On World Food Day, WFP and FAO Emphasize Commitment to Supporting the Most Vulnerable
WASHINGTON— The United Nations World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations are jointly honouring World Food Day (16 October) by reaffirming their dedication to working with communities, civil society, governments and the private sector to end hunger.
The theme of this year’s World Food Day is “Agricultural cooperatives—key to feeding the world.”
FAO’s Work to End Hunger
It is estimated that smallholder farmers can provide much of the extra food needed to feed more than nine billion people by 2050. Part of FAO’s work is to help these smallholders become more productive.
FAO supports member governments in helping cooperatives and producer organizations to thrive, by developing adequate policies, legal frameworks, economic incentives, and forums for dialogue on policy making. In addition, FAO generates evidence, knowledge and good practices that support the emergence of more self reliant, inclusive, gender-equitable, and market oriented producer organizations and cooperatives.
“It has been said repeatedly that we have the means to eliminate hunger and malnutrition,” said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. “What is needed is the establishment of an enabling environment that allows small producers to take full advantage of available opportunities. Strong cooperatives and producer organizations are an essential part of that enabling environment.”
In Sudan, FAO’s Sudan Productive Capacity Recovery Programme-Capacity Building (SPCRP-CB) has helped smallholder farmers in Blue Nile, South Kordofan, Red Sea and River Nile states cooperate through its Farmer Field Schools and Small Business Groups. These projects have helped members share knowledge and resources and give them increased collective bargaining power.
WFP’s Work to End Hunger
WFP works with agricultural cooperatives and farmers organizations in many countries around the world, providing training to help improve crop quality, strengthen business practices and increase access to markets. In particular, WFP’s Purchase for Progress (P4P) pilot project has worked with more than 800 farmers’ organizations, comprised of more than one million smallholder farmers, in 20 countries to build capacity and maximize developmental impact of food procurement.
Over the last year, communities on almost every continent have felt the devastating impacts of high food prices, natural disasters, climate emergencies and conflict, which have exacerbated hunger and poverty. Fortunately, working with partners across the globe WFP’s food assistance has brought hope and relief to millions.
“WFP faces many challenges as we work to ensure that the hungry poor receive the right food at the right time,” said WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin. “From the Sahel region stricken by the third drought in recent years, to unrest in the Middle East, to communities whose imported staple foods have become inaccessibly expensive, WFP delivers life-saving food assistance where it is needed most.”
In 2011, WFP reached almost 100 million people in 75 countries, including over 11 million children who received special nutritional support and 23 million children who received school meals or take-home rations.
“Here in Sudan, WFP is reaching this year over 4 million vulnerable people in the country with life saving food assistance and promoting long term food security so that they would be in a position to respond to their own food needs,” said Adnan Khan, WFP Sudan Country Director. “In line with this year’s theme, WFP, in collaboration with relevant government institutions, is also assisting small scale farmers to become self sufficient and less reliant on external assistance through the innovative project of connecting farmers to markets. In 2012, WFP aims to reach some 125,000 farmers across six states in Sudan,” Mr Khan added.
FAO’s Representative a.i. Charles Agobia says World Food Day is an important reminder of the value of working together. “Supporting small producers to become more productive, to have better access to markets and to have stronger bargaining power is a real pathway for them out of poverty and hunger”.
WFP and FAO often work closely together to invest in and boost the production of smallholder farmers and increase people’s access to nutritious food. The two agencies will continue to strengthen and support cooperatives to achieve the common goal of a more food secure and sustainable world.
SOURCE
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)