Food security concerns in ACP countries: The role of ACP-EU Co-operation

Transcription

1 Food security concerns in ACP countries: The role of ACP-EU Co-operation By Martin Bertram PELUM Association Research and Organization Development Officer

2 What is PELUM? Who are we Participatory Ecolocical Land-Use Management founded 1995, Secretariat of 10 national PELUM Desks Kenya Tanzania Uganda Rwanda 216 member organizations Malawi Zambia Zimbabwe Botswana Lesotho South Africa

3 Issues What are we doing for Africa s rural poor Knowledge and Skills Agricultural policies and funding Trade arrangements Access to resources and infrastructure Participation by marginalized groups Promotion of appropriate technologies Response to HIV /AIDS Mitigating impact of climate changes

4 Fears: What EU might cause Socio-Economic Tendencies in Africa The poor and food production will suffer higher employment through labor intensive production Economic growth / new investments, employment commercial farming Livelihood of the poor, smallholder production / c Population low Present tendency Market reforms transitional problems t

5 Food security is threatened Less food Less income Market opening will lead to a collapse of existing, low developed production raise un-employment and purchasing power for food temporary reduction of commercial farms reduction of prices for smallholder produce reduction of food production more poverty, AIDS, births. If smallholders are not supported via operational NGO-networks

6 It s only the poor who suffer! Food insecurity for whom Who are those poor? 70% of all Sub-Saharan Africans 70% of the populations The 70% small-holder farmers The producers of 85% of the food in Sub-S. Africa The producers of 50% of the GDPs The back-bone of Africa s economy based on small-scale farming and agro-services

7 They can t afford any deterioration of their livelihoods Because they are already in deep water

8 Why to consider The critical element not mere suffering but starvation side-effects NB: even slight worsening of the situation Causes hunger and death Collapse of food production Unemployment with hunger Raising birth-rates Destabilization = a vicious circle of decline Because here, un-equal to Asia the MAJORITY is more vulnerable

9 What to do How to develop and to mitigate problems? Concentrate on the economy of the majority and develop it into the market! Develop small-scale farming The poor are not the locomotives of development but in Africa nothing works without them

10 recommendations How to do that? Open the market for un-disputed activities Do not confront African food- markets with subsidized EU-produce Source Food aid within the region without dumping Respect reservations against irreversible damage by DDT and GMOs or provide liability Leave the EU market open for fair and organic produce Provide ACP politicians training in clear holistic policy making Supply infra-structure to rural centers Include marginalized stakeholders into your consideration Promote ranch-fencing and dipping not border fences against game Support small-scale farmers by upgrading their skills, their sustainable (!) access to water, markets land group-credits political representation and participation

11 Do not just dump money mainly in governments it has proved not to reach at the rural poor* But make sure it reaches at the level of the farms *a Study to prove The statement is available

12 There is a gap How to get benefits to the vulnerable in development structures The flow of services and funds stops above the village level Enough for planning Nothing for the objects of planning in their villages $$$$$ $

13 EU-funds and ACP government implementation Present problems In agricultural policy Un-conditioned funds for rural poor via Agricultural ministries not reaching the poor Sophisticated, supply-dependent High Input agro-production Fertilizer subsidy programs creating dependence and reducing arable land

14 Green Revolution NOT a solution = more input than output A small-scale farmer in Africa gets 10 times more energy out of her produce than she invests A European farmer puts 8 times more in than he receives in the produce African small-scale farmers can not afford and handle High Input Methods

15 Small-scale farmers Specialists needed To get impact In the farm need special help The small-scale farmer is the critical element in African development She doesn t need Workshops or subsidized input But skills for better production provided on the own farm And access to markets

16 How to open the gap Special Trainers needed between development activities and the farmer qualify and multiply field-workers train Trainer-trainers train Village Promotion Farmers train and support District Agricultural Extension Officers = government structures on the lowest level improve the co-operation between NGOs and the states on district-level

17 The effect will be poverty reduction and development

18 Best practice is known The recipe exists but funds for training and field-trainers are missing

19 There are existing Capacities to Convert funds Into impact exist capacities to implement that NGOs like the PELUM Network of 200 small-holder supporting organizations in 10 countries of South- and East Africa translate aid-funds into rural development Information sharing, campaigns for the improvement of small-scale farmers livelihoods through advocacy and lobbying and Empowers smallholders politically

20 Bridging the gap What the NGO- Network can do The NETWORK makes sure funds are serving the farmers organizations It co-ordinates 10 countries activities And 216 member organizations

21 Co-ordination services for the benefit of the rural majority Adjustments of agro-policies Adjustment of trade-policies Political networking within SADC, COMESA, EAC and AU Exchange of best practice Qualification of members to up-scale and up-grade their capacities to create impact

22 To link forces directing funds to receivers in need accounting as a block As problems are global international concepts, based on participatory approach are required to solve some of them The link development programs The link expertise The supply relevant information to politicians NGOs, CBOs, Trainers and farmers synergy with Government programs mainly on District level

23 The partners Funding organizations NGOs for smallholder-support CBOs Ministries of Agriculture Farmer unions Researchers and farmers

24 The difficulty Why it didn work Yet in sufficient scale to reach the farmer Farmers are in remote places They live under harsh conditions They hesitant to change They have very limited means They need capacity builiding That is why few qualified trainers are available to work there

25 How to reach them Field activities are still limited locally and sectorally due to a lack of funds for fieldwork and the lack of funds for the coordination of field-work The ministerial extension officers lack proper training in sustainable small-holder farming and are not well equipped to reach all farmers

26 Trainer training = missing key To develop the poor countryside means to qualify thousands of LEISA on-farm trainers and to give support to their organizations

27 Intensive, sustainable agriculture for the poor Low External Input Sustainable Agriculture is what develops the rural poor into subjects of the market Training of LEISA on-farm Trainers is the tool to do it

28 Avoid a catastrophe! Suggestion to take preventive measures ponder the transitional problems! Train farmers to survive To develop into surplus food production Into resource saving and using producers

29 Food security by skilled farming enough and highly qualified LEISA- trainers the key for rural development PELUM offers LEISA trainer-training for improved rural livelihoods Food security HIV Climate extrema Cheap input Fair prices Water more land arable through soil-maintenance, productivity raised land secured against climatic extrema and pests, mixed crop labor extensive farming, perma-culture, minimum tillage, biological weed-suppression, short ways to fire-wood, cattle and water soil protection against drought, and flood-erosion,, basic supply self-sufficient farm produces fertilizer, pest-management, energy- and water-supply conjoined market-approach through co-ops, partnership with fair processors and exporters, excellent quality and yield water-harvest on the soil through trenches, from the roof for people and livestock, communal water-supply Group loans (communal) grameen-banks

30 To solve the problem, we have to apply methods different from those that caused the problem withfree cit.einstein

31 Some services/training,management needed in rural development rural income fish/shrimp production timber/fire wood honey/wax marketing milk/meet/heifers fruit/vegetables nuts, plants ecologic hydro farming ecologic forest management bee keeping zero grazing agroforestry mangrove management private afforestation private nurseries respect of other s Land use less bush fire fodder cultivation grass harvest It is really Not just training domestic energy improved stoves water harvest water for cattle And farm natural fertilizer soil/nutrient management Looks quite A bit Complicated? cheap water cisterns perma-culture Erosion control Spring building Water supply sewage processing purification by reposition plants

32 Start now! Decent on-farm trainer multiplication Progresses in two-year steps Empowerment of small-holder unions Grows slowly Lobbying with governments takes time

33 International activities need international partners The PELUM NETWORK is one to safeguard funds reaching the poor and to help to up-grade de-central government structures

34 Summary High impact rural development Aid is needed to prevent transitional catastrophes through market reforms The finances should be channeled to NGO-Networks co-operating with government field-workers or visa versa The focus should be on LEISA on-farm trainer-training and funding for training

35 Thank You

36 Improves rural livelihood