At the Economic and Social Council's first-ever meeting devoted entirely to the subject of Eliminating Hunger in the New Millennium, FAO Director-General, Mr. Jacques Diouf, stressed the need to increase investment in rural development and food security. Reiterating the urgency to speed up the rate of progress towards reaching the goals of the World Food Summit, Mr. Diouf mentioned the ACC Network on Rural Development and Food Security as the country-level follow-up mechanism to the WFS. He asked that rural development and food security be placed as a priority on national and international agendas. Go to Speech
With membership from UN Agencies, the government, civil society, private sector and research institutions, the Thematic Group on Rural Development and Food Security in Turkey has led an active group ever since its establishment in 1998.
In a recent Thematic Group meeting which brought together 70 participants from all sectors including government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), donor organizations, universities, embassies, media, private sector, and UN agencies, it was unanimously accepted that the Thematic Group take on the role of coordination on food and nutrition issues. The meeting emphasized the need for a cross-cutting approach in combating poverty, and recommended that the Ministries and institutions dealing with rural development, food safety, processing, distribution, marketing, health and nutrition join forces and share information, involving farmer's unions, NGOs, civil society, private sector, academic and research institution, among others.
Recommendations were made to have a food and nutrition policy,
a national plan of action for nutrition and a coordination
mechanism to monitor food security and safety at the local,
national and regional levels. The very valuable role of the
Thematic Group on Rural Development and Food Security as a
mechanism to convene all stakeholders in Turkey was reaffirmed.
Active follow-up action is underway.
Full Document:
Minutes of
the ACC Network on Rural Development and Food Security Thematic
Group Meeting - 12 October 2000, Ankara
On the occasion of the World Food Day (16 October), the Thematic Group in Pakistan published a report called United Nations Statement on Food Security in Pakistan on the national food security status and policy options. The report includes information on government initiatives for ensuring food security and describes policy and strategic options and the role of the United Nations and Multilateral Financial Institutions.
Established in 1998, the Thematic Group on Rural Development and
Food Security in Pakistan has led an active group comprised of UNDP,
WFP, WHO, UNFPA, UNICEF, ILO and FAO as its chair.
Full Report:
United Nations Statement on Food
Security in Pakistan(PDF File)
(For a hard copy of the report, please contact the United Nations System
in Pakistan: UN Resident Coordinator, 9th Floor, Saudi Pak Tower, 61-A,
Jinnah Avenue, Islamabad, Pakistan)
In Vietnam, malnutrition is still widespread. On average, more than 40 percent of all mothers are malnourished, the cause often being childhood malnutrition. The Government of Vietnam formulated in 1990 a comprehensive National Food Security Programme (NFSP) under which the "Vietnamese agriculture will have the prime objective to ensure food supplies and improve nutritional levels of the diets for the whole community, providing not only sufficient calories but also higher levels of proteins, fats and vitamins." The NFSP will be brought forward to 2010 and will be included in the five year plan and ten year strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The development of strategies for the establishment of more stable agricultural eco-systems remains one of the major issues in Vietnam. One of the aims of the NFSP is to shift from the present narrowly based agricultural production focus in rural areas towards an effective agriculture-industry-service structure that will provide local employment and a stable basis for access to food. The Thematic Working Group on Food Security in Vietnam (TWG) assists the Government of Vietnam in these efforts and supports its commitment to involve all elements of civil society in the effective implementation of the NFSP.
Established in early 1999, the objectives of the TWG are to:
actively support the Government's efforts to implement the commitments
in the World Food Summit Plan of Action; strengthen ties and build new
action-oriented partnerships aimed at promoting food security in Vietnam;
and exchange information, experiences and best practices related to food
security and rural development. The TWG's main activities include
support to the development of a national FIVIMS, capacity building
of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), and
advocacy on the importance of food security issues in
Vietnam through education and knowledge sharing.
Full Document:
Thematic Working Group on Food Security -
Input to the World Bank's Vietnam Development Report
Cassava, or Manioc is considered to be one of the most reliable and cheapest sources of food. 'The Validation Forum on the Global Cassava Development Strategy' had announced that cassava could help the fight against hunger and poverty in developing countries if production were increased and marketing improved. In Africa, about 70 percent of cassava production is used as food. It can be grown in places where cereals and other crops do not grow well, and tolerates drought and low-nutrient soils. Global cassava production reached 167.7 million tonnes in 1999 with 60 percent currently used for food and 25 percent for animal feed.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is one of the highest producers
of cassava in the world with a production of 16.5 million tonnes in
1999 . Its Thematic Group of the ACC Network on Rural Development
and Food Security chose the development of cassava cultivation as
its main theme. The Group's membership includes representatives from
the UN member agencies, government, civil society, private sector and
bilateral organizations. It holds regular meetings to share information on on-going projects and present
facts from field studies related to cassava cultivation.
The Group intends to eventually expand its theme to encompass more
national issues related to rural development and food security.
Related Documents:
From 21 August to 30 September 2000, FAO in collaboration with the Resource Centre for Urban Agriculture and Forestry (RUAF) hosted a virtual conference on "Urban and peri-urban agriculture on the policy agenda." The conference represented a follow-up to the 1999 Workshop "Growing Cities, Growing Food : Urban Agriculture on the Policy Agenda", held in Havana, Cuba and addressed questions on Food security and nutrition; Health and the urban environment; and Urban planning. (Papers related to the conference can be found at http://www.fao.org/urbanag/.)
The conference was opened to all interested in urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA), including urban planners and municipal officials, researchers and practitioners. Participants shared needs, research results, questions, and project ideas. 720 participants registered from around the world, including Asia, Latin America, Eastern and Western Europe, East- West- and Southern Africa, the United States of America, Canada and others. Discussion on food security and nutrition issues attracted the greatest attention with a total of 290 participants.
The conference presented several conclusions on urban farmers and the impact of UPA on their livelihoods. In particular, participants emphasized that solutions to urban agriculture problems must be designed to respond to the conditions faced in individual locations and that policies should include different tools and targets for urban, peri-urban and rural agriculture that address their different needs and strengths. In light of the diverse situations faced by cities, participants suggested a participatory approach to finding solutions to urban agricultural constraints.