November 29, 1995
Asian NGOs Issue Food Security Declaration
In September 1995, a broad range of sustainable agriculture,
consumer, development and women's non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) met in Bangkok, Thailand, to formulate
food security strategies at a conference organized by the
Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development
(ANGOC). Participants expressed concern that food insecurity
and scarcity continue to exist in Asia despite the region's
economic growth, and issued a declaration in preparation for
the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) World Food
Summit 1996.
The Declaration, "Food for All," examines key elements of
food security, emphasizing that access to nutritious food is
best assured when it is locally produced, processed, stored
and distributed. The Declaration further states that food
security implies an array of social, economic and
environmental goals, including incorporation of women into
decision-making processes, just distribution of land and
production assets, adequate food safety standards and
enforcement, and the right of communities to make informed
choices regarding healthful eating patterns. Food security
requires agricultural systems that maintain farmworker
health, biological diversity, farmers' access to genetic
resources, soil fertility and watershed protection.
Participants at the ANGOC conference identified unequal
distribution of wealth, power and resources as major barriers
to food security. Other constraints include commodification
of food; environmental degradation; trade agreements that
encourage cash cropping rather than food production; and
misguided agricultural research, which is often carried out
by international agricultural research institutions without
farmer participation. The NGO Declaration points out that
Green Revolution technologies, promoted by international
agricultural institutions, have displaced indigenous
knowledge of agriculture and nutrition.
The Declaration also provides an agenda for local, national
and international policy changes to improve food security.
For example, it requires that poor rural communities be given
access to and control over land for food production through
agrarian land reform and assistance from capacity-building
organizations such as seed banks. Agricultural trade policies
under GATT must be changed to prevent cheap imported foods
from destroying markets for local production, and
intellectual property rights systems must be reformed to take
into account farmers' rights. The central role of women to
long-term food self-sufficiency also must be recognized, and
women's access to land, extension services and technological
expertise must be ensured.
The NGO signatories call for follow-up action to the
Declaration in light of the upcoming World Food Summit, which
will convene in Rome, November 1996, with the aim of renewing
the commitment of world leaders to eradicating hunger and
malnutrition and achieving food security for all. According
to FAO, there is an emerging consensus among world leaders
that international policies and strategies must be developed
to address the underlying causes of hunger. FAO hopes that
the Summit's high visibility will raise awareness among
public and private sector decision makers, as well as in the
media and public, and will help mobilize resources for
dealing with all dimensions of worldwide food security.
According to FAO, almost 800 million people in developing
countries face chronic malnutrition and 192 million children
under age five suffer acute or chronic protein and energy
deficiencies. FAO classifies almost 90 nations as low-income
food-deficit countries (LIFDCs), of which 23 are in Asia and
the Pacific.
Sources: Terompet, No.3, Vol.3, 1995; "World Food Summit,"
FAO press release, No.3, August 1995.
Contact: PAN Indonesia, J1 Persada Raya No.1, Menteng Dalam
Jakarta, 12870, Indonesia; phone & fax (62-21) 829-6545.
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