The
World Bank defines food security: "access by all people at all times to enough
food for an active, healthy life" and to help achieve this in the early part
of the 21st century, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is hosting a
World Food Summit (WFS) in Rome from 13-17 November 1996 where governments will
agree principles and strategies to attain this target.
With an estimated 800 million people chronically underfed,
the need is urgent. Enough food is produced to feed the 5.8 billion people now
living on Earth, but as recognised in the draft Rome Declaration for World
Food Security of the Summit, the main problem is achieving access to food.
Nevertheless, with population growing by an estimated 100 million people a year,
sustainable management of natural resources is crucial.
Many social and economic factors contribute to food
insecurity: poverty, war and repression, racism, gender discrimination and
inappropriate investments to name some key problems. This supplement to
Pesticides News addresses issues which relate to producing food sustainably and
appropriately, while prioritising access.
Since the 1950s agricultural development policies have
shifted through various phases: from transferring technology to increase
production, to the Green Revolution, to integrated rural development in the
1970s-top-down, production oriented approaches. The Green Revolution was
hailed as the answer, and indeed in areas using high yielding varieties with
irrigation and high inputs of fertilisers yields have increased dramatically.
But these approaches have also fostered social disruption, undermined
biodiversity, and remain dependent on high inputs of fertilisers and pesticides.
Pesticide problems resulting from intensive production,
particularly in developing countries, remain unsolved. The health problems arise
from poverty: lack of training in application methods or alternatives;
poor access to clean water for washing, cleaning after routine spraying, or for
washing work clothes; poor access to health care; poor literacy; and wrong
label instructions-among other reasons. Use of older and more hazardous
pesticides such as organophosphates and carbamates, which are cheaper, is
widespread. Pesticides cause environmental problems and impact on biodiversity.
In developing countries they often destroy complex food systems such as those
based on rice and fish. But if current trends continue, developing countries
will buy 35% of all pesticides in the year 2000. Attaining food security cannot
rely on further use of pesticides.
Agenda 21 called for new agricultural approaches based on
strategies such as integrated pest management (IPM): "Chemical control of
agricultural pests has dominated the scene, but its overuse has adverse effects
on farm budgets, human health and the environment, as well as on international
trade. New pest problems continue to develop. IPM, which combines biological
control, host plant resistance and appropriate farming practices and minimizes
the use of pesticides, is the best option for the future, as it guarantees
yields, reduces costs, is environmentally friendly and contributes to the
sustainability of agriculture." Agenda 21 also recognised the need for organic
agriculture and low external input practices. All these approaches advocate
participatory methods for success, recognising farmers as experts. This
supplement reports on these sustainable approaches to food security, and
highlights strategies and successes.
[This
article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 33 as part of
the Focus on Food supplement, September 1996,
page 9]