Nowhere is this more relevant than in Sub-Saharan Africa, where agriculture accounts for 30 to 40 percent of total gross domestic product (GDP) and almost 60 percent of export earnings. Agriculture is also the primary source of income and employment for many Africans, including most of the continent’s poorest citizens.

In recent years, many global and national promises have been made reinforcing the importance of agriculture for promoting development and alleviating hunger. But decisionmakers at all levels have often failed to make good on those commitments. Monitoring progress on past pledges—by international donors and African policymakers alike—also needs to be high on the Deauville agenda. In the face of growing challenges to global food security, such as high and volatile food prices, the rising cost of energy, and climate change, we cannot afford to let good intentions remain just that.

Shenggen Fan, Director General of IFPRI

Recognizing that agriculture must play a central role in stimulating economic growth and development across the continent, in 2003, African leaders launched the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and agreed to allocate at least 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture. Although most countries have made progress toward this target, less than a dozen have achieved it.

From 2000 to 2007, public spending on agriculture as a share of agricultural GDP—which takes into account the relative size and importance of the sector—decreased from 4.4 percent to 2.5 percent in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, during the same period, public agricultural expenditures in the region grew by 47 percent in absolute terms, which was significant, but considerably less than East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia, which increased spending by 86 percent and 65 percent, respectively.

Historically, African governments have spent much less on agriculture than their counterparts in other developing countries, but now is the time to reverse that trend. Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region of the developing world expected to have more poor people in 2015 than it did in 1990. Hunger and malnutrition continue to affect nearly 30 percent of the population. In Eastern and Central Africa, the percentage of people living on less than a dollar a day actually increased during the past two decades. An agricultural revival on the continent could help countries tackle these problems and enable them to take advantage of the renewed global interest in agriculture.

After more than two decades of neglect, official development assistance (ODA) to agriculture is gradually on the rise. From the mid-2000s to 2009, ODA commitments to agriculture increased from US$5 billion to nearly US$10 billion, not counting contributions from all multilateral donors. During the same time period, the share of total official development assistance spent on agriculture grew from 4 to 6 percent. At the G8 summit in L’Aquila in 2009, world leaders pledged more than US$20 billion to boost food security and agricultural development. And last year, a multilateral fund, the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, was launched with the goal of improving agricultural production, crop productivity, and food security.

Although these financial commitments are substantial, challenges remain. First and foremost, donors need to make good on their promises—as do African governments themselves.

Second, investments in agriculture should reflect a country’s national priorities, contribute to an overall development strategy, and be supported by good governance and effective policies. Finally, determining the “how” of agricultural spending is as important as the “how much.”

In a world where public resources are not only limited but often scarce, prioritizing investments to maximize benefits and on-the-ground impact is critical. Because countries have different political and economic systems, natural resource endowments, and socioeconomic conditions, a one-size-fits-all strategy will not work. However, IFPRI research shows that in general, spending on agricultural research and development, education, and rural infrastructure—especially rural feeder roads in Africa—are most effective for promoting agricultural growth and reducing poverty.

If G8 leaders are serious about their partnership with Africa, they need to ensure, in a spirit of mutual accountability, that African countries have every opportunity to capitalize on agriculture’s immense potential—beginning with the fulfillment of past pledges. With African countries firmly in the driver’s seat, agriculture can shape and impact development on the continent and ultimately improve the health and wellbeing of all citizens.

by Shenggen Fan

Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

The post G8-Africa Partnership Provides Opportunity to Revitalize Agriculture, Spur Development, and Improve Food Security first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The current global food crisis is having a marked effect on children under two years, with many children ending up undernourished. World leaders have been warned that if this situation is not reversed, it will greatly affect the health and quality of the young population, and make most millennium development goals difficult to achieve.

The 2010 Global Hunger Index

A new report containing the Global Hunger Index for 2010 calls for urgent attention to promoting child nutrition if the world is to solve the challenge of global hunger and its impacts.

The report produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Welthungerhilfe, and Concern Worldwide says that hunger affecting pregnant mothers and children under two years is the leading global hunger challenge today.

Marie Ruel, the Director of IFPRI’s Poverty, Health and Nutrition division and co-author of the report told journalists at the release of the report on Monday that malnutrition among children being witnessed has lifelong implications that can harm the health, productivity, and earning potential of the future generation.

The Global Hunger Index scores countries based on three equally weighted indicators: the proportion of people who are undernourished, the proportion of children under five who are underweight, and the child mortality rate.  The biggest contributor to the global score is child under nutrition, which accounts for almost half of the score.

Interactive map showing the hunger index of different countries

“To improve their scores, many countries must accelerate progress in reducing child malnutrition. Considerable research shows that the window of opportunity for improving nutrition spans from conception to age two.  After age two, the negative effects of undernutrition are largely irreversible,” said Marie in a teleconference, calling for increasing government focus on child nutrition in their food security, health and agriculture programmes.

The report shows that the burden of child under nutrition could be cut by 25-36 percent by providing universal preventive health services and nutrition interventions for children under two and their mothers during pregnancy and lactation.

“The health of women, specifically mothers, is crucial to reducing child malnutrition.  Mothers who were poorly nourished as girls tend to give birth to underweight babies, perpetuating the cycle of undernutrition. Nutrition interventions should be targeted towards girls and women throughout the life cycle and especially as adolescents before they become pregnant,” noted Welthungerhilfe chairperson Bärbel Dieckmann.

Marrie says while there are differences between countries and regions, lack of proper nutrients or hidden hunger still constitutes much of the child malnutrition challenge.

Report’s Recommendations

• target interventions where they will do the most good – among pregnant and breastfeeding women and children in their first two years of life;
• address the underlying causes of undernutrition, including poverty, gender inequality, and conflict;
• engage, empower, and support those working at the local level to improve nutrition;
• and make nutrition, especially for young children, a political priority.

The Global Hunger Index is calculated for 122 developing and transition countries for which data on the three components of hunger are available. Twenty-nine countries have levels of hunger that are “extremely alarming” or “alarming.” Most of these countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

According to the report titled The Challenge of Hunger: Focus on the Crisis of Child Under nutrition, Sub-Sahara Africa reduced its hunger index by 14%, Asia by 26%, while Caribbean countries like Brazil managed to reduce their hunger index by 40%.

Video of IFPRI Klaus Von Grebmer talking about the Global Hunger Index

The report notes that in South Asia, the low nutritional, educational, and social status of women is among the major factors that contribute to a high prevalence of malnutrition in children under five, while low government effectiveness, conflict, political instability, and high rates of HIV and AIDS are among the major factors that lead to high child mortality and a high proportion of people who cannot meet their calorie requirements in Sub-Sahara Africa.

In some countries like Burundi, Madagascar, and Malawi, the report states that about half of the children are stunted (low height for age) due to poor nutrition.

“Conflict, disease, inequality, poor governance, and gender discrimination are factors that can push a country’s level of hunger higher than what would be expected based on its income. In contrast, pro-poor economic growth, strong agricultural performance, and increasing gender equity can reduce hunger below what would be expected based on income,” the report notes.

“Ensuring appropriate and adequate nutrition during the first 1,000 days is absolutely critical,” said Concern Worldwide CEO Tom Arnold, adding that focus on child under nutrition by governments and international funding agencies is one effective way of solving the global hunger problem.

He welcomed the prioritization of food and security by many African governments under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Porgramme, as well as a recent international effort to improve child nutrition headed by the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton as good steps in the right direction.

The Global Hunger Index 2010 report was released Monday ahead of the World Food Day celebrations to be marked on October 16th.

The 2010 Global Hunger Index Report

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2010 Global Hunger Index: Facts and Findings: Sub-Saharan Africa

• Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Eritrea have the greatest levels of hunger.
• Angola, Chad, and Somalia have the highest under-five mortality rates at 20 percent or more.
• More than 50 percent of people in Burundi, the Comoros, the DRC, and Eritrea are undernourished.
• In Burundi, Madagascar, and Malawi, 53 percent of children are stunted (low height for their age); in Ethiopia and Rwanda, the figure stands at 51 percent; and in Niger, 47 percent of children are stunted.
• More than one-third (34 percent) of Mali’s children are stunted, and 11 percent suffer from wasting (low weight for one’s height). Stunting levels were nearly the same in 1996, and the prevalence of wasting has more than doubled.
• Based on the 1990 and 2010 GHI scores, the DRC has experienced the greatest deterioration in hunger, largely because of conflict and political instability. The DRC also has the highest proportion of undernourished people—three-quarters of the population—and one of the highest child mortality rates in the world.

By Gerald Businge

The post Experts call for focus on child nutrition as infants bear burden of global food crisis first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

The International Food Policy Research Institute in a new policy report released on Wednesday said a new approach is needed to achieve the first Millennium development Goal of halving global poverty and hunger.

The cover of the IFPRI report

The IFPRI report, Halving Hunger: Meeting the First Millennium Development Goal through “Business as Unusual” says the new ‘business as unusual’ approach should lead to more political will and commitment to achieving the set target of halving the percentage of hungry people by 2015 that world leaders set in 1990.

The report is being released ahead of the G20 meeting in Canada this weekend. The meeting will bring together leaders of the 20 richest countries to discuss Global banking regulation, the European credit crisis, and sovereign debt burdens among other development issues. The IFPRI report says ending global hunger and poverty should be a top priority on the G20 meeting.

Shenggen Fan, the Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) says ending global hunger and poverty will not be ended by business as usual and world leaders should develop new approaches.

Fan told journalists during a press conference on Wednesday that the number of hungry people in the world is increasing despite promises by the G20 and G8 to increase funding for agriculture and efforts to achieve food security over the past 20 years.

Shenggen Fan, Director General of IFPRI

“The objective of cutting hunger in half can still be achieved, but business as usual will not be enough. What is needed is “business as unusual,” Fanning said, adding that the new approach should see more focus on investing in agriculture and social protection, bringing in new players especially China, Brazil and India; adopting country led bottom-up approach; designing policies using evidence and experiments and creating a mutual accountability system for achieving food security.

See Shenggen Fan’s full statement to G8 and G20 leaders

Fan says apart from increasing investment agriculture and political will to improve agriculture productivity, the new approach should give more protection for the poor. He says investments to achieve food security and development like the recent rush by Asian and European companies to buy agriculture land in Africa should not hurt the poor.

“There is need for more investment in infrastructure and agriculture research, as well as helping improve poor countries’ ability to improve their agriculture,” Fan said.

He said smallholder farmers should be put top on the development agenda to end global hunger through helping them improve agriculture productivity, linking them to markets, putting in place agriculture price stabilization mechanisms, and involving the smallholder farmers in decision making, especially those decisions relating to agriculture and development.

Fan applauded regional initiatives like the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme through which African countries plan together on how to improve agriculture productivity and increase incomes of their citizens, more than 70percent of whom are employed in the agriculture sector. He said African countries have set good targets of investing more than 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture in order to achieve annual growth rate of 6 percent in agriculture, but they need more support from rich countries.

The full IFPRI report, Halving Hunger: Meeting the First Millennium Development Goal through “Business as Unusual” or direct PDF

By Gerald Businge, Ultimate Media

The post World leaders urged to prioritize food security, change development approach first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.