Food Security & Better Quality of Life
By Dr Arvind Kumar
In its recently released first Africa Human Development Report, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has stressed food security as a means to a better quality of life for all. The argument is straightforward: Most people in Africa depend on agriculture, and better nutrition is good for human development. More food production means more food and income in people’s pockets, which has spin-offs which are beneficial for health and education. The report is not another exhortation to farmers to grow more food. According to Pedro Conceicao, chief economist with the UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, exclusively looking at linkages between small-scale farmers and agriculture or gender empowerment and agriculture were “piecemeal approaches” and not helpful. “We have to move beyond silver bullet obsessions [such as agricultural subsidies] or attention-grabbing headlines.” He reasoned that high economic growth rates in Africa had not necessarily resulted in a reduction in poverty and food insecurity – which points to accessibility to food and purchasing power as key factors. The report emphasizes ‘empowerment’ and participation as important levers for change. It argues that countries need to implement a more strategic vision of food security. The report further calls for new approaches covering multiple sectors – from rural infrastructure to health services, to new forms of social protection and empowering local communities. It calls for action in four critical areas: increasing agricultural production; more effective nutrition; building resilience; and empowerment and social justice. However, the report has almost completely sidestepped controversial issues like genetically modified seeds, the role of agribusiness in land-grabbing, control of seeds, pushing pesticides and herbicides.
