The well-fed have many problems, the hungry only one - Mission Statement - International Fund for Agricultural Development - Statistical Data Included

UN Chronicle, Sept-Nov, 2001 by Lennart Bage

There is general agreement within the international community that we are not currently on track to reach the goal of the World Food Summit: to reduce by half the number of undernourished people in the world by the year 2015. In other words, the state of world food security and nutrition in 2001 is not what we had hoped it would be. From this, compelling questions follow, namely, what are we doing about the situation, and will we be able to do enough in time to meet the Summit goal?

Poverty hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition are closely linked. On a conceptual level, the interrelations can be complex; on a human level, the reality is startlingly simple. To paraphrase a traditional Chinese proverb: "Well-fed people have many problems, hungry people have only one."

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recognizes that food is a central concern and often a daily preoccupation of those the Fund works for: the rural poor. IFAD was created in 1977, with a clear mandate to prioritize "the need to increase food production and to improve the nutritional level of the poorest populations in food deficit countries". Operationalizing that mandate has been a work in progress, informed by what is now almost 25 years of practical experience.

By lending to Govemments to invest in the poorest and most food insecure areas, IFAD influences the flow of public resources. It draws the attention of policy makers to the links between food insecurity, productivity and equitable economic growth. It fosters recognition of the fact that food insecurity and malnutrition prevent the poor from participating in the mainstream of development. All too often, hunger is looked at in the abstract, without keeping in mind the imperative of thinking about individuals and households, who have not only specific needs but also many strengths. The key to successful and sustainable reduction in poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition lies in identifying constraints and building on strengths. It is important to acknowledge these individuals and households as the agents of change and not merely as passive objects whose problems will be solved by Governments and outside donors.

Three Rome-based United Nations agencies that focus on food-related issues--FAO, WFP and IFAD--recently collaborated to produce System-wide Guidance on Household Food Security and Nutrition, a document that underlined fundamental points of common understanding on household food security: "Although there have been a variety of definitions used in the last decade as the concept developed, there are no serious underlying contradictions. Households are considered food secure when they have year-round access to the amount and variety of safe foods their members need to lead active and healthy lives. Thus, household food security has three key dimensions: the availability of food, access to food, and utilization of food."

IFAD projects typically address more than one of these key dimensions. For example, one project may promote agricultural extension services to increase food production and availability, while also upgrading rural financial services to improve access to food and improving potable water supplies to enhance food utilization. Even when projects do not intentionally address household food security, they often create consequences for food security at the household level, whether positive or negative. Nutrition status is broadly determined by three factors: food security, health and caring practices.

Here again, the natural focus of IFAD projects tends to be on the security factor. However, in project areas where primary health systems are severely constrained and communities prioritize improvements in these services, IFAD projects retain the flexibility to address such needs and priorities.

It is still apparent that IFAD and many other organizations have not been sufficiently farsighted in preparing to meet the challenges associated with the burden of disease experienced by impoverished communities. The HIWAIDS pandemic is but one example, with profound implications across the spectrum of development activities.

Issues of caring practices are of growing importance, as these are typically in the domain of women. This is not the only link between gender, household food security and nutrition, but it is a particularly strong one. Investing in the education of women--through primary schooling for girls, functional literacy for adult women, or nutrition/health education for women's groups-- generates multiple positive effects.

Caring practices tend to improve, as do most indicators of family well-being. More generally, improving women's access to land, income, technologies and knowledge, as well as their ability to influence decisions that have a bearing on their lives, are essential conditions for reductions in hunger and food insecurity.

This is emphasized in the Lending Policies and Criteria by IFAD, where it states that "... the group deserving more particular attention is poor rural women, who are the most significant suppliers of family labour and efficient managers of household food security". Given the general consensus on. the basic issues involved in household food security and nutrition, and the types of activities being promoted by the international community, why then are our efforts still falling short of the mark?