Food security Strategic guideline for German development policy

Transcription

1 Food security Strategic guideline for German development policy Position Paper BMZ Strategy Paper e

2 Dirk Niebel Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Gudrun Kopp Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

3 3 Contents 1. Food security: An integrated approach within German development policy 4 2. Background: The problem of hunger and malnutrition 5 3. Food security what we can do to reduce hunger and malnutrition 6 4. Fields of action for an integrated approach to food security Improving national and regional frameworks for food security Increasing agricultural production in sustainable ways Linking education and food security Linking health and food security Strengthening social protection systems Ensuring food security in fragile contexts and periods of reconstruction 12

4 4 1. Food security: An integrated approach within German development policy Over the last three years, rural development, promoting sustainable agriculture, and fighting hunger and malnutrition have become focal areas of Germany s development policy. The BMZ is providing some 700 million euros a year for these purposes. In June 2013, Germany signed the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact 2013 and pledged to make 200 million euros available by 2020 for projects that contribute directly to improving the quality of food supplies, especially for small children and mothers. In order to provide appropriate guidelines for action in light of its growing financial commitment, the BMZ first adopted a new strategy on rural development in early 2011 and then, in early 2013, a strategy to support sustainable agriculture was added. These two strategies set out some of the main steps to fight hunger and malnutrition successfully: Extensive development measures to reduce poverty in rural areas, a targeted increase in sustainable agricultural production and adaptation to climate change are essential prerequisites in certain regions in order to improve food availability and access to food, and increase people s resilience against food shortages in the wake of natural disasters or economic shocks. Many rural areas are in a difficult situation because agriculture is more or less the only economic activity. Yet agriculture is only one part of the rural economy. Combining agricultural and non-agricultural development is a good way to unlock the full potential of rural areas in terms of employment, poverty reduction and food security. Germany s development policy is therefore grounded in a comprehensive development strategy for rural areas and is geared to achieving economic diversification as a means to boost value creation. Rural and agricultural development are necessary pillars for food security. But they alone are not enough. It takes an integrated, multi-sector approach for all people in a region to enjoy access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food at all times and be able to utilise that food. Such an approach must take into account all aspects of food security and must reach, first and foremost, the communities that are vulnerable to hunger and malnutrition. The aim of the present position paper on food security is to illustrate an integrated approach to food security in six fields of action in development cooperation: 1. Improving the conditions for food security at the country level 2. Agriculture 3. Education 4. Health 5. Social protection 6. Food security in fragile and reconstruction contexts. The position paper is a guideline for the BMZ and its implementing organisations. It will be complemented by a binding strategy with concrete instructions, which will help to give bilateral cooperation projects a stronger focus on food security. 1 1 Activities by other ministries which also make contributions in this area will remain unaffected. The close cooperation in the area of food security that was agreed between the BMELV and the BMZ in a joint outline paper from 5 September 2012 is to be continued.

5 5 2. Background: The problem of hunger and malnutrition Ensuring adequate food for all is one of the biggest challenges for humanity. Almost two billion people do not have secure access to adequate food. And nearly 850 million (2013) of those people suffer hunger. The consequences are very grave, especially for millions of children, as under- and malnutrition over a sustained period of time can cause them to suffer irreversible damage. A healthy and adequate diet during the first days of a child s life i.e. from conception to a child s second birthday has a profound impact on healthy development and on children s ability to realise their full potential. Acute famines due to economic crises, natural disasters or violent conflict often get a lot of media attention for a short time, which easily conveys the false impression that hunger is always crisis-related. However, acute crises only affect a small part of the world s hungry. Food insecurity is, above all, linked to structural problems and is merely aggravated by crises. It will take strong political commitment and systematic action to defeat hunger and malnutrition once and for all. Three quarters of the world s poor and hungry live in rural areas. By moving to cities, many people manage to improve their daily lives, to earn a living and to overcome hunger. City dwellers, however, are obliged to purchase most of their food and are, therefore, especially vulnerable to sudden spikes in food prices.

6 6 3. Food security what we can do to reduce hunger and malnutrition Food security is defined as a situation in which people have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food and water at all times so that they need not go hungry and can live an active and healthy life. Food security has four dimensions: (1) availability of food; (2) access to food; (3) utilisation of food, which is secured by access to sufficient health services, drinking water and sanitation, care capacities and ensuring food safety; (4) stability of food supplies over time. The activities under German development policy in general and in particular under bilateral development cooperation address all four dimensions: > The availability of food, where it is needed, of sufficient quantity, quality and safety, is improved by boosting food production by the national agricultural sector, and promoting livestock raising, forestries, fisheries and trade. > Access to food is improved by creating agricultural and non-agricultural incomes (employment) and, indirectly, by providing access to global public goods such as land and water, and services (education, counselling and social protection). > The utilisation of food depends not only on knowledge about nutrition and on eating habits, but, to a large extent, on access to and on the quality of health services, drinking water and sanitation, and on food safety. > Stability of food supplies is ultimately achieved through a combination of diverse measures to increase people s resilience against natural, economic, social and political shocks. The challenge is multi-dimensional, which means that food security cannot, as a rule, be achieved by means of single, isolated actions. Development pro cesses must much rather be initiated in various sectors and areas of life. The strategies and programmes in our partner countries should be the starting point for this integrated approach. They should serve as the benchmark for international support and the contributions by research, industry and civil society. Germany contributes, first and foremost, through its bilateral cooperation programmes, but also by playing a part in multilateral initiatives, by working on policy coherence for development in the areas of agriculture, fisheries, trade, climate change and protection, energy and the environment, and it is also involved in developing global standards and rules. The challenge of adopting an integrated approach to food security also concerns bilateral development cooperation. A question to be asked systematically in food-insecure countries is whether the agreed priority areas of cooperation can contribute to improving food security in the country and how this aspect can be integrated into projects. The focus should be on five core elements: > Integrating food security issues into areas such as urban development, promoting economic activity, health care and family policy, education, water, energy, and market and transport infrastructure. > Putting a focus on women: Empowering women is crucial to ensure that families and especially children are properly nourished. That is why the BMZ will be stepping up its efforts to involve women in rural development and food security projects, and ensuring that the results can be measured.

7 7 > Involving the private sector specifically to improve the availability of and access to healthy food. This is an area in which Germany is offering very concrete support through the German Food Partnership. 2 Public Private Partnership projects, which combine public funds with private capital, leverage knowledge and resources to achieve food security. Support is given above all to private investment that has an inclusive impact, i.e. that includes people with low incomes as consumers, producers or suppliers in agricultural value chains. > Civil society in the partner country is an important partner for development policy aimed at achieving food security. Cooperation with international civil society is an important pillar to strengthen, at an international level, positions for implementing the right to food, the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, and farmers rights regarding access to seeds and the use of indigenous knowledge. > Systematic monitoring of the impact that relevant programmes within the priority area of rural development have on food security. The aforementioned 2013 strategy paper states that food security must be a goal for projects in the agricultural sector and that corresponding indicators need to be defined. Germany s support for the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact will be complemented by targeted indicators and a process to monitor them. At the international level, Germany will continue to play an active role in efforts to formulate policies, standards and rules for food security. Germany will continue to take an active part in relevant processes within the G8, the G20, the Committee on Food Security and the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement. Germany is actively involved in EU development policy, too, where food security has also become more important once again. This renewed commitment is reflected, for instance, in the Agenda for Change, the EU policy framework to assist developing countries in addressing food security challenges, the concept on resilience and the Communication on Enhancing Maternal and Child Nutrition in External Assistance. 2 There are various international initiatives that support investment in agriculture in developing countries, such as the G8 initiative New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. Germany is cooperating with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), an initiative working on food security that receives considerable support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and provides a platform for private sector commitment. Other initiatives have been launched by the World Economic Forum, NEPAD and a G20 Task Force.

8 8 4. Fields of action for an integrated approach to food security Like poverty reduction, food security is one of the core objectives of development. In the long run, population growth, growing competition for land and water, increasing energy demand and climate change will only add to the challenge. Political determination is the only way to overcome hunger and malnutrition with food security issues being mainstreamed as priority objectives in all fields of action. Both countries affected by hunger and malnutrition and donor countries providing support must do this. Germany is ready to address that challenge in its development policy and has defined six priority fields of action, where our efforts can make a real impact on food security. 4.1 ImprovING NatIoNal and regional frameworks for food security The right to food is a human right. Countries have the responsibility to provide the political institutional and legal framework to ensure food security for their citizens. This is enshrined in Art. 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which in 1966 laid down the universal right to food. This article obliges countries and governments to respect and protect existing access to food and to take appropriate action to address hunger. The voluntary FAO Right to Food Guidelines from 2005 provide specific recommendations for the progressive implementation of the right to food at the national level. Germany recognises its responsibility to contribute to the full realisation of the right to adequate food through international cooperation and to ensure that local people s right to food is observed in all activities. Countries suffering from food insecurity need national strategies to assess their nutrition status, analyse the underlying causes of hunger and malnutrition, explore interdependencies and interaction with other sectors, pinpoint deficits and formulate possible solutions. Ideally, a national strategy is then implemented by means of a mechanism to coordinate different ministries, implementing bodies and civil society. In its development cooperation, Germany supports the efforts of partner countries within agreed priority areas to develop joint regional approaches, such as CAADP 3 in Africa, and to establish key national frameworks such as binding rights to land and water use, solid finance systems and transparent regulatory structures. Poorly developed trade between different regions can be a root cause of underdevelopment and food insecurity. Cross-border trade, especially in the agricultural sector, can help overcome local supply bottlenecks and create incentives to boost production. Transport infrastructure, regional economic integration and dismantling tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade can create the necessary prerequisites. The general framework, however, must ensure that local food needs can be met first; once that has been done exports can create additional income and employment and food imports can expand the range of products on offer locally. 4.2 INcreasING agricultural production IN sustainable ways The BMZ strategy for promoting sustainable agriculture defines a set of core priorities to increase availability and access to food in developing countries. 4 Important factors are a sustainable, climate-friendly increase in production, market access for smallholder farmers, inclusive business models, access to productive resources and the promotion of value chains. This position paper is meant, in addition, to provide a more in-depth analysis of the future contributions 3 The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme. 4 It comprises a comprehensive overview of the principles, goals and areas of action of German development policy, which will only be outlined briefly here, with concrete examples being given for food security, which is the focus of this paper.

9 9 agricultural programmes can make to healthy nutrition and to increase the impact of such programmes, where possible, by means of concrete measures. > Further developing agricultural research that is nutrition-sensitive and can deliver solutions for sustainable food production. In many poor developing countries the level of agricultural productivity is low and the (seasonal) availability of nutritious food is insufficient, especially in rural areas. Increasing sustainable agricultural production is often a key factor in improving food security, as it not only increases the local availability of food, but generates income, too, thus improving access to food. Smallholders and their families, who are mainly subsistence farmers, are especially likely to suffer from poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Increasing their income is important, yet it does not automatically mean improved nutrition, in particular for women and children. In the agricultural programmes that are part of its development cooperation, Germany will therefore make impacts on malnutrition a main focus. Key measures will be: > Ensuring that projects to increase yields and income will above all benefit vulnerable groups affected by food insecurity, in particular women and children. > Explicitly promoting diversification in the agricultural production of staple foods. > Reducing pre- and post-harvest losses. Improving the quality of food can have a huge positive impact on the nutrition status of vulnerable communities (mycotoxins, aflatoxins). > Always giving priority to support for food supplies in agricultural projects in cases where the availability of or physical access to food is insufficient. > Giving priority in food insecure regions to food supply over producing biomass as a source of raw material or energy. In the long run, agriculture cannot supply a growing world population with food if it destroys and depletes its own means of production. The strategy for promoting sustainable agriculture therefore stipulates that programmes which receive support must promote resource-conserving and climatefriendly forms of agriculture. In this respect, a nexus perspective 5 is becoming increasingly important: The various natural input factors for food security are closely interdependent, which is why they need to be viewed, protected and managed together in an integrated approach: > Water has a dual role in food security. On the one hand, safe drinking water is our most important food. On the other hand, water is an essential input for food production and energy generation. Agriculture consumes more than 70 per cent of all the renewable water resources used by people and is therefore a crucial factor in sustainable water use. Collecting rainwater, storing groundwater and reducing water losses in existing irrigation systems are ways of using water resources more efficiently. Good agricultural practices can minimise the pollution of water caused by pesticides and fertilisers leaching into groundwater. Such measures are necessary to ensure that water will be available in the long term as drinking water, for industrial or agricultural use and for energy generation. 5 The Bonn 2011 Nexus Conference, The Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus Solutions for the Green Economy, was convened by the German government to help reach a better understanding of the intersectoral dimension of food security.

10 10 > Energy is an input factor in agriculture and is essential to achieve food security as it is an indispensable factor along the entire value chain, from production and processing to the transport and marketing of food. Approximately one third of the energy produced worldwide is consumed by the agricultural value chain. For energy the same applies as for all other resources: The availability of food will only be sustainable if the expected increase in food demand is met with considerably less energy input. That can only be achieved by significantly increasing energy efficiency and stepping up the use of renewable energies. > Land is a non-renewable vital resource. Half of the world s agricultural land is degraded. The main causes of erosion, salination and loss of soil fertility are deforestation, poor tillage and irrigation practices, or plain and simple overexploitation. Land use practices that lead to increased land degradation and cause immense losses of soil fertility must be replaced by sustainable land management practices. Sustainable control of erosion can be achieved by additional soil and water conservation measures. > Biodiversity supplies ecosystem services that are indispensable for achieving food security. Especially for poor people who directly depend on natural products, biodiversity is a safety net and a vital necessity in order to protect them from threats to food security such as droughts or animal and plant diseases. The conservation of diversity and the use of local plant and animal species directly benefit smallholder farming and significantly reduce the farmers vulnerability to fluctuations in yield and climate conditions. 4.3 linking education and food security Having sufficient and nutritious food is an essential prerequisite for people to actually be able to make the best possible use of education opportunities. In poor countries, however, due to chronic under- and malnutrition, the ability of many children to learn is still seriously hampered. Yet, education is in turn a fundamental necessity in order to overcome poverty and achieve food security. It is instrumental in helping people develop an understanding of healthy nutrition. There are various ways that food security issues can be integrated into education projects. > Nutritional education, which involves food and health issues being incorporated into school and training curricula, and training nutritional experts can help with the broad dissemination of nutrition knowledge and can trigger desirable changes in food preferences and eating habits. > Information campaigns for mothers should be pursued and should go beyond the formal education system. Such campaigns should provide information about the causes and effects of malnutrition in children, recommend exclusive breast-feeding for the first six months and convey knowledge about healthy eating and how to prepare food hygienically. > Training offers in the agricultural sector can help improve farming methods, diversify the range of products, and teach special techniques which can help achieve more efficiency in the production, storage and transportation of agricultural products. At the same time, such measures train up the technical experts a country needs for sustainable economic development and help make agricultural occupations more attractive.

11 11 > School feeding programmes can be an important development measure linking food security, social protection and agricultural support with promoting education, and can be supported if due consideration has been given to value-for-money and the programme s primary objective. School meals are an incentive to attend school, with experience showing that they contribute to higher school enrolment ratios and reduce absenteeism. Well-nourished children are better able to concentrate, which, in turn, improves their ability to learn. Specific measures such as take home rations can promote girls school attendance, in particular. In order to have a direct impact on food security and nutrition status among school children, support for school meal programmes should be tied to certain conditions: a coherent national policy for school meals backed by the necessary sustainable funding, careful selection of eligible schools, combination with deworming programmes, linking programmes to support schemes for smallholder farmers and purchasing the food for the feeding programmes from small farmers. 4.4 linking HealtH and food security Nutrition deficits lead to health deficits. Diseases increase the risk of food insecurity. Similar to the link between promoting education and food security, there is a close interdependency between promoting health and food security. There are various ways that food security issues can be integrated into health projects. > Putting a focus on the prevention of chronic malnutrition in infants, toddlers, pregnant and nursing mothers within the framework of projects on reproductive health. > Preventing and fighting vitamin and mineral deficiencies by working towards adequate diversification of diets, by supplementing and by fortifying food. > Avoiding infectious diseases and worm infections, as diseases caused by contaminated water or a lack of hygiene negatively impact the physical utilisation of food. That is why preventive measures should be promoted, such as blanket basic vaccination programmes, deworming programmes and family counselling with regard to nutrition, hygiene and child care. 4.5 strengthening social protection systems Approximately 80 per cent of all people worldwide have no access to formal social protection. They are highly vulnerable to extreme poverty, illness, unemployment or poverty in old age and, in times of economic crises, are therefore at direct risk of malnutrition and hunger. In order to harness the full poverty reducing and food security potential of measures that promote agricultural or general economic development in rural areas, these measures should be accompanied by social protection programmes. Development cooperation supports efforts to improve access to social protection. Social protection projects can, in turn, contribute considerably to food security. This is especially so if they involve poor and particularly vulnerable communities who are not able to generate incomes on their own or to fight off hunger. > Money transfers and transfers in kind or vouchers improve access to food and make sure that, in crisis situations, people do not resort to negative coping strategies such as selling land or livestock, which would at a later stage threaten their self-sufficiency.

12 12 > Employment programmes (including seasonal programmes) not only provide an income for communities that are vulnerable to food insecurity, but also contribute to improving the local infrastructure, which is indispensable for the production and transportation of food, for instance by rehabilitating agricultural land, carrying out erosion control measures or developing rural infrastructure such as roads and access to fields and markets. > Improving access to public and private (micro) insurance for poorer communities and those at risk of poverty contributes to ensuring food security in the case of disasters, lost harvests and personal crises, such as illness. Insurance schemes can also have the positive effect of enabling producers to re-start production following a crisis or disaster. 4.6 ensuring food security IN fragile contexts and DurING periods of reconstruction Hunger and food insecurity are among the worst consequences of economic crises, natural disasters and violent conflicts. In order to improve food security in fragile contexts and in periods of reconstruction, the German development policy instrument of transitional development assistance links short-, mediumand long-term measures to achieve food security. The overarching objective is to strengthen the resilience of people and institutions against the impacts of crises and future shocks and to create realistic prospects for the future by means of adequate coping and adaptation mechanisms. This approach incorporates the dynamic interactions of humanitarian assistance and long-term development cooperation and contributes specifically to launching and enhancing transformation processes and to systematically strengthening local communities, civil society actors and public institutions. Based on the Comprehensive Framework for Action of the High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis, appointed by the UN Secretary- General, German development policy pursues a two-track approach. On the one hand, short- and medium-term measures are undertaken in order to provide food for communities in need. On the other hand, first steps are taken to stabilise food security in the long term and to combat the underlying causes of hunger. In compliance with the international objective of linking relief, reconstruction and development, development cooperation thus delivers a gradual transition to long-term food security. To achieve food security in transitional contexts, the focus is on three areas: > Measures to improve access to sufficient and adequate food by means of temporary social transfers, such as conditional and non-conditional transfers of food, cash and vouchers. > Nutrition-related measures that reduce or prevent under- and malnutrition, in particular in pregnant and nursing mothers, newborns and small children. > Interventions to (re-)start agricultural production, so as to facilitate access to seeds and other means of production, improve the availability of food, support the conservation of natural means of production and increase revenue to a subsistence level. In all instances, support is provided depending on the immediate needs and opportunities of the people and communities that are especially affected and vulnerable, in order to lay the foundations for sustainable development and to create reliable prospects for the future.

13 Published by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Division for public relations, information and education Edited by the BMZ, Rural development; agriculture; food security Design and layout BLOCK DESIGN Kommunikation & Werbung, Berlin As at October 2013 Addresses of the BMZ offices BMZ Bonn Dahlmannstraße Bonn Germany Tel (0) Fax + 49 (0) BMZ Berlin Stresemannstraße Berlin Germany Tel (0) Fax + 49 (0) poststelle@bmz.bund.de

14 The priorities of German development policy More effectiveness More visibility More commitment More private sector More education More democracy Dirk Niebel Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Gudrun Kopp Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development