The Drum Beat 153 - Feeding the World: Trends and Responses

In 1996, delegates at the World Food Summit pledged to cut world hunger in half by 2015. Accomplishing this goal requires reducing the number of hungry people by about 400 million, or 22 million each year. The FAO estimates that only 6 million per year are cut from the numbers of the food-insecure; most of this reduction has taken place in China. In countries other than China, the number of people who are food-insecure or chronically malnourished increased by 40 million during the 1990s. Technological solutions such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) remain controversial. Factors impeding progress include more people, large-scale exploitation of natural resources, accelerating levels of pollution, climate change, widespread degradation of arable land, shrinking water supplies, disappearing forests, and collapsing fisheries. The impact of these trends falls disproportionately on the poor, especially poor women. Reducing food insecurity in the face of such trends is an enormous but important challenge. This Drum Beat puts the challenge in context, outlines a few of the many initiatives addressing the challenge, as well as a few organisations and materials that support the development and expansion of sustainable agriculture practise through communication and information access.

CONTEXT

1. Population
World population will grow by an estimated 50% to 9.3 billion by 2050, with all the growth occurring in today's developing countries. The 49 least-developed countries will nearly triple in size, from 668 million to 1.86 billion people.

2. Trade Subsidies
The 1.5 billion cows in the developed world receive subsidies amounting to almost twice the annual income of the 1.5 billion marginal farmers living in the developing world.

3. Women
Female farmers produce 60% to 80% of the food in most developing countries, but receive 5% of agricultural extension services offered worldwide. In Kenya, a national information campaign targeting women increased maize yields by 28%, bean yields by 80%, and potato yields by 84%.

4. Fishing
33% of Asia Pacific's major fish species and many of its major fishing areas are fully exploited or over-exploited. 80% of its coral reefs are at risk from coastal development, pollution, and cyanide and dynamite fishing. 66% of its mangrove forests have been claimed for settlements, industrial areas or tourist resorts; chopped for woodchips or firewood; or converted into shrimp farms.

TRENDS

5. Genetically Modified Organisms
A joint position paper, prepared by a group of Asian civil society organisations, calls for 'a stop on the corporate attempt to own our collective heritage - rice, and life in general.' One specific request: that Asian governments support the African Group proposal to ban the patenting of life forms and the genetic engineering of rice and other foods.

6. HIV/AIDS
A report by the FAO predicts that deaths caused by HIV/AIDS in the 10 most affected African countries will reduce the labour force by as much as 26% by 2020. 7 million agricultural workers have died from AIDS-related diseases in 27 severely affected African countries since 1985; 16 million more deaths will occur over the next 20 yrs.

7. Climate Change
Scientists warn that harvests of some of the world's most important food crops could decline by 33% as a result of climate change. For every 1-degree rise, yields could fall by as much as 10%. Average global temperatures in the Tropics could climb by 3 degrees by 2100.

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...taking the PULSE of international development...

Programmes that foster open discussion and debate on HIV/AIDS are as important as programmes that distribute condoms.

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PROGRAMMES

8. National Banana Research Program - Uganda - instigates dialogue with banana growers about improving soil management practices. Involves helping banana growers identify problems and discuss possible solutions; developing audio-visual and computer-based aids to facilitate the exchange of knowledge; and testing the use of video to teach others about the process. Contact Luis Navarro lnavarro@idrc.org.ke

9. Pakistan iVan - Pakistan - equipped with computers, this van brings the internet to rural farmers. The project provides training in the use of the technology to farmers, linking them to agri-web sites, and gathering feedback from farmers on how to encourage the local community to connect to the internet. Contact contact@pakissan.com

10. West African Volunteers for Agro-Industrial Development (WAVAID) - works to organise and provide services that enable access to information about science-based farming techniques, as well as to support established farmers and foster the development of new farmer/entrepenueurs. Contact Yomi Ige yomige@yahoo.com

11. 900 Million Farmer Health Education Project - China - uses television ads and programmes, as well as a printed reader, to help rural and semi-rural populations become more self-reliant in areas related to their own and their families' health. Books on health-related topics are donated to farmers. Contact ryip@unicef.org

12. People, Land, and Water (PLaW) - West Africa - facilitates the exchange of information and knowledge between farmers' organisations, local rural media, and local development organisations. They work to support discussions about problems and solutions related to natural resource management. Contact Innocent Butare ibutare@idrc.org.sn OR plaw@idrc.ca

13. Los Maribios - Nicaragua - communicates knowledge of new techniques and crops through video to rural families to improve levels of nutrition and standards of living, agricultural productivity, and the condition of rural populations. Radio activities include campaign messages and technical information provided by agricultural consultants. Contact fao-nic@field.fao.org

14. Russian Rural Information Network (RIN) Project - Russia - a network for information on practical, low-input, and low-technology methods of sustainable food production. Develops, produces, and distributes agricultural information via radio using CDs containing 40-minute programmes. An e-library includes Russian agricultural Internet resources; an e-forum group for farmers; and an archive of radio programmes. Contact Ivan Perov admin@fadr.msu.ru

15. Prepare Agricultural Project - India - a project to inform small-time fisherfolk of the long-term ecological and economic consequences of collecting shrimp fry. The project also attempted to strengthen local control over the shrimp industry by organising the community into decision-making councils that conducted various social action activities. Contact Prepare - phone 91-44-654 211

LINKS

16. The Agromisa Foundation - promotes small-scale sustainable agriculture making optimal use of local resources.

17. The Appropriate Technology Library - contains the full text and images from books on do-it-yourself technologies.

18. FAO Sustainable Development (SD) Dimensions: Communication for Development - provides advice and technical assistance in identifying communication needs to support agricultural and rural development and in applying communication strategies for specific audiences.

MATERIALS

19. Training for Agriculture and Rural Development - 2 volumes from FAO.

20. Making Changes: Turning Local Visions into National Solutions - recommendations from 350 US farmers, livestock producers, business people, and civic leaders.

21. Sustainable Agricultural/Rural Development and Vulnerability to the AIDS Epidemic - 7 case studies.

22. E-Links to the Field: Simple Communication Can Yield Rich Crop - an examination of the e-network Indian Society of Agricultural Professionals (ISAP).

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This issue compiled by Kier O. DeVries, Assistant Editor.

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The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners.

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