“…the first essential component of social justice is adequate food for all mankind. Food is the moral right of all who are born into this world.” -Norman Borlaug, “father of the Green Revolution“
For those who believe access to food is a soft issue, relegated to the compassionate humanitarians inspired by photos of starving children, the events of the past few weeks have shown quite the opposite: access to affordable food is the stuff of massive uprisings. High food prices were a significant catalyst that helped tip the scales in Tunisia, in Egypt, and beyond.
Hunger has consequences, and unceasing hunger has long term consequences. “Chronic undernutrition leads to negative impacts on intellectual capacity, educational performance, and productivity,” according to a new campaign, 1,000 days. “Two hundred million children around the world suffer from chronic undernutrition.”
In other words, 200 million of the next generation will confront major challenges as they attempt to be productive and active members of society. More bad news: world food prices have been on a steady increase upward. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), January recorded an all time high with the coming months showing no reprieve. Exacerbating the problem even more are hoarders. Similar to those anxious folk who, in anticipation of violent weather storms, empty the shelves of their nearest supermarket, nervous governments stockpile food commodities, too, further driving up the price.
While the best interventions for addressing the root causes of the food crisis remain an ongoing and somewhat complex debate, what cannot be argued is the implicit value of simply asking the people themselves what they need to in order to tackle the problem. So, CIPE did that.
CIPE went to farmers in Ghana, where agriculture makes up the largest sector of the economy, and asked them about what they need in order to address food insecurity.
Working with the Private Enterprise Foundation, a national-level non-profit organization based in Accra, CIPE found that many farmer-based organizations (FBOs) lacked mechanisms and tools to analyze policy implications on the operations of their members and advocate to the government for change and improvements within the business climate. FBOs refer to a group of farmers with a common interest in improving agricultural productivity and improving their communities through advocacy and community projects, with regular meeting times, collective bank accounts and governing by-laws.
Most FBO members are smallholders, constituting roughly 80 percent of the total agricultural production in Ghana, and many are women. CIPE and PEF found that one of the major needs for sustained development of FBO’s was their ability and capacity to effectively channel problems to the appropriate authorities to seek solutions, assistance, and policy change. Developed from needs assessments, CIPE has provided ongoing advocacy and capacity training programs to more than 200 FBO’s throughout Ghana whereby they can effectively have a voice in reforming policies and laws that directly impact them. These efforts have resulted in policy changes and engaging stakeholders to acquire new farmland, improve irrigation systems and roads, among others. For sustainable, country-led agricultural development, the power, influence and necessity of smallholder farmers must be seriously considered.
At the recent African Union Summit, a group of leaders gathered that included representatives of the FAO, the World Food Program, and the African Development Bank and agreed that,
“African governments, private sector investors and donors need to pay close attention not to tip the balance against smallholder farmers compared to commercial farmers; not to lock women in the role of producers, while men become the ‘money makers’ when it comes to marketing; and not to hurt food security and nutrition generally guaranteed by the female farmer by focusing too narrowing on large scale modern and mechanized farms owned predominantly by men.”
A prime ingredient in any agricultural supply chain should first be the voices of the farmers as credible businesses. Empowering them to advocate for a better business environment and influence policy reform breeds sustainable food security and stronger democracies. Channeling their needs in an organized, effective dialogue with government can create successful reforms and a win-win for the agricultural sector and the many mouths on the receiving end of the food supply.
Published Date: February 09, 2011