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Agriculture holds the key to solving poverty
Only by putting the poorest in charge of their own lives and destinies will absolute poverty and deprivation be removed from the face of the earth Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, 2015 winner of the World Food Prize
Food has a transformative power Agriculture is the engine of growth and hunger reduction in low and middle income countries (LMICs). Working to eliminate hunger fights poverty and realises people’s potential through work and education. Consequently, food is the fundamental resource to build resilient communities. The World Bank states that agricultural growth will have 2-4 times higher poverty alleviation power than nonagricultural growth.
Food demand is growing One out of nine of the 7.5 billion people around the world is malnourished. By 2025 there will one billion more of us. Regions that are at highest risk of food insecurity will experience the highest growth. We will need to address the growing need for food. Not only will quantity
be important; cost-efficient protein sources will be in ever greater demand, to cater to the shifting appetites of the growing middle class. That puts more pressure to intensify and diversify food production by smallholders – the majority of farmers in LMICs – and we need to make sure this is achieved sustainability.
Productivity and sustainability The last half-century has seen a major increase in food production, mainly due to transformation of agricultural practices – the adoption of artificial fertilisers, pesticides, and highyield crops – as part of the Green Revolution. However, greater intensification of agriculture brought with it unwanted environmental consequences. A push to produce more out of less has released carbon into the atmosphere, turned forests into barren land and cut biodiversity. Coping with the future needs of people ought to be coupled with the needs of the planet as a whole.
When it comes to climate change, and I say this with a heavy heart, agriculture is the biggest part of the problem Mark Cackler, World Bank
Challenges of our era summit
