OPINION: It is heartening to see the G8 implementing key recommendations of our hunger taskforce
THE ANNOUNCEMENT that the G8 is investing $20 billion in the fight against hunger is very welcome. Since last September, when Ireland launched its hunger taskforce’s report at the United Nations, I have been advocating internationally for a greater focus on hunger and agricultural productivity. I am pleased to say that Ireland’s leadership on hunger has helped shape the global debate on this issue. It is very heartening to see the G8 implementing the key recommendations of Ireland’s taskforce.
Full implementation of the G8 initiative is essential – and Ireland will play its part. Despite the massive technological advances of the past century, the truth is that hunger remains endemic in our world. Even with increased understanding of the causes of food insecurity, international capability to respond and declarations of determination to take action, levels of world hunger are increasing.
Today almost one billion people are estimated to be undernourished – up from 860 million just one year ago. As food prices throughout the world continue to fluctuate, as climate change undermines agricultural productivity and access to safe water becomes more problematic, one in six of the world’s people are unable to produce, trade or buy enough food for their families. This situation is intolerable and demands a concerted and relentless international response. Ireland is leading that response.
Ireland is showing leadership in pushing for hunger eradication as the key international development priority. The Government’s hunger taskforce report, drawn up by a panel of national and international experts, analysed the causes and consequences of hunger, identified the particular contribution that Ireland can make to its eradication and set out a very clear roadmap for action. Ireland is now committed to three priorities – increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers in Africa, improving nutrition, particularly for mothers and children, and building international political commitment to tackle the crisis. All three elements are reflected in the G8 announcement.
I have designated reducing hunger as a cornerstone of our overseas development assistance programme. Our clear objective is to devote 20 per cent of the Irish aid budget to hunger reduction. I am confident that we will achieve this within a few years. I have appointed a special envoy for hunger, Kevin Farrell, to oversee implementation of all the recommendations of the taskforce. A cross-departmental committee is in place and a hunger unit has been established within the Department of Foreign Affairs.
A key part of an effective response is to enable communities in developing countries to help themselves. They can do so through research for higher-yielding crop varieties adapted to local conditions, through increased access to credit and through improved storage and distribution of farm produce.
I have just returned from Tanzania, where I saw at first hand the returns that investment in smallholder farmers and their communities can bring.
Agriculture has enormous potential as the driver for development in Tanzania, as it does in many sub-Saharan African countries. It employs up to four-fifths of the population. Yet just one quarter of Tanzania’s arable land is cultivated, and only 15 per cent of farmers use fertiliser.
Ireland is working as a lead donor with the government of Tanzania to provide seeds, irrigation, fertilisers and local training officers to help farmers improve the quantity and quality of their produce. In the village of Dakawa, I met farmers who, thanks to Irish aid, are today producing 60 bags of rice each season, up from only five bags. This programme and similar projects that we support throughout Tanzania and in other developing countries are enabling district and village councils to respond to the challenges of improving agricultural yields and productivity. We can expect to see these long-term improvements replicated as a result of the €20 billion investment announced last Friday by the G8 summit.
In the face of global economic crisis, aid budgets internationally are under pressure. There is an onus on all of us in this difficult environment to spare no effort in ensuring that we deliver our aid more effectively, and focus on key priorities.
By thinking locally in devising and driving responses and by acting globally to build political will for sustained action, I am convinced that hunger can be eradicated.
Peter Power is Minister of State for Overseas Development at the Department of Foreign Affairs