World Food Day - Q3 - Sep 2018

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World Food Day “Our Actions are our Future.

A Zero Hunger world by 2030 is possible” José Graziano da Silva P2

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ur vision is a sustainable and thriving cocoa sector – where farmers prosper, cocoa-growing communities are empowered, human rights are respected, and the environment is conserved

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IN THIS ISSUE

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READ MORE ON GLOBALCAUSE.CO.UK Dr Liz Goodwin, World Resources Institute - Ending food waste could be key to ending hunger

Phil Hogan, EU Commission Reinforcing the EUAfrica partnership in food and farming

Marie Haga Executive Director, Crop Trust Food systems need to move beyond providing calories and, instead, also focus on nutritional value

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There is no time to lose in the fight to end hunger and obesity “Our Actions are our Future. A Zero Hunger world by 2030 is possible,” is the slogan for World Food Day 2018.”

We reap what we sow. In many cultures, this ancient proverb is a warning about what happens to people who behave badly. It also offers an encouraging message, nudging us to prepare well for a positive harvest.

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here are only 12 years left to deliver on the international community’s pledge to eradicate hunger by 2030, a cardinal objective of the Sustainable Development Agenda. There is no time to lose.

Undernourishment has risen year on year since 2014 Sadly, the number of people suffering undernourishment has risen to 821 Follow us

million in 2017. This is the third year increase in a row after a decade of decline. Conflict and climate change impacts, which take their heaviest toll on rural communities, are the main reason for this situation. About 60% of the world’s hungry, and an even more intolerable 75% of stunted children, live in countries affected by conflict.

Building the resilience of poor rural communities and family farmers is key to eradicating hunger, and peace is, too.

Investment is needed to improve the links between field and plate We need policies to spur more privatesector investments in agriculture and rural development, to boost social protection programmes for the vulnerable, and to optimise MediaplanetUK

links between food producers and consumers.

We need science and innovation to find the best seeds, to save precious water resources and to protect biodiversity. The adoption of climatesmart practices is also central to making sure our food systems are able to adapt to climate change and contribute to its mitigation.

We also need to reduce food loss and waste, which affects one third of all the food produced worldwide and carries an estimated annual global bill of $2.6 trillion a year.

672 million people classed ‘obese’ in 2016 World Food Day is not just about making sure people have access to enough calories. Healthy lives require much @MediaplanetUK

José Graziano da Silva Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

better nutrition than we currently enjoy. In 2016, 2.6 billion people were overweight - 672 million of them were obese (13.2% of the global population).

If governments and the private sector do not take serious, coordinated actions on this issue, we may soon have more obese than undernourished people in the world.

Furthermore, childhood overweight affected 38 million children under five years of age, with Africa and Asia representing 25% and 46% of the global total, respectively. The problem of obesity is most significant in North America, but it is worrying that even Africa and Asia are also experiencing an upward trend. Eight of the 20 countries in the world with the fastest rising rates of adult obesity are in Africa. We are witnessing the globalisation of obesity. @MediaplanetUK

Consumer-focused campaigns help prevent food waste Happily, support for doing the right thing is growing. Indeed, a pilot project by a supermarket in Britain found exceptional, 14-fold returns to investments in reducing food loss and waste. Clever campaigns promoting “ugly” fruit and vegetables - a ridiculous description of nature’s bounty – are winning the hearts and minds of many of us in our everyday lives.

Let us spread the word about the new mind-set: adopting healthy diets and preserving our natural resources are essential for a more sustainable world.

We can make it happen.

Please recycle

Industry Developer: Charlotte Platt E-mail: charlotte.platt@mediaplanet.com Industry Development Manager: Sandy SY Lee Content and Production Manager: Kate Jarvis Managing Director: Alex Williams Head of Business Development: Rebecca Nicholson Digital Manager: Jenny Hyndman Designer: Kiane Blackman Digital Intern: Harvey O’Donnell Mediaplanet contact information: Phone: +44 (0) 203 642 0737 E-mail: info.uk@mediaplanet.com

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Why healthier animals help save the planet Humankind and our planet stand on the precipice of a great nutritional reckoning.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently reported that world hunger is on the rise for the third year in a row, with nearly 821 million people undernourished1.

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t the same time, food p ro d u c t i o n must increase by 70% in 2050 to meet growing global demand2. Challenges around global hunger and food security continue to increase.

A similar statistic demonstrates just how much we overuse. Each year, our global population uses natural resources 70% faster than they can be renewed – equivalent to using 1.7 earth’s3. Or, put simply, by early August of this year we burned through the resources that should see us through an entire year.

It is imperative to consider how agriculture can play a part in the solution. Raising healthier animals can sustainably improve the lives of millions of people and our planet.

“Animal protein – meat, milk and eggs – are an essential part of a balanced diet. That’s why it is vitally important we make the health and well-being of animals a priority and identify how to raise them more efficiently, so we can improve lives today while conserving natural resources for future generations,”

said Jeff Simmons, President and CEO of Elanco, a leading animal health company with a legacy of innovating products to meet global challenges.

Healthy animals can impact global hunger One of the most significant threats to food security lies in livestock disease, with 20% of farm animal productivity lost due to illness and death4. This also creates economic losses for farmers and results in numerous ripple effects.

For example, nearly 25% of the global population is anemic5, and anemia from iron deficiency is the most common cause6.

Increased protein in the diet could help solve this widespread form of malnutrition and the most common cause of impaired cognitive d eve l o p m e n t in children. But less available protein and economic losses to farmers make it more difficult for many people to purchase and consume meat, milk and eggs, which all offer important nutritional profiles for human health.

Meat is nutrient-rich in vitamin B12, which is only found in animal food sources, and is also rich in zinc and iron. One egg contains half the protein a child needs each day. Milk is high in calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and protein, which

are all essential for healthy bone growth and the development and maintenance of healthy teeth.

“We can make great strides for global human health and the environment by improving the health and well-being of animals,” said Simmons. “This is because a healthy animal has a direct impact on the health of people and our planet by providing safe, wholesome nutrition and improving environmental sustainability.”

Simmons adds that veterinary oversight is integral to animal health and helps identify ways to ensure that animals live longer, healthier and higher-quality lives.

the people who care for animals is crucial to improving global animal health yet poses a significant challenge.

Multi-stakeholder partnerships are changing that.

“Our partnerships bring together the people and assets to meet the multifaceted needs of farmers and the livestock for which they care,” said Maria Zampaglione, shared value advisor for Elanco. “While our expertise is animal health, our partners bring infrastructure and additional insights to the table resulting in impactful solutions – the types of solutions that can provide long-term answers to food security issues.”

For instance, one project in East Africa demonstrates the interconnectedness that starts with animals and helps local farming families increase livestock production. The shared value project provides them with access to high-quality, reliable veterinary medicines and knowledge to combat livestock disease. It also supplies the animal health tools in quantities and packages useful to smallholder farmers, while offering training on disease awareness, preventative animal healthcare, and more. Supporting these farmers reduces hunger and poverty in a sustainable way.

“Providing training and access

It is vitally important we make the health and well-being of animals a priority He also points to innovation as essential to providing more protein using fewer resources, and reducing or eliminating hunger while maximizing food choices for consumers. The key is getting tools in the hands of farmers, and helping them learn how to use innovative medicines.

Improving animal health through partnerships Providing education and tools that improve animal health and support

Jeff Simmons President and CEO, Elanco

to reliable, effective animal health tools helps smallholder farmers identify, prevent and treat livestock illness, protecting their herds from devastating losses,” said Simmons.

That’s the kind of action that will help secure the future nutritional needs around the world without bringing increasing pressures on the natural resource base.

About The East Africa Growth Accelerator Elanco Animal Health is committed to providing services and resources to improve animal health and foodanimal production in more than 70 countries around the world. Elanco supports the East Africa Growth Accelerator through veterinary resources and education. The goals of the project are to train 12,000 farmers, treat 1.1 million cows and 16 million chickens, and give 240,000 dairy and poultry farmers access to affordable animal health products by 2020.

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1: WWW.FAO.ORG/STATE-OF-FOOD-SECURITY-NUTRITION/EN/ 2: WWW.FAO.ORG/FILEADMIN/TEMPLATES/WSFS/DOCS/ISSUES_PAPERS/HLEF2050_GLOBAL_AGRICULTURE.PDF, PAGE 2 3: WWF.PANDA.ORG/?307230/EARTH-OVERSHOOT-DAY-2017-IS-AUGUST-2 4: WWW.RR-AFRICA.OIE.INT/EN/NEWS/ INDEX.HTML 5: WWW.WHO.INT/NUTRITION/TOPICS/3_FOODCONSUMPTION/EN/INDEX4.HTML 6: WWW.FAO.ORG/HOME/EN

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A decade of action to improve child malnutrition Dr Francesco Branca Director, Department of Nutrition for Health and Development World Health Organization

To end child malnutrition, countries must make SMART commitments says Dr Francesco Branca, Director, Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, World Health Organization.

How do we define ‘malnutrition’?

There are different forms of malnutrition, which cause different problems. There’s undernutrition, or ‘stunting’, where a child has a low height for their age; and ‘wasting’, or acute malnutrition, where a child has a low weight for their height. Then there’s ‘hidden hunger’ caused by a shortage of vitamins and minerals, which can lead to noncommunicable diseases such as anemia. An individual who is overweight or obese is also malnourished. These different forms can be present in the same communities, and even in the same individual, at different stages of the life course or at the same time.

What are the latest figures1 regarding malnutrition?

Globally, stunting is estimated to affect 151 million children under five, and wasting is thought to impact 51 million. Meanwhile, 38 million children under five are overweight. The world is facing a double burden of malnutrition. It’s not just high-income nations that have obesity and low-income nations that have undernutrition. The challenges overlap in many countries. On the plus side, we are seeing a decline in stunting — although not as quickly as we would like. We want to reduce it even further, by 30%, by 2025.

Is poverty the cause of malnutrition?

Poorer socio-economic groups have higher proportions of malnutrition, whether it’s undernutrition, vitamin or mineral deficiency or obesity. But it’s not just having a low income that’s the problem. A person’s entire environment — including their access to, say, good services, healthy food, clean water and sanitation — can be a factor. Inadequate breastfeeding can lead to malnutrition. That might occur when a mother has to return to work soon after delivery because her job offers little in the way of maternity protection, or because she does not receive adequate support by health workers. And, of course, children experience severe malnutrition in those countries that are affected by famine and war.

What is the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition?

Around the world, countries are making general commitments to better nutrition; but we want them to make specific ones which are measurable and time-bound (SMART). That would be a game-changer towards achieving a healthier and more sustainable future. The UN Decade of Action — proclaimed in 2016 — sees various member states coming together to make specific commitments to address nutrition over the next 10 years across a number of policy areas. That includes making more investment in healthy food production; providing nutritional services in primary health care, social protection and adequate educational information to consumers; and changing rules of trade. This can be achieved by 2025: we don’t want to see generation after generation of children suffering from all forms of malnutrition.

But we do have to see results in years, not decades.

Tony Greenway 1: www.who.int/news-room/detail/11-09-2018-global-hunger-continues-to-rise---new-un-report-says

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Ending food waste could be key to ending hunger Dr. Liz Goodwin Senior Fellow and Director, Food Loss and Waste, World Resources Institute

Today, more than 800 million people are hungry around the world, while one-third of the food we produce is never consumed.

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he Sustainable Development Goals have prioritized ending global hunger through Goal 2, and food loss and waste is addressed through Target 3 of Goal 12. But the issues are not so siloed, and we must look at both in tandem to solve either.

A lack of cooking skills means more food is wasted I often surprise people when I talk about the fact that some of those who are hungry in developed countries, for example, are also some of the many who waste food.

Some of those who are hungry in developed countries, for example, are also some of the many who waste food In the United Kingdom, many families struggle to afford their food bill. As with the general population, a decline in home cooking skills means they often rely on processed and prepared foods, which can cost more. And because many don’t understand how to make use of leftovers or are confused by date labels, food unnecessarily ends up thrown away.

Through simple steps like teaching people how to cook, we can help families stretch their food budgets while wasting less.

I’m always inspired by a woman who was struggling to feed herself and her son, yet was able to reduce her food spending by 80% after a training course in cooking.

Ending hunger and reducing food loss and waste are economic challenges as much as they are moral ones. Smart policy must start by bringing together a range of leaders – political, religious, business and social – to look at the issues as complex and intertwined, but also as solvable.

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PHOTOS: HANNAH MAULE-FFINCH, UNICEF

Improving nutrition will fuel economic growth but needs new investment The global food system is broken. As a result of increasingly erratic climate conditions, this broken system exacts an immediate human cost on the world’s poor – increasing hunger and malnutrition.

Ertharin Cousin

Board Director, The Power of Nutrition

The latest statistics from the UN show that 821 million people – around one in nine people around the world – were reported to be undernourished in 2017, an increase from 804 million in 2016.

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t a chronic level, 151 million children under five years old currently suffer from stunting, a further 51 million suffer from wasting, and undernutrition remains an underlying cause of over half the deaths of children in this age group.

Women and children are most affected As is so often the case with issues related to poverty and injustice, women and children carry a disproportionate share of this burden. Children affected by stunting are 1.5 times more likely to die from diseases such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria or measles and their ability to learn is impaired PHOTOS: HANNAH MAULE-FFINCH, UNICEF

undernutrition can reduce a child’s IQ by as much as 15%.

At a purely human level, justice demands the global community to stop this growing human tragedy.

Moving beyond this evolving crisis, any hope of achieving the Zero Hunger Sustainable Development Goal requires a significant step change, including greater focus, investment and innovation – with absolutely no space for complacency.

Tackling hunger and undernutrition should not require a hard sell Improving nutrition won’t just help more children to have healthier, safer lives or succeed at school.

It will generate a transformative impact on whole societies – reducing an avoidable healthcare burden, untapping the full potential of future generations and increasing economic opportunity.

Long-term undernutrition can cause a cycle of stunting Chronic undernutrition creates irreversible stunting, a condition that prevents sufficient physical and mental development, inevitably effecting future education and employment potential. This all too often results in a vicious cycle where children affected by stunting, as adults are then more likely to raise children who also suffer from undernutrition, trapping generations in an ongoing web of poverty and limited opportunity.

Undernutrition can cost as much as 11% in GDP Chronically malnourished children are more vulnerable to disease, placing increased pressures onto already stretched public health systems. The World Bank has

calculated that the economic impact of undernutrition costs countries up to 11% in lost GDP. In contrast, the results of investing in nutrition speak for themselves. The World Health Organization estimates that every $1 spent on helping mothers to breastfeed during the first six months generates up to a $35 economic return. And children free from stunting are 33% more likely to escape poverty.

Tackling undernutrition therefore represents an investment in longterm economic development.

In countries such as Peru, achieving measurable reductions in childhood malnutrition has helped to successfully remove pressures on public healthcare programmes.

As a result, they have been able to release resources to invest in other vital programmes such as tackling avoidable diseases or improving education.

Improved nutrition benefits commerce Commercial organisations also stand to benefit – through access to a more dynamic workforce, growing consumer markets and more resilient and secure supply chains. In a global economy, where we buy goods and services from all around the world, this is important progress that can have a long-term and sustainable impact. Helping the growth of emerging markets in Asia and Africa, where the highest burden of undernutrition can be found, will have a positive commercial impact on businesses around the world and potentially enable them to translate vital savings and benefits back to shareholders, employees and consumers.

So, this is clearly an area where

what is right for individuals, including children in some of the world’s poorest countries, is also in the best interests of national governments, businesses and commercial investors. It is also an area where responding to an immediate moral imperative constitutes a prudent long-term investment in countries’ futures that will help them grow their economies and become less dependent on foreign aid or development assistance.

New Investment is needed to overcome barriers to better nutrition Given the potential benefits, perhaps the biggest challenge around nutrition is understanding and overcoming the barriers holding back progress. The interventions required to deliver a reduction in undernutrition are not prohibitively expensive – with education and behaviour change likely to have as much impact as more costly measures.

However, given the sheer numbers involved, making sufficient progress will require scaling up successful small programmes, which in turn depends on unlocking much greater investment. Until recently, the absence of adequate coordination or innovative financing bodies limited the ability to drive the increase in financial and technical investment required.

That’s why I am excited about the progress that The Power of Nutrition has made in the relatively short time since its formation in 2015 – unlocking more than US$360 million in new investment and working through world-class implementing partners to help fund national-level nutrition programmes, which are taking to scale proven interventions

that will improve nutrition in the crucial first 1,000 days of a child’s life.

Generating $1billion in new funding by 2022 This investment is already driving promising results. The first two investment programmes, in Tanzania and Liberia, have reached more than 7 million children under five and over 2 million women.

Investments like this will help reduce the risk of undernutrition, stunting and wasting.

Further programmes have been initiated in Ethiopia, Madagascar and Rwanda, with the Cote D’Ivoire soon to join them. Investments in Indonesia, Burkina Faso, India, Benin and Nigeria are anticipated to receive approval in the next 12 months as part of an ambitious programme that reflects The Power of Nutrition’s strategic goal to unlock $1billion in new funding by 2022.

Beyond the immediate progress in raising new funds and supporting new investment programmes, and the impact that these programmes are having on the ground, this success also provides a valuable blueprint for others to follow – demonstrating the long-term return of investment that will come from giving mothers and young children access to better nutrition.

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Partnerships to fight global hunger

H.E Mario Arvelo Chairperson of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), Ambassador, Permanent Representative of the Dominican Republic to FAO, IFAD and WFP

Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) are vital for food security and nutrition says Mario Arvelo, Chair of United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

How is the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) supporting the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development?

Everything we do is designed to provide support to countries towards achieving the 2030 Agenda, with a primary focus on zero hunger. We seek concrete, practical and knowledge-based solutions for addressing the root causes of hunger and malnutrition with voluntary guidelines and policy recommendations on more than a dozen subjects essential to food security and nutrition.

What are multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) and why are they so important for food security and nutrition?

Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) are collaborative arrangements between different spheres of society, including the public and private sectors, non-governmental organisations and many other actors, such as academia. These stakeholders pool their human, financial and knowledge-based resources, while sharing risks and responsibilities.

How can MSPs be effective?

The latest report on MSPs from CFS High-Level panel of experts includes a recommendation that serves as a useful orientation for governments and other stakeholders involved in the fight to eradicate hunger and malnutrition: a call to action to create policy frameworks to facilitate more effective partnerships to achieve the realisation of the right to food. These new collaborative arrangements have the potential to forge more efficient, effective and inclusive responses to global policy problems.

How can achieving food security and nutrition be financed?

The primary responsibility for combatting hunger and malnutrition and ensuring their eradication rests upon national governments.

Alas, not all public structures can deliver all funding needed to achieve zero hunger for all mankind by 2030 — and borrowing is not a sustainable, long-term solution.

Constructive ways forward include creating new investments by leveraging what we already know works well. Public-private partnerships, tapping into philanthropies, can make sources of finance available. Spending in human capital, with an emphasis on building local capacities and resilience, has proven to attract and generate funding.

Ultimately, the full integration of women and young people as equal partners at all stages of food systems will unleash selfsustainable funding for development that will benefit every citizen of every country, sending hunger to the history books.

What are the challenges of creating effective MSPs? The keys for unlocking effective partnerships are, firstly, adequate information and secondly, political will. Adequate information includes being aware of the inherent value of MSPs, the need for inclusiveness, transparency and accountability in MSP relationships, and a clear view of goals. As for the second challenge, political will that is strong, focused and sustained, is the common prerequisite for solving this and all other issues surrounding food security and nutrition.

Tony Greenway Read more at fao.org/cfs/cfs45/

Task force on rural Africa - reinforcing the EUAfrica partnership in food and farming

Phil Hogan EU Commissioner, Agriculture and Rural Development

To further develop Africa’s agricultural sector and increase job creation, the European Commission set up an independent expert group on agriculture in Africa under the co-patronage of EU Commissioner for agriculture and rural development, Phil Hogan.

Bridging the gap between opportunity and reality We know that the 21st century holds massive opportunity for Africa.

Projected population growth will increase Africa’s population to 4.2 billion people by 2100, while the EU population will only reach 600 million. The growing young African population is a tremendous resource, with significant potential for economic opportunity, business growth and investment from third countries.

And nowhere is this potential stronger than in the agriculture and agri-food sector, which employs up to 75% of the African labour force while representing less than 33% of African GDP. But the reality needs to catch up to the opportunity. There is a need to create 18 million new jobs every year, but currently only 3 million new jobs are being created. Given this formidable challenge, we need to speed things up, and this is where the Task Force on Rural Africa comes into the picture. We want the members of the Task Force, to take this momentum and use it to generate new ideas and proposals for where we go next.

The Task Force will provide advice on how to unlock the potential of Africa’s agricultural sector In May 2018, the expert group on agriculture in Africa kicked

off with their first meeting in Brussels. The Task Force will assist the Commission by providing it with expertise, advice and recommendations on reinforcing the EU-Africa partnership in food and farming, aiming to further develop Africa’s agricultural sector and increase job creation.

The Task Force Rural Africa is comprised of 11 members from various African and European countries, with different and complementary profiles, in areas such as agriculture, agri-business, finance, development, research and sustainable production. The experts will meet for six full day sessions, concluding with a final report to be presented in January 2019. This report will include recommendations and where appropriate, proposals for further initiatives under the Joint Africa EU Strategy.

Enhancing partnerships across government, agribusiness and private sector Making these changes happen will require enhancing the partnerships between governments, international partners, agribusiness and the private sector to foster responsible investments and link African farmers to global markets and value chains. All of this is about “partnership”. This is why I am very keen on underlining the critical role of Sustainable Development Goal 17, “To revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.”

Let me stress that we also need a “culture of cooperation” at local level. Investments will only serve their intended purpose if they are accepted and well-managed on

the ground, based on transparent and fair and inclusive resource management. We need to explore the economic, social and cultural inter-linkages of agriculture with wider society. We need to engage all rural stakeholders by fostering partnership and bottom-up approaches.

This is precisely the mandate of this new Task Force - to bring together African and European expertise and advice to enhance the role of the agri-food and business sector in creating sustainable jobs and growth. We need to reflect on what we can do better. Besides the fundamental development assistance, how can we better target policy support, foster investment in rural areas and support agribusiness?

We have a unique opportunity to show that policy exchange and cooperation in agriculture works and provides for jobs and income opportunities. I want agriculture to be among the first sectors where we have a successful policy dialogue, with real positive outcomes, between the two continents. A strong, stable and prosperous Africa is essential for the EU. And by working closely together, we can help to bridge the gap between opportunity and reality.

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Why working together is the way to a living income Collaborative action is needed by companies, consumers and governments if smallholder families are to earn a living income from the produce they grow on their farms.

Dr Gerd Müller The German Federal Minister, Economic Cooperation and Development

Every working smallholder farmer in every corner of the world deserves to earn a living income. This is an income that does more than simply lift growers and their families above the poverty line. Instead, it should ensure that everyone in their household can enjoy a decent standard of living.

Antonie Fountain Managing Director, The VOICE Network

hat’s the dream anyway.

The reality is that a shocking 63% of people working in agriculture live in extreme poverty. In fact, according to figures from the World Bank, there are an estimated 500 million smallholder farming households globally, who comprise a large proportion of the world’s poor living on less than $2 a day. This situation has to end insists Dr Gerd Müller, the German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development — and governments around the world can help by offering their support in a number of areas.

“Farmers in developing countries must be able to make a living from their work,” says Müller. “We support them by jointly developing better farming methods and additional sources of income. We also help build the capacity of local authorities so that they can support farmers in their work.”

consumers also have to get involved and have a responsibility to buy fairly — not just cheaply. “Buying sustainable, fairly traded products benefits farmers directly,” he says. “Through our purchasing choices, we can put pressure on retailers and industry to get them to respect human rights and pay fair prices in global supply chains.”

Government support and consumer power are indispensable to end the economic plight facing many smallholder farmers. But moreover, companies need to do their bit, too.

By joining forces, they can create consistent sustainability messages while using their influence and resources more effectively.

Because, ultimately, this is a systemic problem, so collaboration between all actors is critical. “To solve poverty issues, everyone needs to play their part,” says Antonie Fountain, Managing Director of The Voice Network, an association of NGOs and Trade Unions working on sustainability in the field of cocoa production. “That means businesses, governments, civil society, academia, farmers, etc., getting together to identify objectives and share learnings. We’re starting to see results, slowly: there’s now a broad industry ambition to end deforestation in major cocoa-producing countries, for instance.”

Buying fairly, not cheaply But Dr Müller also stresses that this problem is so big and so devastating that governments can’t possibly tackle it alone. German and European

Bringing different stakeholders together What’s more, GIZ — the German development cooperation commissioned by the German Federal Min-

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istry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is facilitating ‘The Living Income Community of Practice’, which brings together different stakeholders to work towards a living income for smallholder farming families. “With our work, we have been able to show that there is a large gap between what cocoa farmers should earn and what they are actually earning today,” says Christoph Beier, Vice-Chair of the Management Board at GIZ. “This should be a wakeup call to companies and governments to take remedial action.”

Dr Beier notes that smallholder farmers producing for global supply chains often receive just a fraction of the consumer price, so living incomes have to be an integral part of sustainable supply chains. The trouble is, says Antonie Fountain, some companies don’t know enough about their suppliers and who they source their products from. Yet they have a moral duty to find out.

A living income isn't 'a nice to have'. It should be a human right Businesses should understand their supply chains “I find it incredible that, in the 21st century, products are still being grown

Sarah Roberts Executive Director, Ethical Tea Partnership

or made off the back of exploitation and extreme poverty,” notes Fountain.

“The second UN Guiding Principle on Business and Human Rights states that companies have a responsibility to respect human rights. But how can a company do that if it doesn’t understand every part of its supply chain? Businesses must have reliable and credible auditing systems in place to make sure they are sourcing sustainably and ethically. Otherwise they’re effectively saying: ‘We don’t care what happens in our supply chains.’”

Sarah Roberts is Executive Director of The Ethical Tea Partnership, a not for profit organisation bringing together tea companies with development agencies, NGOs, and governments to create a fairer, more sustainable tea industry. She believes that deeper collaboration between companies, governments and NGOs and a focus on longer term social impact work is the key to improving lives in tea communities.

Roberts says: “By working together we can amplify and accelerate our impact. A good example of this is our work with our partners on Malawi Tea 2020. Together with the Tea Association of Malawi (TAML), Oxfam, IDH (the Sustainable Trade Initiative), and GIZ (German Development Agency), we’re leading a coalition of stakeholders from across the entire tea value chain with the aim of creating a more competitive Malawian tea industry where workers earn a living wage and smallholders are thriving.”

“It is clear that in addition to

Dr Christoph Beier Vice-Chair, The Management Board, GIZ

collaborative working, companies also need to know the realities that farmers and workers are facing - they should look at what they can do with regard to their own terms of trade and procurement practices,” Roberts adds.

Giving farmers skills and vocational training Another way to help smallholder farmers is by helping them diversify into other areas if they aren’t able to earn a living income from agriculture alone. “Take Malawi, where a number of factors impact on tea farmers’ incomes,” says Roberts. “A significant one is that many people struggle to produce a living income when they only have small plots of land. So it is essential that governments are investing in skills training and vocational development for those who will not be able to earn enough income from their plots.”

A living income isn’t ‘a nice to have’. It should be a human right, and work is happening to help all smallholder farmers achieve it. But it’s a massive undertaking and more needs to be done. Joined up thinking and collaborative action from everyone is the only way forward.

Tony Greenway

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Why seed banks ensure we can all eat healthily Marie Haga Executive Director, Crop Trust

For a planet full of healthy people, our food systems need to move beyond providing calories and, instead, also focus on the nutritional value of what we eat.

F

ortunately, scientists have been working hard on this. New crops have been developed that contain higher levels of important vitamins and micronutrients. These crops are often bred to have additional benefits, such as heat or drought tolerance, or resistance to pests and diseases.

How are crops stored?

The often-forgotten seed banks play a pivotal role in the development of these crops. As seed storage and distribution facilities, they provide scientists with the plants they need for research. These have included, for example, a species of bean from Central America that is unusually high in iron.

Se banks are the essential Seed middlemen for these kinds of breakthroughs in crop breeding ngg Cross-breeding crops to battle nutrient deficiency in developing countries By crossbreeding these beans – stored at a seed bank in Colombia - with high-yielding types, scientists were able to develop new varieties that can thrive in other parts of the world – such as Rwanda, where iron deficiency and anemia are endemic. Seed banks have been central to the development of other ‘biofortified’ crops, including vitamin A-rich sweet potato – work that won the World Food Prize in 2016.

Seed banks are the essential middlemen for these kinds of breakthroughs in crop breeding. They play a vital role in developing a new food system that doesn’t just feed us but nourishes us too. Above all else, they ensure that the miracle of seeds continue to work wonders for some of the most vulnerable people on the planet.

Marie Haga *Marie Haga is Executive Director of the Crop Trust, an international nonprofit organization which works to preserve crop diversity in order to protect global food security.

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Working together to ensure a harvest for the world The seed sector is on a mission to make high quality seed accessible to everyone while meeting the challenges of a changing world. To do so effectively and sustainably involves pooling resources and expertise.

T

he seed sector has a vision, says Michael Keller, Secretary General of the International Seed Federation, the organisation representing over 7500 companies at a global level. It wants to make high quality seed accessible to all. And why? To meet the challenges of a changing world, including climate change, emerging pests and disease, and lack of new arable land.These issues threaten yield stability and increase, and therefore pose major threats to the three pillars of food security: food quantity, food quality and food safety.

If farmers are to guarantee a harvest

that can help feed the world’s growing population, they need to plant high quality seed. “That means ensuring that the seed is free from pests and disease,” says Keller. “But, actually, it’s more than that. It’s also about the quality of the seed’s germination, purity and the genetic potential of the variety that farmers will choose. All these factors determine potential harvest.

If farmers have poor quality seed, they are at a disadvantage from the start, in terms of potential harvest, crop quality and nutritional value of the crop.”

Think global, act local Some experts believe that global food production will have to double by 2050 to meet demand. Crop failure is simply not an option. Unfortunately, extreme weather conditions such as flooding and drought regularly undermine production of crops such as wheat, corn, rice or vegetables, bankrupting farmers and increasing food poverty

locally, regionally and globally. Indeed, the UN’s World Food Programme estimates that hunger and child malnutrition could rise by as much as 20% by the middle of this century because of climate change alone.

Some experts believe that global food production will have to double by 2050 to meet demand. Crop failure is simply not an option.

Fortunately, plant breeding innovation within the seed sector is supporting farmers to solve these seemingly intractable challenges.

For example, plant breeders are continuously developing improved varieties able to withstand climatic changes, as well as to resist emerging pests and disease. “Plant breeders are also looking to find ways to adapt seed to the ecological conditions of its local environment,” explains Keller. “A seed is not like an industrial product that can be created on a factory production line anywhere in the world. It has to be bred

Michael Keller Secretary General, International Seed Federation (ISF)

and tested locally. There has to be an understanding of the soils and climate conditions it will encounter.”

Working together Developing a new seed variety has traditionally been a long process that can take 10, 12 or even 15 years. But by pooling knowledge, expertise and the latest breeding methods, it’s hoped that plant breeding will be more efficient. To make this all-important plant breeding as effective as possible, the private seed sector is also working closely with the public sector — including national public research and international institutes. This public-private crossfertilisation is bolstering food security in another crucial way.

Rest assured, says Keller, the seed sector — with its diversity of family companies, cooperatives, small, midsize or multinational companies including breeders, producers, and traders — will continue to engage with

farmers, other organisations, foundations and non-governmental organisations to find the best solutions to the agricultural and ecological challenges facing our world. “We will continue to contribute to the fight against hunger because we know we have a responsibility to bring improved varieties and high quality seed to the market,” he says. “We also know we can’t do this in isolation. We want to make this a collective effort to achieve sustainable agriculture and food security.”

Tony Greenway

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The plant that could tackle blindness Up to half a million children around the world are going blind every year due to a lack of vitamin A in their diets. In East Africa, plant scientists are working to biofortify a common crop, sorghum, to tackle this problem.

According to the World Health Organization, vitamin A deficiency — which afflicts 250 million children worldwide — is the leading cause of preventable blindness in children and increases the risk of disease and death from severe infections.

I

t is a public health problem in more than half the world’s nations, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia, affecting young children and pregnant women in low-income countries the hardest.

Genetically-modifying crops to prevent vitamin deficiency In Kenya, scientists are tackling this

problem by developing biofortified sorghum, a staple crop that has been genetically modified to contain higher levels of vitamin A. More than 300 million sub-Saharan Africans depend on sorghum as their primary calorie source. Its drought- and heat-tolerant properties mean it is a vital crop in drought-prone countries, where irrigation is not always accessible or affordable.

Improving the nutritional level of staple crops can provide both food and nutritional security.

The Africa Biofortified Sorghum, or ABS, project is a public-private partnership established to tackle chronic vitamin A deficiency in children, as well as improve levels of zinc and iron. If it gets commercial approval, it will be the first-ever biotech sorghum on the market. Like

Golden Rice, biofortified sorghum is a cutting-edge approach to food security and quality.

Sorghum is indigenous, so it is easy to introduce to farmers In terms of tonnage, sorghum is Africa’s second most important cereal and because it originated in East Africa, Africans know how to plant, cook and eat it.

Dr Titus Magomere, a lecturer in biotechnology at Kenyatta University, is one of 70 scientists involved in the ABS project. He says it is the obvious crop to focus on.

“With the work that I am doing with biofortified sorghum, we are not trying to change the way people live, we are just improving the available nutrients in what they

Dorothy A smallholder farmer from Kiatine village, Kenya

already have,” he said.

“This is the first step,” he explained. “The second step has been to increase availability of iron and zinc and this has been done by reducing the levels of a protein that binds iron and zinc in the plants.

We hope once the product is ready, a meal of sorghum, which will be available to the local farmers, will reduce nutritional deficiencies significantly.”

Farmers like Dorothy Warubua from Kenya are hoping to take these scientific advancements from the lab to the fields.

“Sorghum needs very little rain.

If you plant sorghum and maize at the same time, the sorghum will succeed but the maize often will not — so that's why we prefer sorghum,” says Warubua.

A reliable harvest also means a more secure source of nutrition and income for farmers and their families.

With people like Warubua growing food for her community, and Magomere enhancing micronutrients in staple crops, the chronic nutritional deficiencies that haunt millions of African children can start to be addressed.

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Improving animal welfare to sustainably protect and feed the world Dr Monique Eloit Director-General, The World Organization for Animal Health

A fresh perspective is arising on animal welfare issues, with a growing awareness that animal welfare is consistent with sustainable livestock development.

This evolution will undoubtedly contribute to the development of new, more animal-friendly practices.

A growing population to feed The human population is growing, and expected to reach 10 billion by 2050, boosting agricultural demand. As a result, the demand for animal protein, e.g. coming from milk, eggs or meat, is expected to increase by 70% by 2050.

At the same time, in many regions of the world, conventional livestock systems and supply chains are generally still linked with serious animal welfare issues, leading to ethical challenges, but also to disease spread, production inefficiency, and consequently to economic losses and poor food quality.

Consumers’ expectations of a more sustainable livestock production, which is more respectful of animal welfare, are also broadening. However, in many countries, the burden of rural poverty, as well as poor food safety and security still lead to problems of child malnutrition and high mortality.

How can we feed the world, while respecting animal welfare?

Simultaneous drivers for change In food production systems, attention to animal welfare can improve productivity, quality, food safety, and economic returns, thus contributing to food security and economic prosperity. Dairy cows handled gently have, for example, a markedly better milk productivity than those being aversively handled during milking.

Ethical and economic drivers for animal welfare should consequently be taken into account simultaneously: they constitute complementary components .

It is by addressing this challenging equation that we will build a world where the welfare of animals is respected, promoted and advanced, in ways that complement the pursuit of animal health, human well-being, socio-economic development and environmental sustainability. Animal welfare should no longer be considered as an additional constraint but as an intrinsic component of production systems.

Putting words into practice To make this a reality, the World Organization for Animal Health works with its 182 Member Countries to help them define and put into practice international standards addressing animal welfare. By implementing them, national veterinary services can make a concrete and significant contribution not only to animal protection but also to the well-being of human populations across the world.

Our actions are our future: Protecting animals means preserving our future and contributing to a #ZeroHunger world by 2030.

Innovations are imperative to ending hunger and malnutrition Dr Shenggen Fan Director-General, The International Food Policy Research Institute

Food security and nutrition are directly or indirectly related to all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and can be considered a prerequisite to sustainable development. It is thus imperative to accelerate progress on eliminating hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030 to pave the way for achieving all the SDGs.

D

espite substantial progress in defeating hunger over the past decade, the gains have slowed in recent years, with an increase in the global undernourished population from 784 million in 2014 to nearly 821 million in 2017.

Africa and Asia, home to the largest numbers of the hungry and malnourished in the world, are in the midst of a rapid nutrition transition where hunger and obesity exist side by side – in fact obesity is rising faster than undernutrition is declining.

Latin America and the Middle East are also witnessing rapid increases in overweight and obesity, particularly among children and women.

Overcoming the multiple burdens of malnutrition – including stunting, wasting, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity, and diet-related non-communicable diseases – will require innovations that reshape food systems beyond business-as-usual.

Crop-sensing technologies and climate-resistant crops are needed Innovations are key to accelerating progress for a sustainable and healthy food future. Multiple-win and game-changing technologies are key drivers of innovation in food systems, while policies and institutions are central to creating enabling environments.

Multiple-win technologies need to be promoted, and one way is to invest in evidence-based technologies.

Crop-sensing technologies help with fertiliser efficiency by assessing plant nitrogen needs. Such technology has, in Mexico, increased profit by $37/hectare and avoided over 9,500 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions1 for wheat farmers.

Improved, climate-resilient crop varieties, such as cassava varieties in Nigeria, are early maturing, pest- and drought-resistant, and have increased yields by over 60%2.

Technologies that are nutritiondriven or nutrition sensitive, such as biofortification, provide vit min- and mineral-rich crops3 in over 30 countries.

Swapping meat for labgrown or meat alternatives can reduce environmental impact Equally important will be scaling up new and established gamechanging technologies. Alternative proteins, or lab-grown meat have the potential to significantly reduce the environmental impact and health risks associated with rising overconsumption of animal products.

Research shows that producing cultured meat can mean 96% lower GHG emissions and water use, and 99% lower land use4 compared to conventional meats.

Gene sequencing and editing, the cost for which has been declining rapidly, can play a vital role in improving agriculture in challenging climates 5 through seed improvements. Big data and analytics are also key to lower transaction costs and improve monitoring for all actors along the food value chain, from producers, processors, to consumers.

Institutions must support policies for ending malnutrition At the same time, policies and institutions require innovative approaches to create enabling environments. Policy reforms are

key to increase the availability and affordability of healthy foods.

Increased investment in research and development is needed for nutritious foods, like fruits, vegetables, beans, dairy, and fish.

Subsidies for agricultural inputs and staple crops should instead be utilised to support incomes of vulnerable groups or the production of healthy foods, to account for higher prices of healthy foods .

Promote healthy diets by reducing taxes on fruit and veg To incentivise healthy diets, promoting taxes on emissionsintensive foods, like meat and dairy, while exempting health-critical food groups like fruit and vegetables to protect food and nutrition security in developing countries, would reduce diet- and weightrelated risk factors7 while decreasing environmental footprint. Nutritiontargeted social protection, especially combined with behaviour change communication, can contribute to improved nutrition as seen in Bangladesh8.

Furthermore, strong institutions are key to closing gender gaps. Tools like the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI)9, which measures women’s empowerment, agency, and inclusion in agriculture, will play a critical role in identifying current gaps and constraints.

Similarly, enhanced monitoring and accountability of the government is important to track our progress, and we must leverage the data revolution and big data analytics for quality, evidence-based evaluation.

To ensure a sustainable and healthy food future and accelerate progress towards ending hunger and malnutrition, robust evidence, good gover na nce, a nd st rong commitment from all stakeholders are crucial.

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1: HTTPS://CCAFS.CGIAR.ORG/PUBLICATIONS/GREENSEEKER-HANDHELD-RESEARCH-BRIEF-FARMER-TECHNOLOGY-ADOPTION-AND-DISADOPTION#.W6EYPVJRCWP 2: HTTPS://ISPC.CGIAR.ORG/SITES/DEFAULT/FILES/PDF/ISPC_BRIEF_64_IMPACT_CASSAVA_NIGERIA.PDF 3: HTTP://WWW.HARVESTPLUS.ORG/KNOWLEDGE-MARKET/IN-THE-NEWS/CELEBRATINGOUR-PARTNERS-2017-ANNUAL-REPORT 4: HTTPS://PUBS.ACS.ORG/DOI/ABS/10.1021/ES200130U 5: HTTPS://WWW.NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV/PMC/ARTICLES/PMC4807965/ 6: DOCUMENTS. WORLDBANK.ORG/CURATED/EN/382091534429994437/PDF/WPS8557.PDF 7: HTTPS://WWW.NATURE.COM/ARTICLES/NCLIMATE3155 8: HTTPS://WWW.CAMBRIDGE.ORG/CORE/SERVICES/

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Why sustainability is part of the mission “protect for better growth” FMC Corporation uses cutting edge technology and ground-breaking R&D to discover and develop new agricultural solutions that protect crops, the environment and health, as well as contribute to better harvests.

Dr Duncan T. Aust Head of Plant Health Global R&D, Director of EMEA R&D

The world's food supply is under threat. Farmers are facing immense pressure to feed a growing global population. They also must address increasingly difficult growing conditions caused by climate change while battling the pests and diseases that threaten to destroy their crops.

F

or farmers — and, ultimately, for all of us — crop failure is not an option.

To do their job effectively, farmers need reliable protection solutions that help safeguard crops and contribute to a good harvest whilst at the same time protect the environment and health, as well as the safety of users and consumers That's where FMC Corporation comes in. Since it was founded in 1883, FMC's crop protection solutions, applications and products have helped growers and farmers keep their crops secure and disease-free, enable better yields and provide an affordable, healthy and sustainable high-quality food supply.

Research and development programmes for sustainable products Because agriculture is a fastmoving, ever-evolving industry

that increasingly relies on groundbreaking and innovative solutions, strong R&D capabilities are critical.

That's why the company — which employs more than 6,500 people around the world — is committed to research and development programmes that are focused on developing new sustainable products to meet the requirements of its global consumer base.

Naturally, new science requires major investment. Several years ago, in addition to the development of its sustainable synthetic active ingredient offerings, FMC decided to develop a new plant health business.

To that end, it established a state-ofthe-art European Innovation Center (EIC) near Copenhagen, Denmark, to focus on the discovery and development of natural biological pest management products and solutions.

The facility, which opened in 2016, houses microbiology, molecular biology, analytical and formulation laboratories, together with cuttingedge greenhouses and fermentation facilities, and is already rapidly producing exciting results. For instance, the EIC innovation team recently developed the first natural insecticides to control insects damaging seeds and crop roots, plus new bio-fungicides that can protect the leaves and fruits of growing vegetables.

Innovating for progress: pest control solutions offered via mobile apps After this discovery phase, products are then tested in real conditions at FMC's European Research and Development Center in Alsace, France. Some products have already come to the market. For example, the company's first biological plant protection solutions were launched in Brazil recently — and more are on the way.

“Our R&D centers drive progress and create a promising pipeline of possible biological solutions to be developed in the years to come,” says Duncan Aust, Head of Biologicals R&D at FMC Corporation. “Our Development of plant health offerings and research in plant biologicals demonstrates a true commitment to sustainable agricultural innovation.”

Of course, innovation comes in many forms — and FMC also offers farmers an advanced, 'smart' digital service. By monitoring fields around Europe, the corporation can track the development of different types of insects in different types of crops, and then recommend to growers — via an app and email — the best pest control products to use and when to use them.

Putting the emphasis on corporate social responsibility Yet innovation isn't FMC's only

focus. It is keenly aware that corporate responsibility needs to be at the center of everything the agrochemical industry does, and recognises that it has a special duty to protect the environment, the health and safety of its employees and the population at large. It has therefore prioritised five major global challenges in its strategy for sustainable development: food and health expectation, environmental consciousness, climate change, scarce resources and land competition — all of which shape the way the company does business.

In 2015, FMC also became a signatory to the UN Global Compact, which asks companies to align their “strategies and operations with universal principles on human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption, and take actions that advance societal goals.” Additionally, FMC recently issued its seventh sustainability report, outlining its commitment to activities and progress in environmental responsibility, safety, human rights, diversity and inclusion, community engagement and product innovation.

technology company, the fifth-largest crop protection company in the world, and is on a mission to “protect for better growth.”

“With the acquisition in November 2017 of the majority of DuPont’s crop protection assets, FMC Agricultural Solutions now has a broader product portfolio, deeper pipeline, greater regional reach and balance and a full- discovery R&D engine,” says Marc Hullebroeck, President Europe, Middle East and Africa, FMC Corporation.

“We will continue our commitment to address global challenges, now with the scale, reach and innovative products to even better help customers feed a growing population in a sustainable way.”

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Q&A with David Beasley, Executive Director, World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley Executive Director, World Food Programme

Is it realistic to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030?

We can achieve Zero Hunger, but we must do more to end conflict.

Sixty per cent of the 821 million hungry people in the world are living in conflict zones. It’s even more tragic for children – it is estimated that 122 million of the 155 million children who are stunted live in countries affected by conflict. The primary reason hunger is on the rise after decades of progress is conflict, and we will never reverse that if the conflicts keep occurring. Sadly, since the mid-1990s, most of the conflicts are recurrences of previous disputes. That’s why we need more comprehensive and long-term engagement from the international community that improves stability and supports people as they rebuild.

How do we fight hunger and malnutrition?

We must have a long-term focus that is not just about food, but about helping people create stable communities with functioning, resilient marketplaces. For example, in Niger, World Food Programme (WFP) has been working with several partner organisations to help more than 250,000 people in about 35 communes, or towns, with a multisector approach that builds resilience and stability. More precisely, the programmes in Niger cover land regeneration and water harvesting, working with women’s groups to plant tree nurseries and community gardens and school meals through community gardens. A concerted, focused effort like this can create stability, the kind of conditions that help a family, a community and a region take care of itself.

What is the role of partnerships from private and public sectors to achieve SDG 2 to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030?

Zero Hunger is not attainable without effective partnerships at every level – non-government organisations, governments, civil society and the private sector. That long-term strategic approach I’ve mentioned needs private sector expertise. We work with the private sector on innovative new solutions, like blockchain, or in technological advancements that help us plan the scale and speed of operations. And of course, the private sector financial support also helps as well. I will also say that we need the private sector to step up more. With all the wealth in the world today, no child should go to bed hungry. There are enough resources, and enough talent, to help us end hunger.

A Zero Hunger Eastern Africa is possible David Phiri FAO Subregional Coordinator, Eastern Africa and Representative to the African Union and UNECA

Is Zero Hunger – a world free of hunger by 2030 – possible in East Africa?

A: Absolutely! The African Union’s heads of state, through the Malabo declaration in 2014, committed to reach this goal even earlier, by 2025.

What more needs to happen to end hunger?

A: We need to better address climate change. Droughts and floods are more frequent and intense, giving communities no respite. New plant and animal pests and diseases have emerged and the established ones attack more ferociously. For example, fall armyworm and avian influenza are devastating the food and agriculture sector.

As a rule of thumb, communities and governments should always plan and prepare as if the agricultural season is going to be negatively affected somehow, and use climatesmart agriculture approaches.

Countries also need to translate political will into concrete actions,

supporting rural communities with essential resources to increase food security and eradicate hunger.

Any Zero Hunger achievements we should know about?

A: One crucial aspect is the African continental free trade area (ACFTA).

This can accelerate ending hunger as countries trade food and agricultural products more freely with each other.

Together with the standardisation of food safety regulations and stronger support for rural communities, the ACFTA will help East Africa reach Zero Hunger.

People in East Africa are incredibly resilient. What are some of the most striking examples?

A: In the mid-1980s, the world was shocked by images of hunger in Eastern Africa as famine hit the region. Despite the intensity of East Africa’s last drought (2016-2017), the prevalence and severity of hunger were minimal. It was the same for

Southern Africa following its El Niño-induced drought – the worst in 50 years. Not one person died because of drought. We often do not hear about these success stories, but they show that over the years, the efforts of governments and development partners like FAO are paying off.

What does a Zero Hunger world mean to you?

A: A Zero Hunger world means better economies, health, education and more gender equality and social development. For me, it means that organisations like FAO will not exist to preach food security, but to sustain existing food security, focusing more on nutrition, environmental friendly agriculture, and rural development. Zero Hunger also means no food aid anywhere in the world.

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Agricultural researchers boost fight against malnutrition with staple crops

GLOBALCAUSE.CO.UK 13

Martin Kropff

Director General, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)

For several decades, plant breeders have been focused not only on boosting yields and improving crop hardiness, but also on developing crop varieties with greater nutritional value.

“By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.”

Those words frame the first part of UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 , “Zero Hunger,” established as one of 17 overall objectives to alleviate poverty worldwide. As part of achieving SDG 2, measurable indicators include considering the prevalence of undernourishment in addition to the persistence of moderate or severe food insecurity.

What may be less well known is that the second clause of SDG 2 states: “By 2030, end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving, by 2025, the internationally agreed targets on stunting and wasting

in children under five years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women and older persons.”

At the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), we are doing our part to help achieve all of the targets of SDG 2, including boosting yields, production and maintaining genetic diversity, to name a few.

We are also making strides toward improving the nutritional value of wheat and maize, recognising that the nutritional balance should come from a more diverse diet.

Unfortunately, many do not have access to it.

The good news is that the proportion of undernourished people dropped from 15% in 20002002 to 11% between 2014 and 2016.

During that same period the number of undernourished fell from 930 million people to 793 million.

But there is much more work to be done Currently, almost 2 billion people do not consume enough essential

vitamins and minerals required for healthy brain and body development.

We believe agricultural research organisations such as CIMMYT should continue to play a significant role in reducing these numbers.

Staple cereal grains make up a significant proportion of diets, and demand for this affordable and efficient source of energy in developing countries will continue to increase in the future apace with population growth and dietary need.

Discussions on global hunger risks often focus on ensuring the availability of staple foods, but cereals are not simply energy providers – they also contain significant amounts of other important nutrients, including proteins, fibre, lipids, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.

Whole grain cereals – with higher levels of bioactive compounds and complex carbohydrates – are an especially important component of a healthy and diverse diet .

For people reliant on staple crops and without access to a diverse diet, including almost 800 million who

go hungry, one avenue of providing more nutritious food is through new varieties of staple crops.

Nutritious staples For several decades, plant breeders have been focused not only on boosting yields and improving crop hardiness, but also on developing crop varieties with greater nutritional value.

Quality protein maize – originally developed in the 1990s – is now grown on 1.2 million hectares around the world, while pro-vitamin A maize is grown on at least 100,000 hectares in Africa and has been shown to be as effective as vitamin supplements. High-zinc wheat is also taking off in Asia, and the first high-zinc maize varieties for Latin America were released in February .

These biofortification efforts demand investment in improved breeding approaches , but overall they are cost-effective and make a big impact .

In addition to undernutrition, obesity is on the rise, with around 650 million people now seriously

overweight, including 350 million children and adolescents.

Closer work with producers, retailers and other businesses in the agri-food sector is required to both develop more nutritious foods that satisfy consumers and involve more farmers – particularly smallholders – in producing nutritious and healthy food sustainably. At CIMMYT, we encourage greater productivity and crop diversity.

There is still much we have to learn, but the more we understand the intersections and connections between food production and nutrition, the more we understand the potential to find solutions to complex challenges.

Biofortifying maize and wheat crops is one tool in the box – albeit a hugely important one in the effort to end global hunger.

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1: SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT.UN.ORG/SDG2 2: WHO.INT/NEWS-ROOM/FACT-SHEETS/DETAIL/MALNUTRITION 3: AACCIPUBLICATIONS.AACCNET.ORG/DOI/10.1094/CFW-60-5-0224 4: NCBI.NLM.NIH.GOV/PUBMED/25411289 5: CIMMYT.ORG/FIRSTZINC-MAIZE-VARIETY-LAUNCHED-TO-REDUCE-MALNUTRITION-IN-COLOMBIA/ 6: CELL.COM/TRENDS/PLANT-SCIENCE/FULLTEXT/S1360-1385(18)30019-0 7: SCIENCEDIRECT.COM/SCIENCE/ARTICLE/PII/S2211912417300068 8: WHO.INT/NEWS-ROOM/FACTSHEETS/DETAIL/OBESITY-AND-OVERWEIGHT

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Why families are falling into the food poverty trap

Anna Taylor Executive Director, Food Foundation

Food poverty affects millions of children across the UK. Policy-makers need to step up create programmes and initiatives to ensure that everyone has enough healthy food on their plate.

T

he UK is a wealthy country.

Yet millions of people across our nation are facing a daily struggle to feed themselves and/or their children says Anna Taylor, Executive Director at the Food Foundation think tank.

“There’s an idea that rich countries face an obesity problem and poor countries face a food poverty problem,” she explains. “But food poverty is a global issue — so it’s a much more complicated picture than that.”

The UK’s food poverty statistics are both worrying and depressing.

The stats are linked to wages remaining low while costs go up, and individuals falling through gaps in the benefits system.

A new Food Foundation affordability report highlights that 3.7 million children in the UK are likely to be unable to afford a healthy and balanced diet, as defined by the government’s Eatwell Guide. It also notes that the poorest households in the UK — those earning less than £15,860 — would have to spend 42% of their disposable income to meet the dietary recommendations outlined in the guide.

Cutting back on food What’s needed is food security for

everyone. Taylor characterises ‘food security’ as being able ’to secure at all times enough food of sufficient quality and quantity to allow you to stay healthy and participate in society’.

She also points out that there are varying degrees of food insecurity.

For example, at one end of the scale, a family may have to make cutbacks on healthy food. At the other, it may have to cut-back on food, full stop. “That’s when you know you’ve tipped into severe food insecurity,” says Taylor.

It’s not just about going hungry.The consequences of being unable to put food on the table can be devastating in all kinds of unexpected ways.

“Maybe you aren’t able to invite your children’s friends over for tea because there’s not enough food spare,” says Taylor. “Or maybe you have to send your kids off to their grandparents’ every weekend because that’s where they’ll get a meal.” You might even have to resort to visiting a food bank (The Food Foundation report notes that food bank usage has risen to unprecedented levels) — or even stealing or begging.

Food insecurity creates another harmful impact, notes Taylor.

Parents who don’t have the money to take risks with food are less inclined to introduce new fruit or vegetables into their children’s diet in case what starts on their plate ends up in the bin. “So they just stick with the food they know their kids will eat, which often ends up being highly calorific, highly processed and low in nutrients.”

Negative impact on health These factors can all lead to another problem: health and obesity issues.

Recent reports show that children from food-insecure households are more prone to chronic disease in late adolescence. “There’s a cluster of health consequences that go with the stress of food insecurity,” says Taylor. “The anxiety, depression and general mental health impacts are massive, because getting food for your children is the only thing you think about, day in and day out.”

The answer to food insecurity lies in the hands of policy-makers, says Taylor. “There are various things that could be done. For example, school holidays are a particularly difficult time for low-income parents, so kitchens that would otherwise be idle could be used to feed children who are entitled to free school meals after the age of seven.”

And the focus of supermarket promotions, such as Buy One Get One Free, needs to change.

“Unhealthy calories are three times cheaper than healthy calories,” says Taylor. “The trouble is, people in poverty rely heavy on those kinds of deals — so let’s have them on healthy food instead.

I think there’s a disconnect between policy-makers and what’s really happening on the ground; so a concerted effort from government is needed with the right mix of policy and programmes to prevent food insecurity from occurring in the first place.”

Tony Greenway

MEDIAPLANET

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IMAGE: SEAN HAWKEY

Cheap cocoa is costing farmers dear Darío Soto-Abril Global CEO, Fairtrade International Shock, frustration and anger. Those were my feelings after seeing a Fairtrade study in Côte d’Ivoire showing that only 12% of cocoa households earn a living income.

C

ocoa lovers around the world might be as shocked as I was to learn that the median income in Ivorian cocoa households is US$ 2,600, when our estimates tell us a decent, living income should be US$ 6,133 a year. I am frustrated, because this refers to Fairtrade-certified farmers, who benefit from a minimum-price safety net and receive a premium for their crop. I am angry, because the situation for most cocoa farmers could even be more precarious.

Cocoa farmers earn 40% of a living income World cocoa prices plunged by more than a third last year. The latest cocoa barometer report from a global group of NGOs points to a systemic failure in the global cocoa trade. Cocoa farmers bear all the risk from price volatility, putting an unbearable strain on their fragile incomes, while other actors in the cocoa chain adapt or even make windfall gains and consumers continue to enjoy their chocolate.

This is still happening despite considerable investment in the industry to build a sustainable cocoa sector. The focus has been on raising productivity and diversifying crops. Those are important ingredients in the income mix. The average cocoa farm in Côte d’Ivoire yields only half or less of what could be achieved with training and resources such as fertilisers, equipment and replanting. If farmers diversify into other crops, livestock or non-farm activities, they lower the risk of fluctuating world cocoa prices.

We must pay cocoa farmers more But even tripling yields would not provide the average cocoa farmer with a living income. And diversification alone will not necessarily make farms more profitable. If we want farmers to earn a living income, we must also be willing to pay farmers more. There is no way round it.

Until recently, price was a taboo subject when talking about farmers’ income. Now that conversation is opening up. Nearly 1,500 participants at this year’s World Cocoa Conference, including NGOs, governments and industry players, issued a declaration calling for more decisive action to make living income a reality.

At Fairtrade, we are rolling out a new cocoa strategy to deliver living incomes through a holistic approach that includes productivity, cost efficiency, and higher sales on Fairtrade terms. We will go beyond revamping our minimum price and premium for cocoa. We are committed to pushing for a new sustainable pricing model based on a ‘living income reference price’.

We can’t do it alone. We see the reference price as the basis for income interventions with willing commercial partners, and as a revolutionary way to define living income and pricing targets against which industry players can measure themselves and communicate their footprint.

Shoppers need to be able to differentiate living income products from those that are not farmer-centric Living income reference prices in cocoa will also give consumers an opportunity to connect with farmers and make the right choices, by allowing shoppers to differentiate between living income cocoa and other, less farmer-centred options.

We, the cocoa lovers of the world, can transform our shock, frustration and anger into action to ensure farmers get a living income.

The skewed playing field faced by cocoa growers in Côte d’Ivoire and elsewhere can be levelled if we address farmer income together, decisively, as both a moral imperative and a practical path forward.

Adding price to the mix is the right thing to do.

©FAO/Heba Khamis