Fresh Solutions for Food Security

• Kofi An= nan • William H.= Gates III • Irene B. Rosenfeld
• Michael Treschow • Abhisit Vejjajiva
Chaired by • Josette Sheeran

Friday 30 January
17.15-18.15

Famine is no longer confined to brief event= s in isolated pockets of the world; it is becoming a chronic and growing global threat to peace and prosperity, participants agreed.

Last year’s spike in food prices expa= nded the ranks of the world’s “urgently hungry” by 10%, afflic= ted one in six humans, caused widespread riots and toppled one national governm= ent, observed Josette S= heeran, Executive Director, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Rome, and Ch= air, Global Agenda Council on Food Security. This year, the world may witness “another silent tsunami,” she warned.

The root of the problem is that many farmer= s, especially in Africa, do not have access to the right seeds, fertilizer, credit, land tenure, irrigation equipment and marketing tools to feed themselves, said K= ofi Annan, Secretary-General, United Nations (1997-2006), Membe= r of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum, and Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2009. In Africa it is primarily women who bear the burden of labour. But banks will not likely give them loans, since they have no equity or credit history. By banding together with others in a cooperative to share equipment and costs, he said farmers “could gain more from their hard work than they do today.”

The cooperative must go beyond local farmla= nds, said two multinational business leaders. Collaboration for food security mu= st link coalitions of governments, businesses and civil society globally.

For example, cashew farmers in Africa need = not ship their products to India, only to then have them packaged in Europe. Ti= me and money could be saved and quality improved if the entire process took pl= ace in Africa. “We suppliers need to look at efficiencies across the supp= ly chain,” said Irene B. Rosenfeld, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kraft Foods, USA. “We have the capability, technology, land and water suppl= y, but we don’t have the right food getting to the right people at an affordable price.”

Michael Trescho= w, Chairman, Unilever, Netherlands, agreed.&n= bsp; “Two thirds of our ingredients come from the agricultural food chain,” he said. The company is expanding its sourcing, going from big farmers to 500,000 small farmers, especially in vegetables. “Where we can do more is to help farmers to self-help.”

“The world= has never been more advanced in terms of creating wealth, and yet more and more= are becoming hungry,” observed Abhisit Vejjajiva, Prime Minister of Thailand. “The problem we face is a reflection of market and government failures,” in which food production and distribution are being distorted. “The root cause is a= ll about distribution and purchasing power. In some countries, despite a food surplus, the very poorest are the farmers.”

Participants adv= ocated attacking the long-term problem on two fronts. On the supply side, governme= nts should support farmers with advanced technology and reform landholding righ= ts, both of which can usher in another wave of the Green Revolution. On the dem= and side, developed nations need to get rid of subsidies that distort the value= of food grown in developing countries, allowing higher purchasing power and sa= fety nets so that even the poorest can gain access to food.

In the short term, donors and civil society= must bridge the gap. While there may not be a need for many new programmes, said= William H. Gates III, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA, the developed worldR= 17;s private and public institutions must increase and focus their lending, investments, aid, training, food storage and technology research in the agricultural sector, because doing so now yields multiple benefits down the road. For example, development of drought-resistant seeds will help tropical regions endure the extremes of climate change, while better nutrition means children under five might survive the ravages of viruses and disease.