Latin America and the Caribbean has become a benchmark in the global fight against hunger. In the last 20 years, 16 million people have ceased to suffer hunger in the region.

 In 1990-1992 hunger affected 14.6 percent of the population, or 65 million people, while in 2010-2012, it affected only 8.3 percent, or 49 million people. Add to this significant legislative advances: currently seven countries in the region already have food security laws, while another ten are developing legislation on the matter.

Hunger in the region is fundamentally a problem of access to food and not of food availability, Graziano said: "Latin America and the Caribbean, with a population of 600 million people, produces enough food to feed 750 million people. However, 49 million of the current population still suffer hunger," he said.

The Hunger Free Latin America and the Caribbean 2025 Initiative has provided strong support to this process by promoting the fight against hunger and the realization of the right to food, with action such as the creation of Parliamentary Fronts Against Hunger, which already exist in 14 countries

Tackling food waste

"A sustainable world requires not only that production be sustainable, but also consumption," said the Director General of the FAO.

Graziano da Silva said that globally, a third of all food produced is wasted, and he stressed that if one could avoid this waste "it would be possible to feed all the hungry people and have food to spare."

In Latin America and the Caribbean, losses and waste of food for retail during the production phase reach 200 kg per capita per year. At the consumer level, 25 kilos per capita per year are wasted. In cereal production, losses reach 30 percent of the grains produced, 40 percent of roots and tubers, 55 percent of fruits and vegetables, 20 percent of meat, almost 30 percent of fish and seafood, and more than 20 percent of dairy products.

The Think.Eat.Save. Reduce Your Foodprint campaign is in support of the SAVE FOOD Initiative to reduce food loss and waste along the entire chain of food production and consumption - run by the FAO and trade fair organizer Messe Düsseldorf - and the UN Secretary General's Zero Hunger Initiatives. The new campaign specifically targets food wasted by consumers, retailers and the hospitality industry.

The campaign harnesses the expertise of organizations such as WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), Feeding the 5,000 and other partners, including national governments, who have considerable experience targeting and changing wasteful practices.

Think.Eat.Save. aims to accelerate action and provide a global vision and information-sharing portal for the many and diverse initiatives currently underway around the world.

Worldwide, about one-third of all food produced, worth around $1 trillion, gets lost or wasted in food production and consumption systems, according to data released by FAO. Food loss occurs mostly at the production stages - harvesting, processing and distribution - while food waste typically takes place at the retailer and consumer end of the food-supply chain.

"In a world of seven billion people, set to grow to nine billion by 2050, wasting food makes no sense - economically, environmentally and ethically," said UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.

"Aside from the cost implications, all the land, water, fertilizers and labour needed to grow that food is wasted - not to mention the generation of greenhouse gas emissions produced by food decomposing on landfill and the transport of food that is ultimately thrown away," he added. "To bring about the vision of a truly sustainable world, we need a transformation in the way we produce and consume our natural resources."

"Together, we can reverse this unacceptable trend and improve lives. In industrialized regions, almost half of the total food squandered, around 300 million tonnes annually, occurs because producers, retailers and consumers discard food that is still fit for consumption," said José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General. "This is more than the total net food production of Sub-Saharan Africa, and would be sufficient to feed the estimated 870 million people hungry in the world."

"If we can help food producers to reduce losses through better harvesting, processing, storage, transport and marketing methods, and combine this with profound and lasting changes in the way people consume food, then we can have a healthier and hunger-free world," Graziano da Silva added.

The global food system has profound implications for the environment, and producing more food than is consumed only exacerbates the pressures, some of which follow:

• More than 20 per cent of all cultivated land, 30 per cent of forests and 10 per cent of grasslands are undergoing degradation;
• Globally 9 per cent of the freshwater resources are withdrawn, 70 per cent of this by irrigated agriculture;
• Agriculture and land use changes like deforestation contribute to more than 30 per cent of total global greenhouse gas emissions;
• Globally, the agri-food system accounts for nearly 30 per cent of end-user available energy;
• Overfishing and poor management contribute to declining numbers of fish, some 30 per cent of marine fish stocks are now considered overexploited.

Part of the trigger for the campaign was the outcome of the Rio+20 Summit in June 2012, in which Heads of State and governments gave the go-ahead for a 10-Year Framework of Programmes for Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) Patterns. Developing an SCP programme for the food sector must be a vital element of this framework, given the need to sustain the world's food production base, reduce associated environmental impacts, and feed a growing human population.

"There can be no other area that is perhaps so emblematic of the opportunities for a far more resource-efficient and sustainable world - and there is no other issue that can unite North and South and consumers and producers everywhere in common cause," said Mr. Steiner.

According to FAO, roughly 95 per cent of food loss and waste in developing countries are unintentional losses at early stages of the food supply chain due to financial, managerial and technical limitations in harvesting techniques; storage and cooling facilities in difficult climatic conditions; infrastructure; packaging and marketing systems.

However, in the developed world, the end of the chain is far more significant. At the food manufacturing and retail levels, large quantities of food are wasted due to inefficient practices, quality standards that over-emphasize appearance, confusion over date labels, and consumers being quick to throw away edible food due to over-buying, inappropriate storage and preparing meals that are too large.

Per-capita waste by consumers is between 95 and 115 kg a year in Europe and North America/Oceania, while consumers in sub-Saharan Africa, south and south-eastern Asia each throw away only 6 to 11 kg a year.

According to WRAP, the average UK family could save £680 per year ($1,090) and the UK hospitality sector could save £724 million ($1.2 billion) per year by tackling food waste.

"In the UK, we have shown how tackling food waste through engaging with consumers and establishing collective agreement with retailers and brands, reduces environmental pressures and aids economic growth," said Dr. Liz Goodwin, CEO of WRAP. "With a rising population, even more pressure is going to be put on resources, and we are excited to be a partner in UNEP and FAO's Think. Eat. Save. campaign, which is a great start to tackling food waste on a global scale."

In a similar vein for other parts of the world, the European Union is looking into the issue of food waste, and the European Commission has lent its weight to the new initiative.

"In the EU we have set ourselves a target to halve edible food waste by 2020 and to virtually eliminate landfilling by 2020; the Commission is planning to present ideas next year on the sustainability of the food system which will have a strong focus on food waste," said Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for the Environment.

"Less food waste would lead to more-efficient land use, better water resource management, more sustainable use of phosphorus, and it would have positive repercussions on climate change. Our work fits perfectly with the launch of this initiative," he added.

For the campaign to reach its huge potential, everyone has to be involved - families, supermarkets, hotel chains, schools, sports and social clubs, company CEOs, city Mayors, national and world leaders.

The campaign website provides simple tips to consumers and retailers, will allow users to make food waste pledges, and provides a platform for those running campaigns to exchange ideas and create a truly global culture of sustainable consumption of food.

• Improve information on drylands to support sustainable management of land and water resources.
• Scale up the sustainable intensification of agriculture and adapt production to climate change.
• Build resilience in rural communities and increase responsible investments in agriculture and rural development.
• Strengthen global food security governance, building on the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), the intergovernmental food policy body.

Since 2009, the EU has been supporting a wide-ranging initiative of the government and FAO to raise nutrition levels of the rural population and stimulate their economic growth potential, known as the Swaziland Agricultural Development Project (SADP), a 5-years programme funded with over €14 million of EU and almost €350 000 by FAO.

Although it was challenging to get such a complex project off the ground, Amadou Traoré, the EU's chargé d'affaires a.i. in Swaziland feels that things are moving in the right direction. "European taxpayers are willing to show their generosity," he says, "but especially now, when Europe itself experiences financial and economic difficulties, they want to see results." 

Louise McDonald, country program manager for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for Swaziland, says that SADP's achievements have strengthened collaboration between IFAD and FAO in assisting the government and smallholder farmers. "Together, we will work on bridging SADP's activities with a US$ 47 million program to be co-financed by IFAD", she says.

Smallholders

Fundamentally, SADP is all about smallholders, says Nehru Essomba, the project's Chief Technical Advisor: "You cannot tackle rural poverty, if you don't put the smallholder farmers first."

Connecting farmers to the market is a major challenge, Essomba says. So close to South Africa with its big scale producers, the environment is extremely competitive. SADP is setting up a €1 million Marketing Investing Fund, particularly to promote niche crops that offer small farmers a comparative advantage on the market place.

Equally important is to improve the environment in which the agricultural sector operates, both institutionally and physically. While major infrastructural rehabilitation works are being prepared, policies relating to research and extension are being updated and large scale capacity building of farmers, organisations and extension workers is underway.

At the same time, SADP helps spreading good agricultural practices, important for farmers to increase their productivity, while preserving the environment and lessen the pressure on Swaziland's limited natural resources. So far, more than 2 000 farmers have been trained in a wide range of practices, including conservation agriculture and agro-forestry.

Holding on

"Food security will come in two ways: by growing your own food and by growing to sell at the market," says Dr. Robert Thwala, Principal Secretary of Swaziland's Ministry of Agriculture, explaining SADP's focus on improving crop and livestock production and on agro-business development.

In Swaziland, where HIV prevalence is the highest in the world, the most vulnerable among the rural poor are the elderly and the youth, who have lost either parents or children, as the generation in between was decimated by the aids pandemic.

A total of 340 vegetable gardens have been established for vulnerable families to grow vegetables and herbs for household consumption, or in case of excess production, for sales to community members. Over 2000 people have directly benefited from the gardens, while also receiving nutritional education, through demonstrations in food preparation and processing. 

To support the younger generation, SADP is helping youth groups set up small agricultural businesses. Sixty groups, comprising around 2 500 youngsters, are engaged in poultry farming, pig production or vegetable and field crop production. They get the equipment, tools, inputs, medicines and training to make their business run.

The Mhawu Youth Club from the Ngudzine area in southern Swaziland is raising chickens. Sixteen year old member Nomcebo Simelane finds a lot of encouragement at her club: "Your peers tell you that when you want to make your dreams come true, you should just hold on."

Moreover, the poultry business offers her a way to do just that. She hopes that she will make enough money out of it to go to university and become a nurse.

"France shares FAO's and the UN's position that we are not in a food price crisis, but we need to remain vigilant," said Graziano da Silva.

During the meeting, Graziano da Silva recognized the role played by France in placing food security and food price volatility on the international agenda.

President Hollande has said that "the old order has gone but the new one has not yet emerged," including the need to create new governance arrangements to adequately address hunger and new challenges to world food security in the long-run.

"We thank France for its leadership in these issues," said Graziano da Silva. "The establishment by the G20 of the Agricultural Market Information System in 2011 is important to improve market information and reduce volatility," added Graziano da Silva.

AMIS was set up in 2011 to improve transparency and information flows on global markets and, through its Rapid Response Forum, to promote better coordination of policy responses to food price volatility.

France has been chair of AMIS since it was created. At the end of September, the United States assumes the chair for a 12-month period.

"France has done a very good job in chairing AMIS in its first year," said Graziano da Silva.

The Director-General voiced his support for convening a meeting of the G20 agricultural ministers at FAO headquarters in Rome on 16 October, an opportunity presented by the fact that some ministers have already confirmed their presence for the World Food Day Ceremony and the Committee of World Food Security Session that will take place that week.

The proposed meeting would allow a review of the progress made towards
better governance of food markets since the establishment of AMIS.

In their first official meeting, Hollande reaffirmed his commitment to the Organization and praised the work being done by Graziano da Silva.

Food stocks

One option discussed to address the impact of food price volatility was the creation of strategic food security stocks to provide emergency relief in a crisis, targeting the poor countries.

France confirmed its support to a code of conduct for emergency humanitarian food reserve management. Work on this code of conduct is being started and will include all stakeholders, said the Director-General.

They stressed that such stocks should not be designed for any intended market intervention to set a ceiling on prices, but rather, could serve together with other safety net mechanisms as cushions in the event of any threat to national food security.

Sahel

The need to increase short, medium and long-term support to poor developing countries, such as those from the Sahel, was also a topic at the meeting in Paris.

"We will work together with other partners to increase assistance to the countries in the Sahel. Our focus will be to prevent further crises and to reinforce the resilience of vulnerable populations there, with a special emphasis on promoting agricultural investments and supporting the livelihoods of pastoralists," the FAO Director-General explained.

FAO's emergency programme in the Sahel currently benefits 3.8 million people in food and livestock production, domestic animal protection, related technical assistance and desert locust control activities.

Africa's Sahel region has been hard hit by a series of droughts, conflict and plant pests. Currently, 18.7 million people are facing food and nutrition insecurity in this region.

The increased support to the Sahel was discussed in the framework of a new cooperation agreement signed by France and FAO.

France and FAO renew framework agreement

During the Director-General's visit to Paris, France and FAO signed a four-year accord to strengthen cooperation.

The agreement strengthens the already solid cooperation that exists and focuses on emerging food security and agriculture issues: the need for greater sustainability in our food system, the need to increase resilience in vulnerable populations, the need to reinforce our global standard-setting work and bring this to the country level and the need to continue increasing the participation of all stakeholders - governments, international and regional organizations, the scientific community, the private sector, civil society and non-governmental organizations.

The Director-General and the Minister Delegate for Development of France, Pascal Canfin, signed the agreement in a ceremony also attended by the Minister of Agriculture of France, Stéphane Le Foll.

World Organisation for Animal Health

Earlier in the day, Graziano da Silva met with Bernard Vallat, Director General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which is headquartered in Paris. They agreed to work on a formal accord to address the overlaps in the mandates of the two agencies and facilitate and improve cooperation.

Priority issues mentioned during the meeting included the progressive control of transboundary animal diseases; joint strategies and working groups on foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and rift valley fever (RVF); placement of regional animal health centres; joint work on food- and wildlife-borne diseases; aquatic diseases and aquaculture.

Graziano da Silva pointed out that FAO's work in this area should focus on the organization's core mandate to fight hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty.

“There can be no freedom from hunger – there can be no food security - without the active participation of all sectors of society, including the private sector,” said FAO’s Director-General José Graziano da Silva at the conference.

He added that apart from important investments, financial and in-kind contributions, the private sector can make another important valuable contribution, which “is not easy to quantify, but that is crucial: the political support that the private sector can give to food security. We need to build consensus and mobilize all stakeholders towards this goal. With the private sector on board, national and international efforts to fight hunger have added legitimacy."

Integration

The conference explored ways to improve the trade conditions between transition countries and the Southern and Eastern rim of the Mediterranean. 

Furthermore, with a view to develop farming and maximize the efficiency of food chains, different models of vertical integration were discussed. Agricultural cooperatives were singled out as one of the models to support more inclusive food systems.

And as the involvement of the private sector strongly depends on agricultural policies, much attention was given to ways of fostering private-public dialogue, to ensure that key partners can make their voices heard in policy-making processes and, eventually, enrich the policies themselves, bearing in mind the special interest of millions of small farmers.

Food chain

Earlier this year, the EBRD and FAO stepped up their efforts to promote private sector investment in agribusiness in EBRD's Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region (SEMED), reflecting the two organizations' push for strengthened links with the private sector and civil society to fight hunger and promote sustainable development.

The EBRD and FAO are providing and mobilizing investment in infrastructure and equipment and improving farmers' access to finance thanks to the secured-transactions reform that will allow them to pledge crops and equipment as collateral.

The EBRD and FAO also encourage efficient use of resources, which means "more food per drop" of water and fertilizer.

Since the start of their partnership in 1994, FAO and the EBRD have implemented over 90 technical assistance projects for a total value of about USD 12 million. These projects have helped to address institutional and regulatory bottlenecks, as well as improve transparency and efficiency along the whole food value-chain in EBRD's countries of operation. 

Tackling the root causes of high food prices and hunger

by José Graziano da Silva, Kanayo F. Nwanze and Ertharin Cousin*

Two interconnected problems must be tackled: the immediate issue of some high food  prices, which can impact heavily on food import-dependent countries and on the poorest people; and the long-term issue of how we produce, trade and consume food in an age of increasing population, demand and climate change.

In responding to those challenges, we are better placed today than five years ago. We have developed new policies and new instruments, like the United Nations High-Level Task Force on Global Food Security and AMIS, the G20's Agricultural Markets Information System, which improves transparency in global markets. We also have the AMIS-related Rapid Response Forum, set up to facilitate coordinated policy responses by the major world producers and traders of key cereals and soybeans in the event of market upheavals.

We have learned that not all are affected in the same way - the urban and rural poor and people in food import-dependent countries are most vulnerable to international commodity price increases, when these are transmitted to local markets, because they spend the largest proportions of their incomes on food.

We have also learned that smallholder farmers, many of whom are also poor and food insecure, can be enabled to benefit from higher food prices and become part of the solution by reducing price spikes and improving overall food security.

We have thus adopted a twin-track approach which supports long-term investments in agriculture, notably smallholder agriculture, while ensuring that safety-nets are in place to help poor food consumers and producers avoid hunger, asset losses and poverty traps in the short run.

Many countries have social protection systems including safety nets - such as assistance for smallholder farmers, nutritional support to mothers and children, and school meals - to ensure that their poorest citizens have enough to eat; yet, these need to be expanded significantly in poorer countries. Safety nets that are affordable, predictable and transparent are an absolute must if we are to safeguard against recurring price shocks and crises.  

Small-scale food producers also need to be better equipped to raise their productivity, increase their access to markets and reduce their exposure to risk. And, of course, people need decent jobs and incomes so that they can afford the food they need and escape from poverty.

In responding to high food prices, the things we must avoid doing are just as important as the things we should do. In particular, countries must avoid panic buying and refrain from imposing export restrictions which, while temporarily helping some consumers at home, are generally inefficient and make life difficult for everyone else.

Above all, however, we must understand that high food prices are a symptom, and not the disease. So while the international community must take early action to prevent excessive price increases, it should also move to act on the root causes behind such surges.

There have been three international food price spikes in the last five years. Weather has been among the drivers of each. Droughts in some part of the world have impaired global grain production virtually every other year since 2007. Elsewhere, major floods have also caused severe damage to crops. Increased diversion of food stock for non-food purposes and increased financial speculation are among the various drivers of increased  price levels and volatility.

Until we find the way to shock-proof and climate-proof our food system, the danger will remain. In the short term, this has costs, not only for those directly impacted, but also for the international community at large. For instance, the World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that every 10 per cent increase in the price of its food basket means it has to find an extra $200 million a year for food assistance.

We are vulnerable because even in a good year, global grain production is barely sufficient to meet growing demands for food, feed and fuel - this, in a world where there are 80 million extra mouths to be fed every year. We are at risk because only a handful of nations are large producers of staple food commodities, and when they are affected, so is everyone else.

The challenge - and the opportunity - is both to reduce and to spread that risk. And the most obvious way is to promote sustainable food production in poor, food-importing countries, where there is often huge potential to improve production. That would make more food available in local markets and provide jobs and income, especially in rural areas where 70 per cent of the world's poor live. We should also address the fact that, globally, one third of food produced is wasted or lost to spoilage, damage and other causes.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme are helping poor people to eat today while building their resilience and capacity to feed themselves tomorrow. But more needs to be done.

We need to invest much more in agriculture and social protection, including programmes that help poor people to access food that has become unaffordable in their local markets.

Lastly, we also need to review and adjust where applicable policies currently in place that encourage alternative uses of grains. For example, adjusting biofuel mandates when global markets come under pressure and food supplies are endangered has been recommended by a group of international organizations including FAO, IFAD, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, WFP, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization. That recommendation, made to the 2011 G20 summit in Paris, still stands today.
 
In moving to prevent a possible deterioration of the situation, we need to remain vigilant and prepare for the worst in the short run, while working on sustainable solutions for the long haul. Not to do so would inevitably mean that the world's poorest and most vulnerable pay the highest price. Getting this right will help us respond to the "Zero Hunger" challenge set by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of eradicating hunger from the globe.

*The authors are respectively the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme.

More than half of all urban Africans live in slums, up to 200 million survive on less than $2 a day, and poor urban children are as likely to be chronically malnourished as poor rural children.

"The challenge of achieving a "zero hunger" world - in which everyone is adequately nourished and all food systems are resilient - is as urgent in African cities as it is in rural areas," reads the foreword by Modibo Traoré, FAO Assistant Director-General for Agriculture and Consumer Protection.

"African policymakers need to act now to steer urbanization from its current, unsustainable path towards healthy, ‘greener' cities that ensure food and nutrition security, decent work and income, and a clean environment for all their citizens," the foreword continues.

The book was released in advance of the sixth session of the World Urban Forum in Naples, Italy (1-7 September). The Forum was established by the United Nations to examine one of the most pressing problems facing the world today: rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. 

By the end of the current decade, 24 of the world's 30 fastest growing cities will be African. The publication cites surveys showing that between 2010 and 2030, the urban population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double, from about 300 to 600 million.

Sustainable market gardens

Growing greener cities in Africa voices particular concern about the future of market gardening - the irrigated, commercial production of fruit and vegetables in designated or other urban areas.

Market gardening is the single most important source of locally grown, fresh produce in 10 out of 27 countries surveyed, and the number-two source in six other countries. But market gardening has grown with little official recognition, regulation or support. In some cities, it is becoming unsustainable: to maximize returns, market gardeners have increased the use of pesticides and polluted water.

The publication urges national governments and city administrations to work together with growers, processors, suppliers, vendors and others to give market gardens and urban and peri-urban agriculture the political, logistical and educational support necessary for sustainable development.

Among the specific recommendations, policymakers are advised to zone and protect land and water for market gardens, and encourage growers to adopt FAO's "Save and Grow" farming model. Save and Grow seeks to boost yields while conserving and enhancing natural resources. It includes applying the right amount of appropriate, external inputs at the right time - such as pesticides, fertilizers and seeds.

FAO and urban gardening

FAO's Programme for Urban and Peri-urban Horticulture helps cities to ensure a year-round supply of affordable, fresh produce that meets the nutrition needs of their populations. It does that, first, by promoting market gardening, usually within 30 kilometres of city centres.

FAO also supports action to help low-income urban households to "grow their own", as a way of improving the quality of their diet, saving cash to spend on other needs, and earning income from the sale of surpluses.

• reduced use of chemical pesticides and select natural ones
• pheromone traps that lure the insects by mimicking potential mates
• the release of natural enemies (predators and parasitoids of the tomato borer)
• the use of insect-proof screens and double doors in greenhouses
• nursery management and insect-free planting materials
• removal of infested crops and wild host plants
• rotating crops with non-solanaceous varieties that do not appeal to the insect.

"Pheromones have long been used in various countries for monitoring and mass trapping. It's considered economical, it's easy to use, and it has been well accepted by farmers," Alrouechdi said.

"The use of pheromone traps, collectively by farmers, to eliminate insects using what we call the attract-and-kill method is one of our most promising options," he added.

FAO promotes IPM as the preferred approach to crop protection and pesticide risk reduction, as it offers farmers and policy makers viable alternatives to manage pests and agricultural ecosystems for a more sustainable future.

"For consumers, especially for the millions of people living in extreme poverty, high food prices have caused considerable hardship. We need to redouble our efforts to bring down the number of hungry people. We must focus on increasing sustainable productivity growth, especially in developing countries, and especially for small producers," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. "High real prices for agricultural commodities provide higher incentives for farmers and rural development, especially where markets are open and price mechanisms function well, and where farmers also have the capacity to respond."

Sustainability concerns

The Outlook notes that 25 percent of all agricultural land is highly degraded. Critical water scarcity in agriculture is a fact for many countries. Several fish stocks are over-exploited or at risk. There is a growing consensus that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and climatic patterns are changing in many parts of the world.

Beyond its call for complementary policies to address productivity and sustainability, the report recognizes that the private sector will play the lead role in agriculture going forward.

Governments should encourage better agronomic practices, create the right commercial, technical and regulatory environment and strengthen agricultural innovation systems (e.g. research, education, extension, infrastructure), with attention to the specific needs of smallholders.

Creating the right enabling environment also means ensuring that the business climate is conducive to domestic and foreign investments, so governments should limit trade restrictions as well as those domestic support schemes that distort incentives for production and investment in agriculture.

There is a need to develop national investment schemes and increased development assistance to agriculture for research and development, innovation adoption and infrastructure development, the report said.

Developing countries should promote agricultural infrastructure investment in rural areas to improve storage, transportation and irrigation systems, as well as electrification, information and communication systems. Investment in human capital is equally important and depends on more public spending on health care, education and training.

These policies should also address the reduction of food loss and food waste, pegged by a recent FAO study at roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption, in order to limit the need to increase production and conserve resources.

"While there has been much analysis of food price volatility, including at FAO, more understanding is still needed, especially concerning the impacts of speculation," Graziano da Silva said as he opened the event.

"Let's make one thing clear: We are not talking about speculation related to price discovery and the normal functioning of the futures markets. We are talking about excessive speculation in derivative markets, which can increase price swings and their speed," he added.

"Excessive food price volatility, especially at the speed at which they have been occurring since 2007, has negative impacts on poor consumers and poor producers alike all over the world."

The high-level debate on the theme, "Food Price Volatility and the Role of Speculation," featured as keynote speaker Leonel Fernández Reyna, President of the Dominican Republic. The event drew a panel of international experts in commodities, trade and agriculture.  

President Fernández said food price swings were having a "tremendous human impact" and cautioned against using food commodities purely as financial instruments.

"Financial speculation is exacerbating market fluctuations and this exacerbation is generating uncertainty - this uncontrolled, unregulated exacerbation is provoking a dramatic impact on countries that are net food importers," Fernández said.

"We are not talking about an abstract concept here, we are talking about something that is having a devastating, dramatic and brutal impact on the lives of people," and also puts governments at risk of destabilization, he said.

"I think that this is one of the most serious problems, one of the most important challenges facing us, and which we will need to address with efficiency, transparency and a spirit of solidarity," he said.

Fernández underscored the need for more information to get a clearer picture on market transactions, in order to better understand the role of speculation in agricultural commodities.

President Fernández has been instrumental in getting the United Nations to heighten the attention on the issue of excessive food price volatility. In December 2011, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution presented by the Dominican Republic on "Addressing Excessive Price Volatility in Food and Related Financial and Commodity Markets."

Controversial topic

A UN debate in April 2012 provided an opportunity for Heads of State and Government, along with other high level officials and international organizations, to discuss the issue at a political level, while the FAO event took the process a step further. It looked, specifically, at the extent to which speculative behavior on commodity futures markets was contributing to food price volatility. It also focused on associated regulatory issues.

"The view that speculation contributed to recent price volatility has led to more awareness among governments on the need for the introduction of greater regulation to limit this activity. However, the question of how much and what form of regulation is polemic," Graziano da Silva said. 

In recent years, especially since 2007, the world has seen the reversal of a four-decade-long downward tendency in prices of agricultural commodities. The period between 2008 and 2011 was characterized by a series of extreme peaks and valleys in food pricing which made it especially difficult for economically vulnerable consumers and agricultural producers to cope.

"Food price inflation has already been higher than overall inflation in almost every country. This has a greater impact on the poorer population, who can spend up to 75 percent of their income in food," Graziano da Silva said.

FAO analysis

In 2011, FAO, together with OECD, coordinated the preparation of the inter-agency report to the G20 on this subject. At the request of the G20, FAO also hosts the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), aimed at promoting market transparency.

In addition, FAO conducts analytical work to help deepen the understanding of the nature, causes, impacts and responses to volatility. This includes looking into the increasingly complex inter-relationships between agricultural, financial and energy markets.

Championing food security

Before the high-level debate, Director-General Graziano da Silva invited Margarita Cedeño de Fernández, First Lady of the Dominican Republic, to continue serving as Extraordinary Ambassador of FAO, in recognition of the numerous social development projects in food and agriculture which she has undertaken in her own country - many of which have benefited women.

The First Lady was first nominated to the role in 2009. She stressed that she would continue to be at the forefront of the global fight against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

"Plant genetic biodiversity is a key factor for sustainable agriculture. We share the commitment to ensuring that the world's ecosystems, and in FAO's specific case the world's agro-ecosystems, are healthy and sustainable," said José Graziano da Silva, FAO Director-General, at the 2^nd High-Level Round Table on the International Treaty for Food and Agriculture at Rio+20.
 

The meeting focused on delivery of the Treaty's potential benefits for biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and sustainability. FAO hosts the Secretariat of the International Treaty which entered into force in 2001.

The European Union joined the Treaty in 2004 and this is the first time that a member of the Treaty which is not an individual country has contributed to the Fund. The funding package follows previous contributions from Australia, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain and Switzerland.

The Benefit-sharing Fund is governed by 127 countries and addresses food security at a time when climate change and other threats are contributing to massive losses of crop genetic diversity. The Fund already supports projects in 21 countries by promoting innovative planning and practical solutions for the use of crop biodiversity in areas affected by climate change, rural poverty or food insecurity.

"We need full political and financial commitment in support of sustainable agriculture if we want to guarantee food security worldwide while ensuring the conservation of our natural resources, such as biodiversity," Dacia Cioloș, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said.

"In this context, strengthening the implementation of the International Treaty will be essential to face major challenges for food security such as climate change," he added.

"Farmers, as managers of genetic diversity, have much to offer both to their own communities and to the world at large thanks to their efforts to conserve and improve their crops through breeding and selection, and by making them available for use by others," said Lars Peder Brekk, Minister of Agriculture and Food of Norway and Chair of the High-Level Task Force of the Treaty.

Scientific criteria

"One of the Benefit-sharing Fund's unique features is the transparent process that governs the allocation of funds. After a wide announcement of each call, all the project proposals received for funding are evaluated according to established scientific criteria by international experts in order to fund the best projects," said Shakeel Bhatti, Secretary of the International Treaty.

Another key feature of the Fund discussed during the Second High-level Round table is its specific focus on conservation and sustainable-use activities in developing countries and regions which are not adequately funded in any other way. The contribution from the EU will make possible a range of activities, including:

• On-farm evaluation, selection and management of local and introduced seed varieties;
• Conservation of local and threatened varieties in national or international genebanks or the development of local and community genebanks;
• Documentation and sharing of local and indigenous knowledge that brings value to local crops and varieties;
• The transfer of technologies for conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources to farmers and selected institutions in developing countries;
• Establishment of links between farmers and communities elsewhere to promote the sharing of genetic material and information about that material, which will help farmers to respond to climate change.

"The situation in Yemen and Syria reminds us of the clear link between food security and peace. In this case, internal conflict is causing food insecurity. But, it works the other way around as well. Throughout the world we see crisis after crisis caused, in its entirety or in part, by the lack of food or disputes over natural resources, especially land and water," FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said.

The report also lists 35 countries in need of external food assistance, including Afghanistan, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Haiti, Iraq and Mali. Of the total, 28 countries are in Africa.

"This only goes to show, again, that hunger today is mainly a problem of access. Millions of poor families worldwide lack the means to produce their own food or decent jobs and income to buy the food they need," Graziano da Silva said.

Africa, Near East

West Africa continues to face "increasing food insecurity and malnutrition in several countries," due to a sharp drop in cereal and pasture production in 2011, combined with high local food prices and civil strife.

Escalating conflict in Mali, resulting displacement towards neighbouring countries, and Desert Locust outbreaks moving southward from North Africa are considered additional threats to 2012 agricultural production in the Sahel, especially in Niger, Mali and Chad, FAO said.

In Eastern Africa, the main season rains started late, shortening the crop growing period. Furthermore, floods affected areas in Kenya, Somalia, the United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda, while severe dry conditions persist in parts of northeastern and coastal districts in Kenya.

In North Africa, Morocco is expected to see sharp declines in production following "erratic and insufficient" rains, while the rest of the region is expected to produce above-average harvests.

Unfavourable weather conditions in 2012, including dry spells and cyclones, resulted in cereal production declines in parts of Southern Africa, while high food prices in Malawi worsen food insecurity.

In the Near East, the deteriorating food security situation was cited as a major concern in the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen as a result of the civil unrest. An estimated 1 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Syria due to the impact of the continuing social unrest on households and food distribution channels in several markets.

In Yemen, about 5 million people are estimated to be severely food insecure and in need of emergency food assistance, as a result of high levels of poverty, prolonged conflict and high food and fuel prices.

Ukraine bread basket vulnerable

In the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Europe, FAO forecasts a six-percent decline in cereal production, to 148 million tonnes, against last year's level. This mainly reflects the unfavourable prospects in Ukraine, where adverse weather conditions during the winter cropping are taking its toll on grain crops. Wheat production is forecast at 14 million tonnes, nearly 40 percent below last year's bumper crop and well below the average of the past five years.

The significant drop in Ukraine, a major food producer in the region, is expected to have an impact on supplies and pricing in neighbouring countries.

In the CIS in Asia, wheat production in Kazakhstan, the major cereal producer in the sub-region, was put at 14.7 million tonnes, one-third below last year's record level.

Asia, Americas see gains

The FAO report forecasts a record increase of 3.2 percent in world cereal production in 2012, totalling an estimated 2 419 million tonnes, mainly on account of a bumper maize crop in the United States.

Record harvests and improved production were expected across much of Asia, North America, Central America and South America.

World cereal stocks for crop seasons ending in 2013 are forecast to increase to 548 million tonnes, up 7 percent from their opening levels and the highest since 2002. This outlook is 4 percent (or 23.5 million tonnes) higher than was reported last month, entirely due to an increase in the forecast for world coarse grain inventories which now stand at 201 million tonnes -- up 20 percent from the previous season's low of 167 million tonnes.

Food prices

Globally, the FAO Food Price Index, which measures the monthly change in international prices of a basket of food commodities, dropped by 4 percent in May due to generally favourable supplies, growing world economic uncertainties, and a strengthening of the US dollar.

Groups of locusts have recently been found in northern Niger, arriving from infestations further north.

FAO says locust-control efforts in the region are being hindered by continued insecurity along both sides of the Algerian-Libyan border. Political insecurity and conflict in Mali could also hamper monitoring and control efforts if the locusts reach that country.

Locust infestations were first reported in southwest Libya near Ghat in January 2012 and in southeast Algeria. 

In late March, FAO warned that swarms could arrive in Niger and Mali by June. Continued rains and the resulting growth of vegetation led to the formation of swarms by mid-May.

“How many locusts there are and how far they move will depend on two major factors – the effectiveness of current control efforts in Algeria and Libya and upcoming rainfall in the Sahel of West Africa,” said Keith Cressman, FAO Senior Locust Forecasting Officer.

Both Algeria and Libya have been working hard to treat infested areas, covering a total of 40 000 hectares in Algeria and 21 000 hectares in Libya as of the end of May.

"In a normal year, Algeria and Libya would have been able to control most of the local swarms and prevent their movement towards the south, but insecurity along both sides of the Algerian-Libyan border is getting in the way of full access by local teams and by FAO experts who need to assess the situation. Libya’s capacity to carry out control efforts has also been affected in the past year,” Cressman explained.

Niger last faced Desert Locust swarms during the 2003-05 plague that affected farmers in two dozen countries.

The FAO Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region (CLCPRO) has provided $300 000 in funding to tackle locust infestations in Libya, and FAO has added an additional $400 000 to address the problem.