COLOMBO – The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Migration Agency (IOM), today urged attention to the pressing issues that cause people to migrate, particularly those living in rural areas, and called for action and investments towards improved food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture.

A sizeable share of the Sri Lankan population migrates from rural areas to cities and overseas every year. Almost 243,000 workers departed for foreign employment in 2016, the majority for jobs in countries of the Middle East. In Sri Lanka, poverty, unemployment, lack of livelihood options and reoccurring climate shocks impact the food security of many families, resulting in migration to find secure livelihoods.

Addressing today’s commemoration of the 2017 World Food Day, Ms Nina Brandstrup, Representative of FAO in Sri Lanka and Maldives said, “Rural areas are particular sources of migrants. The slow development of the agriculture sector as a profitable business and the absence of employment opportunities are driving people out, especially the young. Modernizing the agriculture sector, improving the resilience of rural livelihoods to climate change, and creating off-farm employment are key interventions for slowing down the departures and creating better incentives to stay.”

Good nutrition is key to unlocking the human potential of Sri Lanka, particularly children who are the future of the country, and to reaching the goals stated in the Government’s Vision 2025 and the Sustainable Development Goals.  According to the latest Demographic and Health Survey 2016, 17 percent of children under five are stunted (short for their age), while the national prevalence of wasting – or thinness – is at 15 percent, a critical public nutrition situation according to the World Health Organization benchmark.

“It is highly concerning that one in three children aged 6-12 years in Sri Lanka are too thin. Studies have proven a direct, negative link between poor nutrition and economic productivity,” said Ms. Brenda Barton, Representative and Country Director of WFP. “We need to work in a concerted, multi-sectoral way to improve the lives and livelihoods of rural families, for example, encouraging households to grow nutritious and diverse crops while providing education and awareness on better nutrition practices.”

The three UN agencies emphasised how safe, orderly and regular migration can contribute to economic growth and improve food security and the lives of rural people, thus advancing countries’ progress in reaching the SDGs.  Migrants can help build the economy in their countries of origin through remittances and investments, or by bringing new skills to their community, if they decide to go back. They can also contribute to the development of host communities by filling labour shortages.

The IOM Chief of Mission for Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Mr. Giuseppe Crocetti recalled,“The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants recognizes the importance of conflict, disasters, climate change, as well as food insecurity, as drivers of large-scale, unmanaged migration that need to be addressed. As such, identifying and effectively addressing complex drivers requires more attention to context-specific and multi-dimensional conflict, risk and early warning analysis to inform timely and effective interventions in rural settings.”

The 2017 World Food Day event was held in Colombo with the participation of Dr. W. M. W. Weerakoon, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, and other high level policy and decision makers including government ministries, embassies, academia, civil society, private sector, development organizations and youth groups.