Meeting the challenge for food security

The issue of food production is assuming an ever increasing importance as the world’s population keeps climbing and arable lands and water resources keep shrinking. Today many countries are finding it increasingly challenging to meet their national demands for food, especially those that are hit regularly by drought and other natural disasters. And as the factors of climate change and global warming bite deeper the situation with global food production and supply are creating even greater difficulties and complications.

Director-General of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Jacques Diouf recently held a press conference for the new report, “The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008” and delivered the devastating news that 40 million more people around the world experienced chronic hunger as a result of high food prices this year. The rise makes the Millennium Development Goal of halving global hunger by 2015 look increasingly unlikely.

Climate change’s effect on natural disasters is projected to increase poverty and hunger, too, one of many discussion points at the UN’s annual international climate change conference in Poznan, Poland this week. In fact, one UN agency, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), just embarked on a campaign to raise awareness of the relationship between climate change and humanitarian issues like hunger and malnutrition.

The outlook is, so far: unfortunately dismal. Recent reports outline in stark terms the relationship between climate change, more severe and frequent natural disasters, and their effects on current and future hunger should the world not solve its food supply, distribution, and insecurity problems.

Over in Asia-Pacific, country leaders are facing the need to set national policies to prepare for the effects of even more extreme weather. They met recently to set up local early warning systems and other risk reduction strategies.

“Climate projections for the Pacific island countries are bleak and indicate reduced food security, especially for households,” said Alexander Mueller, FAO assistant director-general.

‘It is critical to build resilience of food systems to avoid enormous future economic losses in agriculture, fisheries and forestry,” he warned. “Countries will have to assess how vulnerable their food systems are and how they can adapt agriculture, forestry and fisheries to future climate-related disasters. There is a need to act urgently.(Source – Environment News Service)

Here in the Caribbean region leaders have recognised the need to pay special focus on agriculture because neglect in this vital sector by many countries has resulted in a staggering annual food importation bill of some US$3 billion.

And in this context President Jagdeo was dead on target when he told an agro-business forum here that the transformation of agriculture in the region in the next decade and beyond will be determined by how seriously regional policy makers treat the sector.

He said the sector has been overlooked from a policy and inceptive perspectives, as well as in terms of allocation of budgetary resources.

This approach, he urged, has to change and agriculture needs to be part of the region’s development strategy, playing its rightful role in feeding its people in a world that would experience shortages due to climate change along with several other factors.

Mr. Jagdeo pointed out that with the shrinkage of arable lands and water resources, food production will be affected, causing a constraint for supply which will give rise to an increase in prices.

“We have to ensure that agriculture is part of those sectors that will lead us to greater prosperity,” the President urged

The situation could become bleak if regional governments do not act with expedition and decisiveness. Therefore Mr. Jagdeo’s exhortations should be taken seriously by all stake holders in the agriculture sector to ensure there is food security in the coming years and the distant future. Any other course may spell disaster for our peoples.

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