Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

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    • Dear members of this discussion forum, in brief: it is political will and policy that matters!

      The questions of the moderators focus on extreme forms of poverty where people do not have access to land or required natural resources. Of course there is large knowledge and experience in this ongoing debate on how to reduce poverty, e.g. by providing access to resources and markets, advisory services and all kinds of smart agricultural technologies and social networking. However, EXTREME POVERTY can only be eradicated with a strong political will by a nation’s society and related laws and policies, helping eradicate this inhumanity. Improvement only happens with smart provision of subsidies in many aspects of daily life. One example INDIA has shown in September 2013 with its Food Security Bill. Of course there are also critical aspects to be considered, but the overall effect as such is strong and evident.

      Since more than one year the NEPAL government has been preparing a similar Right to Food Act, based on article 36 of Nepal’s constitution. Also this example is important and may show future effects. Once respective policy instruments are sanctioned and regulations in place there are hundreds of well-known approaches and methodologies to fully eradicate not only the extreme forms poverty. - But the will to do this political step is essential!

      So, I think for this debate it would be very interesting to share learnt lessons from India’s activities, covering the last five years on the basis of its National Food Security Act from 2013.

      Who knows more on that? It would also help the interested people in Nepal to go ahead with its own program to fight extreme poverty.

      Best wishes, Hans Schaltenbrand, rural development expert

      Zurich, Switzerland

    • A comment to Mr. Häberli’s interesting input to Q 1) What are the main issues for policy-makers to consider when linking climate change on the one hand and food security and nutrition on the other?

      Mr. Häberli touches an important point: THE FOCUS. If we look about 20 years back, important gvt. and private agencies supporting smallholders stopped providing their services to such complex and difficult landholdings, in particular in remote/upland areas. Instead during the last ten years focus was put on those being able to produce high value products (hvp). It is nothing but logic that precisely such remote and upland smallholders now urgently need financial smart support to be in a position to adapt to more complex climatic conditions. Therefore, a re-investment in smart joint rural advisory services is key to much complex land and production issues. The private sector will not focus on such difficulties in far remote areas. Therefore leading investments must first come from the public sector

      Best regards, Hans Schaltenbrand

      Berner Fachhochschule / Bern University of Applied Sciences

      Hochschule für Agrar-, Forst- und Lebensmittelwissenschaften HAFL /School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL

      Hans Schaltenbrand

      Professor for Rural Development and Natural Resources Management

      HAFL International Consulting Services

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