Our present, their future
While world elites get richer, hunger is on the increase, Samia Nkrumah
writes from Rome
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World Food Day on 16 October was marked by a series of events at the
headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome
involving civil society organisations, non-governmental organisations
(NGOs) and celebrities.

On the day commemorating the anniversary of the founding of the FAO 58
years ago, Jacques Diouf, its director- general, made an appeal for "an
international alliance against hunger" in order to turn verbal commitments
to alleviate the suffering of the world's over 840 million
undernourished "into practical programmes that address the underlying
causes of hunger".

By now it is widely acknowledged that the absence of political will is
responsible for the failure to effectively combat hunger and poverty. At
the 1996 World Food Summit, and its follow-up in 2002 in Rome, world
leaders adopted a commitment to reducing hunger by half by 2015. But the
statistics are disappointing. For example, in its 2001 Rural Poverty
Report, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) said
that aid for agricultural and rural development, mostly from the North to
the South, decreased between 1987 and 1998. While there is no shortage of
food production in the world, millions continue to suffer hunger and
malnutrition.

Under the banner of the International Alliance Against Hunger, "everyone
must be part of the solution," Diouf said. In other words, multinational
institutions, governments, the private sector, NGOs and civil society
organisations, as well as students, all have a role to play. By engaging
NGOs to popularise the fight against world hunger, UN agencies have
recognised the importance of these organisations in influencing public
opinion to reverse the trend in aid and the quality of assistance.

At the World Food Day ceremony, Diouf introduced five new FAO goodwill
ambassadors -- Algerian Rai singer Khaled, Malian singer Oumou Sangare,
Mexican musical group Mana, Israeli singer Noa and Miss Universe 2002
Justine Pasek of Panama. These celebrities join 15 existing FAO ambassadors
in a programme started in 1999 to support the organisation in its mission
to eradicate hunger. In the course of their activities, the FAO ambassadors
encourage the public -- through messages, interviews and fund- raising
events -- to become informed about and involved in fighting poverty. In
their statement in support of the International Alliance Against Hunger
campaign, the ambassadors promised to use their "talents and unique
opportunities to help increase awareness and raise funds for the fight
against hunger". Most of the ambassadors come from countries in the South,
including Lebanese singer Magda Al-Roumi, Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour
and South African singer Miriam Makeba. The official ceremony ended with
performances by both Khaled and Noa, drawing ecstatic applause from the
audience, amongst whom were President Jorge Luis Batlle Ibanez of Uruguay,
Italian Minister of Agriculture Giovanni Alemanno, President of the Italian
Chamber of Deputies Pier Ferdinando Casini and permanent Vatican Observer
at the FAO Monsignor Renato Volante.

Noa, a leftist and pro-peace activist, told Al-Ahram Weekly that working
outside Israel -- in Europe particularly -- has brought her in contact with
Arab and Palestinian artists. Apart from performing with Algerian singer
Khaled on more than one occasion, here in Italy she has performed with
Nabil Salameh, a Palestinian refugee living in Lebanon. She described their
initial meeting as very negative, but the relationship gradually developed
into a friendship. Salameh dedicated a song to her son, "something that I
wouldn't have believed was possible a few years ago," says Noa. She has
also met and collaborated with Amira Awad, a very popular Palestinian
singer, whom she has performed with on many different occasions.

Later in the day, representatives from non-governmental and civil society
organisations took part in a forum organised by the FAO to discuss
different strategies to improve food production and accessibility. The
recurring themes included calls for a more humane globalisation and fairer
trade, as well as greater participation of farmers in strategies to combat
hunger and poverty. One particular initiative which was enthusiastically
received -- introduced by the International Focal Point, an Italian NGO --
called for farmers and producers' representatives to be invited to future
FAO events as they are directly involved in the business of producing food
and rural products. FAO officials promised to act upon this suggestion.

Speaking for the Network of Peasant Farmers' and Agricultural Producers'
Organisations of West Africa (ROPPA), Saliou Sarr noted that access to
food, rather than a shortage of food, is the real problem in Africa.
Elaborating on the question of whether Africa can feed itself, Sarr noted
that food is inaccessible because of a dearth of infrastructure, machinery
and fertilisers. "There are insufficient roads and railways, which makes it
difficult to move food to areas that need it. This is coupled with a
shortage of tractors and fertilisers, which affects production," he
explained.

Sarr told the Weekly that Africa needs more strong, vocal, democratic grass-
roots farmers' organisations. Speaking about his organisation's attempt to
play a role in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Sarr
acknowledged that while ROPPA agrees with the principles of NEPAD regarding
mobilisation of African resources, he regrets that the "visions and
strategies of NEPAD have not been sufficiently discussed" with the farmers
and producers' associations. The participation of these main players -- who
have the agricultural know-how and experience -- in NEPAD discussions will
go a long way to improve development projects, he said.

The Italian-based International Campaign Secretariat (ICS) announced the
launch of a "More and Better" campaign to support FAO's mission. ICS
representative Laura Amore explained that the campaign will work on two
tracks. In the North, it will focus on urging OECD governments and
international agencies to increase development assistance, and in the South
they will push for local organisations to have a say in what is "good" aid
and to improve its quality. "Life-saving assistance in emergencies,
resulting from severe drought for example, is crucial, but the problems
will re-surface without efficient assistance to rural development," a
representative of the Campaign Against Famine in Ethiopia explained.

"Your present is our future," said Leone Magliocchetti- Lombi making his
appeal to policy-makers and multinational agencies on behalf of the
International Association of Agricultural Students (IAAS). IAAS struck a
poignant note with the event's predominantly 20-something crowd.


© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved

Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 23 - 29 October 2003 (Issue No. 661)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/661/in1.htm

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