\u201cOne in eight people goes to sleep hungry every day,\u201d according to the \u2018State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012\u2019, a document released annually by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).<\/p>\n
The report goes on to state that 870 million people worldwide are starving, a decrease of 130 million since 1992 but still a far cry from the Millennium Development Goal of halving the world\u2019s hungry people by 2015.<\/p>\n
As the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) wrapped up its 39th<\/sup> session in Rome on Saturday [20 Oct 2012] with the promise to begin a two-year consultation process to \u201cdevelop principles for responsible investment in agriculture that respect rights, livelihoods and resources\u201d, hopes were high that local and international efforts could really begin to tackle chronic hunger.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, amid fears of rising prices on the grain market, the FAO dedicated this year\u2019s World Food Day, celebrated on Oct. 16, to \u2018Agricultural cooperatives: key to feeding the world\u2019.<\/p>\n Millions of small-scale producers, particularly in the developing world, are responding to the triple crises of climate change, food price fluctuations and market instability by organising themselves into cooperatives to join forces and collectively tackle national and international policy constraints.<\/p>\n The FAO sees cooperatives as a major way to lift small-scale farmers out of poverty and hunger, and help them to access markets to sell their products, buy inputs at better prices and obtain financial services.<\/p>\n \u201cAgricultural cooperatives can help smallholders overcome these constraints,\u201d FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said in a statement. \u201cCooperatives play a crucial role in generating employment, reducing poverty, improving food security, and contributing to the gross domestic product (GDP) in many countries.\u201d<\/p>\n The FAO chief urged governments to do their part and \u201ccreate conditions that allow producer organisations and cooperatives to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n Cameroonian farmers band together<\/strong><\/p>\n Collins Mangong used to farm a one-hectare piece of land in his native Konnye sub-district in Cameroon\u2019s southwest region. His harvest, most of which came from roots and tubers, was often lost in the post-harvest phase.<\/p>\n \u201cI did not have the financial means to improve my farm and (preserve) my harvest,\u201d he told IPS.<\/p>\n But in 2008, Mangong, along with some 132 farmers\u00a0in the locality,\u00a0came together to form the Ikiliwindi Farmers Roots and Tubers Cooperative Society. Each farmer contributed about 50 dollars as shares, which created a baseline that the farmers used to access bank loans.<\/p>\n \u201cOur cooperative now farms on 25 hectares of land,\u201d Mangong added, harvesting and processing the by-products of cassava such as gari flour. The farmers\u2019 yields per hectare have increased dramatically.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving brought our resources together, we are now able to (procure) inputs like fertilisers, and our yield has risen.<\/p>\n \u201cAt first, I used to get about 1,400 dollars per year by selling cassava from one hectare of land but after we formed the cooperative and I improved my farm I now get two million CFA (about 3,900 dollars) for the same piece of land,\u201d Mangong told IPS.<\/p>\n As production and productivity rises, many in the group are finding new ways of making the harvest more sustainable.<\/p>\n Selamo Dorothy, a member of the Yaounde-based cooperative and head of the Common Initiative Group for Food Security \u00a0has found a novel way of transforming cassava. Her group uses gari to make what she calls \u2018Gari-Light\u2019 \u2013 a fruit-enriched food drink.<\/p>\n \u201cWe also make our own local \u00a0spaghetti \u00a0from tubers like cassava, yams and plantains,\u201d she told IPS.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we want to do is to give value to our own local products, because the market is flooded with imported, manufactured products, most of them genetically modified. Our products are accessible, cheaper and rich because they (are) full of nutrients.\u201d<\/p>\n While launching activities to mark this year\u2019s World Food Day, the Cameroon minister of agriculture and rural development, Essimi Menye, made a strong appeal for farmers to come together into cooperatives.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got the work force. We\u2019ve got fertile land. What we need to do now is to organise our farmers. By coming together in cooperatives, farmers can boost production, get better market access and stand a better chance of negotiating market prices for their produce,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Malawi turns to social protection<\/strong><\/p>\n But establishing cooperatives is not always easy.<\/p>\n Malawi, one of the world\u2019s least developed countries<\/a> (LDCs), is being forced to look at short-term solutions to cushion the most vulnerable from the blows of spiraling food prices fuelled by this year\u2019s poor harvest and rising inflation.<\/p>\n The headline inflation rate soared to 25.5 percent in August, up from 21.7 percent in July, on account of escalating food prices, which have risen 50 percent in the last few months.<\/p>\n Apart from a poor harvest and run-away inflation, increasing global oil prices are also pushing food prices up in Malawi, which hurts the poorest most.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are looking at agriculture cooperatives as a vibrant and effective long-term answer,\u201d Finance Minister Ken Lipenga told IPS.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to reinvent our existing cooperatives, create markets for them and (grant them) loans so they can grow and become sustainable.\u201d<\/p>\n But in the interim, the government is working with the World Bank to roll out social protection programmes that target the most vulnerable members of society, the majority being women head-of-households, and children orphaned by HIV\/AIDS.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the short term, the social cash transfers and food for work programmes are targeting the poorest who fail to acquire minimum daily food requirements,\u201d Lipenga added.<\/p>\n \u201c(The) government has set aside about 94 million dollars (for) rolling out a public works programme, a school feeding programme targeting 980,000 pupils in primary schools, the school bursaries programme targeting 164,800 needy students and a social transfer programme to reach over 30,000 households across the country,\u201d Lipenga said.<\/p>\n International commitments<\/strong><\/p>\n But individual country efforts will not be enough to tackle the crisis of hunger and poverty on a global level.<\/p>\n French President Fran\u00e7ois Hollande called for a high-level meeting on global agricultural governance on the sidelines of World Food Week at FAO headquarters last week to discuss issues of transparency in international agricultural markets; the coordination of international actions; responses to the global demand for food and the fight against ripples effects of food price volatility.<\/p>\n French Minister St\u00e9phane Le Foll said France \u201cwill continue to support any political initiatives and concrete plans in this direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Graziano da Silva said important advances have already been made in terms of governance, referring to the recent reform of the CFS; the establishment by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the high level task force on global food security; and the creation by the G20 of the agricultural market information system (AMIS) to ensure international coordination, information and market transparency.<\/p>\n According to Graziano da Silva, AMIS \u201callowed us to react quickly to the price rise we saw in July 2012, preventing panic, avoiding unilateral actions and further spikes in those initial tense days.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, civil society organisations are requesting that the G20 lay out a road map to urgently address the drivers of price volatility rather than simply responding when crises hit.<\/p>\n