Presentation on food security
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The document discusses food security issues in South Asia. It notes that while cereal production has increased, food insecurity has not significantly decreased due to lack of access to food. It argues that poverty must be addressed to solve food insecurity. A proposed action plan has five pillars: increasing food availability, pro-poor growth strategies, pro-agriculture policies, social safety nets, and links between food/health/nutrition. Challenges to increasing production include water crisis, high energy costs, and need for agricultural diversification and improved marketing. Improving access requires inclusive pro-poor growth and increasing assets/education for the rural poor. An improved policy framework and social safety nets are also needed.
Presentation on food security
- 1. South Asian Parliamentarians and Policymaker’s at Work: Putting Climate Adaptation, Food Security, Population Dynamics Back in the Agenda Sub-Regional Conference 16-18th December 2013 Marriott Hotel, Islamabad FOOD SECURITY ISSUES IN SOUTH ASIA by Muhammad Iqbal Tabish SG-SAARC CCI
- 3. Slide 2 • In this background, ‘food security for all’ has emerged as one of the greatest development and moral challenges of the 21st century. There is therefore an urgent need for renewed commitments from the countries of South Asia to ensure food security for all, by the year 2020, if not earlier. • In the past 10 years, despite a substantial increase in the production of cereals in South Asia there has been no significant reduction in the number of people suffering from food insecurity. This is because food security cannot be ensured only by increasing the availability of food but also by improving access to food. In other words, we can not address the food security issue in South Asia unless the issue of poverty in South Asia is effectively addressed.
- 4. Slide 3 Gravity of Food Security Challenge • At least 30 percent of the population of South Asia (or 500 million people) are still living below the absolute poverty line of $ 1.25 per day. If this bar is raised to $2 a day, more than 60 percent of the population would fall below the poverty line. In the global hunger index by IFPRI for 56 countries for 2013, Bangladesh’s rank is 21 ( 19.4), Pakistan 22 ( 9.3), India 16 (21.3), Nepal 30 ( 17.3), and Sri Lanka is 36 (15.4) • The gravity of food security challenge in the coming decade can be fully grasped if we recognize that by 2025, the present population of South Asia will have increased by 25 percent from 1600 million to at least 2000 million. This growing population will require not only wheat and rice but also pulses, vegetable oils, meat and milk. • Countries with extremely alarming (GHI ≥ 30), alarming (GHI between 20.0 and 29.9) or serious (GHI between 10.0 and 19.9) hunger situation
- 5. Slide 4 MDG on Poverty Not in Sight • In the year 2000, one hundred leaders at the Millennium Summit, agreed at the highest level to the target of halving the proportion of people living below the poverty line by 2015. But we are no where near this target. The moral compulsion of seeking durable solutions to the problems of poverty reduction will increase enormously when policy makers of South Asia begin to recognize that without addressing the poverty issue, they cannot discharge their fundamental responsibility of ensuring food security for all.
- 6. Slide 5 Proposed Action Plan for Food Security in South Asia • Food security requires that availability, access and absorption of food must be simultaneously ensured. Food availability through higher production or imports is absolutely necessary but will not automatically lead to food security unless people have access to food. That in turn will depend on their purchasing power, the trend in food prices and efficacy of any social safety net programmes. Similarly absorption of food to ensure adequate nutrition depends on health facilities and clean drinking water. • Thus, the proposed National Policy for Food Security would have five main pillars: a) Increasing food availability by accelerating the annual agricultural growth to at least 4%. b) A paradigm shift in development strategies to evolve pro-poor growth strategies to ensure better access to food. c) A pro agriculture policy framework to improve terms of trade for agriculture. d) An effective system of social safety nets for the poor e) Closer links between the food system, human health and nutrition
- 7. Slide 6 Increasing Food Production • South Asian experience in increasing the production of wheat and rice has been very positive over the past three decades but some major new challenges must be met if the historic growth trend is to be sustained. • First is the multi dimensional water crisis resulting partly from the dramatic impact of climate change and partly from the absence of a succinct water use policy by national governments. Such a policy must be formulated by all South Asian countries to allow for the optimum management of actual and potential water resources and their proper allocation for different uses and to mitigate the climate change threats. • The Second challenge emerges from the energy intensity of green revolution technologies. Fertilizer and petroleum prices have increased manifold in the past ten years. The resultant increase in cost of food for the consumers has been one of the principal causes of food insecurity in South Asia. The research community of South Asia must face these challenges by evolving less energy intensive cropping patterns and by increasing productivity.
- 8. Slide 7 • The Third challenge is that of agricultural diversification to high value crops. That in turn will require a “marketing revolution” because by definition high value crops are more perishable and require improved post harvest and marketing systems. This challenge should be of particular interest to many business leaders attending this Conclave for establishing cold chains and modern marketing facilities for agricultural crops. • In this context the livestock sector which contributes over 50% to the agricultural GDP of most South Asian countries, needs special attention. There is considerable growth potential in this sub sector, if breeds are improved through artificial insemination, better quality feed and fodder is provided along with improved marketing of milk and meat.
- 9. Slide 8 Access to Food • With the increase in poverty in recent years, combined with a sustained increase in food prices, poor people in South Asia are now spending more than 60 percent of their income on food items, yet they are often forced to rely on less preferred food and to limit the size and frequency of meals. This leads to chronic ill health. • Experience has clearly shown that marginal adjustments in development policies will not address the issue of mass poverty. A paradigm shift will be needed to evolve inclusive pro-poor growth strategies that will change the institutions and local power structures in favour of the poor. This would be the second major pillar of the proposed national food security strategy. • Poverty is also closely associated with inadequate access to productive assets such as land and livestock, as well as to education. Thus efforts to increase rural poor’s access to land and livestock and enhance educational opportunities are critical not only for the alleviation of poverty but also for increasing the level of agricultural output and for improving nutrition.
- 10. Slide 9 Improved Policy Framework • Countries which have made notable progress in food security have invariably given high priority to the agriculture sector and the key manifestation of this priority to ensure improved terms of trade for agriculture. The term of trade for agriculture, defined as a ratio of output prices to input prices, constitutes one of the most important determinants of the profitability of the agriculture sector and the supply response of the farmers. • These terms of trade depend not just on agricultural policies but all the relevant macroeconomic policies like the exchange rate, import and export policies, fiscal policy and the price regime for agricultural trade. In view of the wide fluctuations in international commodity prices, a well conceived system of selective intervention for major food items will be necessary to ensure reasonable stability in food prices by building strategic reserves and special distribution arrangements for remote areas. Such a policy framework should constitute the third important element of the national food security policy.
- 11. Slide 10 Social Safety Nets • Even if a pro-poor growth strategy is successfully implemented, there will always be some vulnerable groups who will require income support or subsidized food. A cost effective system of social safety nets will be the fourth pillar of a national food security strategy. • Different models of social safety nets to provide such support have been tried in South Asia under various schemes of public distribution of subsidized food or cash transfers. Countries of South Asia can study these schemes and learn from each other’s experience. There is however an urgent need for all countries of South Asia to enact food security legislation to make ‘the right to food’ a fundamental right. Such a piece of legislation is currently under discussion in the Indian Parliament.
- 13. Slide-12 Conclusion • In conclusion I would like to recommend that: a) The next SAARC Summit should call upon all member countries to adopt, at the highest level, their respective national Food Security Strategies at the earliest. b) Set up a SAARC expert group to assist member countries to learn from each other’s experience in preparing, implementing and monitoring their respective food security strategies. c) The SAARC Secretariat should be asked to present a progress report on the implementation status of this decision to every SAARC Summit in the coming years. • SAARC CCI is actively involved in voicing the concerns. Parliamentarians need to exhibit greater political will in the formulation and implementation of the food security strategy in their respective countries.
- 14. THANK YOU