Smallholders, rural producers key to slashing global hunger and poverty – Ban
ROME, 17 February 2010: Smallholders (småbønder/familiebrug) and rural producers have a vital role to play in overcoming global hunger and poverty, and new and varied partnerships are needed, with particular emphasis on the interests of women, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday.
– With more than 1 billion people now suffering from hunger, the highest number in human history, there is simply no time to lose, he told the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), based in Rome.
IFAD is a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating poverty in the rural areas of developing countries where 75 per cent of the worlds poorest – or some 1,05 billion people – live.
When world leaders gather in New York in September for the MDG Summit (om 2015 Målene), Mr. Ban will urge them to focus on strategic actions that promise the most impact.
“I will count on IFAD and its partners to shine a global spotlight on the strategic poten-tial of investing in smallholder far-ming systems as a contribution to sustainable development”, he noted.
– The growing international recognition of the role of agriculture and rural development in poverty reduction is already helping to build the Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition, he added in a message to the 33rd meeting of the IFAD Governing Council in Rome, referring to a proposed public-private partnership to boost productivity.
Mr. Ban noted that despite the hardships of the global recession, last year saw an upturn in investment in agriculture, along with promises from world leaders of large additional increases over the next three years.
Eight African countries have reached or exceeded the Maputo Declaration target by allocating 10 per cent or more of their national budgets for agriculture.
But the food emergency in the Horn of Africa, the plight of Haitians compounded by last months devastating earthquake, and early warnings coming from other parts of the world are constant reminders of the need for both comprehensive and sustained action, he added.
“We need to continue creating diverse and innovative partnerships that can help people and communities achieve greater productivity, nutritional health and self-reliance,” he said, stressing: “In this respect we must give pre-eminence to the interests of women, who juggle their time between food production, processing, marketing, child care and balancing the household budget.”
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Meanwhile, IFAD ended its Governing Council meeting Thursday with a renewed call by Member States for investment in smallholders to accelerate progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
Alltogether the developing world has about 500 million family farms. The IFAD Governing Council was preceded by the third biennial Farmers Forum, where more than 70 farmers leaders, representing millions of smallholders and rural producers from all over the world, focused on how to strengthen their coordination in order to achieve greater food security.
– Effective and representative producer organizations can provide a powerful instrument to make rural people’s voices heard, particularly women, so that they can have greater influence over decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods, said Jean-Philippe Audinet of IFAD – se også http://www.ifad.org/farmer/2010/index.htm#n4
Parallel to the Governing Council, a number of side events addressed critical issues for sustainable development and poverty reduction.
The importance of south-south cooperation in the field of family farming was the theme of one side event, which brought together delegates from Asia, Latin America and Africa. The meeting addressed issues of a dual economy, diversification, environmental and land tenure issues, and the need to support market reform.
Participants at another side event that focused on natural resource management in sub-Saharan Africa agreed on the importance of an integrated and participatory approach – from the village level to across national borders. They stressed that governments must build on the experiences of local farmers to ensure successful practices inform national policy.
