Improving Global Food Security In A Time Of Crisis
"We are living through the most significant global economic crisis of a generation. Even before this crisis, almost one in six already lived in hunger and poverty. That number is now rising. Another 100 million people have been added over the last year. This reverses a previous downward trend.” A wake-up call from Lannart Båge, President of the Internationa Fund for Agriculture Development.
5 key issues relevant to global food security
- We need to grow 50 per cent more food by 2030 – 100 per cent more by 2050
- Area expansion is only a small part of the solution
- Increased agricultural productivity, more tons per hectare, is key. We have to go from today’s 1-2 per cent a year to 3-5 per cent
- Political and financial re-engagement in boosting agriculture is necessary
- 500 million smallholder farmers can and must be part of the solution
The President of IFAD, Lennart Båge, issued yesterday at the UN agency’s 32nd Governing Council a wake-up call to world leaders and highlighted essential steps that must be taken to improve world food security and end poverty and hunger.
Båge, addressing the final Governing Council of his eight-year presidency, said: “The stark fact is that long-term supply is not keeping up with demand. Global demand for food is projected to increase by 50 per cent by 2030 and double by 2050. At the same time, agricultural productivity, which grew at 4 to 5 per cent in the 1970s and early 1980s, has fallen to 1 to 2 per cent today.”
Increased agricultural production is essential, but there is limited scope to expand agricultural land. It is estimated that there is only 10 to 15 per cent additional land available for cultivation, without cutting down forests.
As a result, most of the increased production will have to come from higher productivity per hectare of existing farmland. “This requires increased political attention and much greater investment in the whole agricultural value chain,” Båge said.
Smallholder farmers must be involved in the global food supply response. There are close to 500 million smallholder farms, representing more than 2 billion people – one-third of humanity, Båge noted. “In Africa and Asia, smallholders farm 80 per cent of the total farmland. Globally, smallholder families constitute the vast majority of the poor, living on less than US$1 or US$2 a day. At the same time, they are an important part of the global food production potential,” Båge said.
Most smallholder farms have very low productivity, but they can double or triple their yields if they have access to the right seeds, fertilizer and irrigation and financing. For example, a year ago, Brigitte Addassin was struggling to live on less than US$2 a day in Benin. But with IFAD support, Brigitte switched to growing NERICA rice, a cross between African and Asian varieties, which matures quickly, is more pest resistant and requires less water. As a result, and with improved irrigation and fertilizer, Brigitte was able to increase her harvest from 1.5 tons of rice to 6.5 tons.
“We need to listen to and work very closely with poor rural people themselves,” Båge said. “They know their needs and priorities better than anyone else. When they come together in farmers’ and producers’ organizations, they add strength to their aspirations.”
Source: IFAD
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