Friday, September 24, 2021
News and Views from the Global South
Food and Agriculture
Scientific Panel’s Scoping Report Instructive for Global Food Systems Transformation
On September 10th, on a sweltering summer afternoon, three fishers drove a van around the residential community of Castle Comfort in Dominica, blowing forcefully into their conch shells – the traditional call that there is fresh fish for sale in the area.
On the Verge of Change
Current food systems are no longer fit for the 21st century. Inequitable distribution, poor nutritional habits, and climate change are three issues breaking down our global food systems today, forcing us to look for solutions to transform them. Food aid – very much part of our global food systems – needs to be responsive to the challenges that lie ahead.
How Transforming Food Systems Could Unlock a $12 Trillion Global Windfall
With the world still counting the social and economic costs of the Covid-19 pandemic, amid a fresh “code red” on the climate crisis, food may not seem like the most pressing threat to humanity.
Climate Finance Can Transform Food Systems
September 23, 2021 is the first-ever UN Food Systems Summit, convened to mobilize the highest-priority transformations needed to end hunger through the sustainable production and distribution of food. Transforming food systems to ensure food security for all has never been so urgent.
The UN Food Systems Summit – Food Processing, Consumption, Supply Chain, Loss and Waste
Food processing extends shelf-life and can transforms raw food into attractive, marketable products. It can also prevent contamination. The transformation can involve numerous physical and chemical processes such as mincing, cooking, canning, liquefaction, pickling, macerating, emulsification, irradiation and lyophilization. Frozen processed and raw food changes transport and storage requirements radically; while the packaging of food, both raw and processed, is an industry unto itself.
Nurturing a New Generation of Food Leaders
Food security experts have raised an alarm that with as many as 811 million people the world over or 10 percent of the global population going hungry, the world is off-track to ending hunger and malnutrition.
For Healthier Food Systems: Turn the Tide Against Ultra-Processed Products
COVID-19 has exposed serious vulnerabilities in how people around the world access and consume food. One of the more alarming trends is the significant increase in the consumption of foods that may be tasty and convenient, but harm our heath. These ultra-processed products include sugary drinks, snack foods, frozen meals, packaged breads and frozen desserts.
The UN Food Systems Summit and Some Issues of Concern
Why is the UN holding a Food Systems Summit? Two issues that need discussion at the international leadership level are: Long before the Covid crisis was upon us, the number of hungry people in the world was increasing. Why ? What is the cause of this disturbing trend? And, can a country really claim to be food secure, unless it produces or can buy enough food to feed its population and its people can access sufficient quantities to keep themselves fit and healthy? Disquietening questions as extreme weather begins to show the destructive power that climate change will have on the planet and its people.
Food Experts’ Expectations for Global Food Systems Transformation
Dubbed ‘the People’s Summit, the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) hopes to put the world back on a path to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, through food systems overhauling. From the tempered to the extremely optimistic, experts in various food system sectors share their expectations of transformation.
Fundamental Changes Needed at UN Summit to Tackle Global Food Insecurity
COVID-19 has exposed numerous fractures in global food systems that leave millions at risk of food insecurity. Like the numerous political failures in dealing with COVID, the repercussions of food system failings are experienced by rich and poor countries alike, with the poorest and most marginalised paying the greatest price.
Afghanistan: Efforts To Prevent a Food Crisis Before Everything Becomes More Serious
The traumatic events that occurred in recent weeks in Afghanistan have once again placed this Asian country at the center of the world’s attention with high-impact coverage and analysis in the media.
If Women Farmers were Politicians, the World Would be Fed, says Danielle Nierenberg
Women, key contributors to agriculture production, are missing at the decision table, with alarming consequences, says Food Tank President Danielle Nierenberg in an exclusive interview with IPS.
Right to Food: Can Millets Improve Nutrition Outcomes in Chattisgarh, India?
Chhattisgarh was one of the first few states in the country to universalise the public distribution system (PDS) and provide ‘Right to Food’ to its people. In order to ensure access to quality foodgrains for its vulnerable population, the state introduced the Food Security Act in 2012. The state has been providing support—35 kg of rice at INR 1 and INR 2 per kg; 1 kg of iodised salt and 1 kg refined oil at no cost; 2 kg of grams at INR 5 per kg—to each eligible family (as defined in the act).
Barilla Foundation Report Highlights Need for Food Companies to Align with Sustainable Development Goals
In the backdrop of rising hunger, half of the world’s population living on unhealthy diets, a third of agricultural produce lost to postharvest events, and waste, poverty in farming communities, a pandemic that laid bare the vulnerability of food systems to external shocks and unsustainable food production, the Barilla Foundation for Food and Nutrition has published a report which introduces guidelines for the private sector to fulfil its role in transforming global food systems.
Even as IUCN Congress Closes, Conservation Debate Hots Up
One of the most hotly debated issues at the recently concluded IUCN Congress in Marseilles was about designating 30 percent of the planet's land and water surface as protected areas by 2030.
Southeast Asian Farmers Adapt, Insure against Growing Climate Risks
As incidents of drought and extreme rainfall increase, farmers in Southeast Asia are partnering with experts to develop targeted weather forecasts to work around the threats and, when adaptation becomes too costly, buy specially designed insurance to protect their livelihoods.
Food Systems Summit’s Scientistic Threat
Timely interventions by civil society, including concerned scientists, have prevented many likely abuses of next week’s UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS). The Secretary General (UNSG) must now prevent UN endorsement of what remains of its prime movers’ corporate agenda.
Armed with a New Training Manual, Pacific Farmers Look to Control Deadly Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Infestations
The Pacific has been battling the spread of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles (CRB) for years and is now challenged by the invasion of a new CRB biotype, the CRB-Guam strain, that has spread to seven Pacific Island countries in just a decade leaving thousands of dead palms in its wake. The Guam strain, together with much more established biotype CRB-S has hampered the success of renovation programmes for mature tall palms as well as newly emergent, high-value coconut product industries (such as virgin oil and coconut water) that offer economic opportunities for communities in the region.
The Future of Food & Water Systems in Pakistan & Central Asia?
An intense monsoon season in Pakistan means the country’s food system faces the challenge of both extreme floods and extended droughts. In an effort to address these challenges through cross-sectoral collaboration, Dr. Mohsin Hafeez, IWMI’s Country Representative for Pakistan and Regional Representative for Central Asia, convened a regional dialogue in advance of the UN Food Systems Summit (which is scheduled to take place at the United Nations, September 23) .
Africa’s Farmers Deserve Choices
In a few weeks, the United Nations will host the first international Food Systems Summit. The goal is to create a global movement committed to solving the many dietary, economic and environmental problems linked to the way food is produced, sold and consumed today.
Fiddling in Nairobi While Africa Goes Hungry
As the United Nations gears up for its Food Systems Summit September 23, the urgent need for structural changes in how we grow, harvest, distribute, and consume food has never been more apparent.Next Page »
Fixing food systems while mitigating the impact on climate change are critical challenges in the spotlight as the world gears up for the UN Food Systems Summit in September 2021. The devastating irony of our world is that while, according to the World Food Programme, 690 million people go to bed on an empty stomach each night, the world grows enough food to feed everyone on the planet. The messages are clear. Food systems should be inclusive for all – smallholder farmers, women, indigenous people and youth – and should be robust. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the fragility of the food systems, and it’s clear the world needs more inclusive and resilient food systems. What is required to make this a reality? The UN Secretary-General António Guterres calls for collective action of all citizens to radically change the way we produce, process, and consume food. The summit will see debates on crucial issues to make this a reality, including how science and policy can work together. Many experts believe social protection should be expanded for the poorest, thereby raising the purchasing power of the poorest two billion people, impacting local economies. There is expected to be a strong emphasis on child nutrition, particularly during a child’s first 1000 days. Experts believe that the world should push for infrastructure provision – from roads to storage facilities to open new avenues for producers to participate in the market. There will be a significant call to reduce food waste which costs the global economy about $1 trillion a year. While science and technology are needed, so are the inputs of smallholder farmers and indigenous people whose ancient food practices are seen as a route to sustainability. Inter Press Service (IPS) newswire has been at the forefront of writing about these challenges – from intense reporting in the field with the most vulnerable communities to ensuring the key messages of how to feed people and preserve the planet are disseminated. Working on key information from agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Barilla Centre for Food and Nutrition (BCFN) IPS been a forum for debate about what’s needed to fix food systems. This collection brings together the best of these stories written by journalists working in the field in Africa, Asia and elsewhere in the Global South to experts from each of these organizations.
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