Reading that the World Bank's name is attached to this, I can't say that
I agree with the approach of this document.
From the ELDIS AGRICULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT REPORTER, 14 December 2004,
http://www.eldis.org/agriculture/
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
THE STATE OF FOOD INSECURITY IN THE WORLD 2004
Author(s): FAO
Produced by: Economic and Social Department (ES), FAO (2004)
Hunger and malnutrition cause tremendous human suffering,
kill more than five million children every year, and cost
developing countries billions of dollars in lost
productivity and national income, according to the 2004 FAO
annual hunger report.
SOFI 2004 argues that the resources needed to effectively
prevent this human and economic tragedy are minuscule when
compared to the benefits and that without the direct costs
(around $30 billion per year) of dealing with the damage
caused by hunger, more funds would be available to combat
other social problems.
However the FAO is optimistic that the Millennium
Development Goals (MDG) of cutting by half the number of
hungry people in the world by 2015 can still be attained.
Pointing out that more than 30 countries, representing
nearly half the population of the developing world, have
proved that rapid progress is possible and can offer
lessons in how that progress can be achieved. These
countries have reduced the percentage of hungry people by at
least 25 percent during the 1990s.
The report recommends a twin-track strategy that attacks
both the causes and the consequences of extreme poverty and
hunger. Track one includes interventions to improve food
availability and incomes for the poor by enhancing their
productive activities. Track two features targeted
programmes that give the most needy families direct and
immediate access to food. Other recommendations include:
* countries should adopt large-scale programmes to promote
primarily agriculture and rural development
* priority should also be given to actions that will have
an immediate impact on the food security of millions of
vulnerable people.
SOFI 2004 also contains a special feature on globalisation,
urbanisation and changing food systems in developing
countries which focuses on the spread of large retail
chains, such as supermarkets and hypermarkets, in developing
countries and examines the impact they are having on small
farmers. This new commercial phenomenon poses serious
challenges for policy-makers in developing countries who
are trying to develop rural areas and improve the
livelihoods of small-scale farmers. FAO recommends
developing policies and programmes that will help small
farmers seize opportunities offered by the new dynamic
markets.
The report also addresses urbanisation, the increase of
hunger in urban areas, and dietary changes associated with
rapid urbanisation, including an increase in non-
communicable diet-related diseases.
Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC16953
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