Why the Hunger: Examining Solutions

(page 6 of 6) Examining Solutions A Telefood school garden project in Madagascar helps children attend classes, eat better, and learn farming techniques. © FAO In order to address poverty more effectively through agriculture, many experts call for more public and private investment. The example of China is often cited. As the FAO reports, the Chinese government started investing in rural infrastructure and agricultural research in the late 1970s. Over the next two decades, total grain output increased by 65 percent and the prevalence of hunger was reduced by two thirds. Private funders can help too. In September 2006, the Gates Foundation and Rockefeller Foundation announced an initiative to invest $150 million in helping to spur a new Green Revolution in Africa. Although many are taking a wait-and-see attitude toward this initiative, funds are meant to go, in part, to developing African crops and improving transportation infrastructure. Partnerships among smaller groups can be important as well. As an FAO report details, a cocoa growers association in the Dominican Republic brought together thousands of producers to build farmer capacity and develop organic standards. By working together with a Swiss company, business has boomed and led to a 25 percent increase in employment. IFPRI’s Shenggen Fan adds that agribusiness can benefit small farmers if these farmers can organize and have a voice, allowing them to compete with large companies. Of course, trading rules that benefit one at the expense of the other do not help. Until such a time as a fairer global trading regime is in place, however, strength in numbers can make a difference. The National Smallholder Farmers’ Association of Malawi offers another good example. It has brought together close to 100,000 Malawian smallholders to develop commercial capacity, raise productivity, and provide social benefits to its members. In a smaller, but inspiring example of a cross-border partnership, farmers in Mazon, Illinois have pulled together their expertise and resources to support a Foods Resource Bank whose proceeds go toward constructing wells and gardens in The Gambia. While joint efforts like these can make a positive difference to improving livelihoods, important changes are also necessary at international levels. One of them is locally sourcing food aid. As a recent OneWorld article points out, 70 percent of food aid distributed by the United Nations is the product of developed countries. The European Union, Canada, and Australia have increasingly been buying food from developing countries too, but there is little progress in the United States due to lobbying by big agribusiness firms to protect their own markets. Finally, establishing more self-sufficiency in food production is an important Explore related links and article sources. element for eliminating hunger—like the local seed banks in India cited above. Diversifying smallholder agriculture to ensure, among others, that basic foods are available in rural settings can make a big difference. Some diversification also reduces the risk of relying on one cash crop, which can devastate farming families when there are crop or market failures. ** Talkback! Leave your thoughts below. NEXT ARTICLE - Interview: The World Bank on Agriculture THIS ARTICLE: Page 1 - Introduction Page 2 - The Global Food Supply Page 3 - The Future of Small Farms Page 4 - Is Bigger Better? Page 5 - The Debate over Seeds Page 6 - Examining Solutions PERSPECTIVES HOME: Farm to Table

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