RegionalMulti-stakeholder Workshop on

Food Security and Nutrition3 - 4 October 2011, Cairo, Egypt

FAO Regional Office for the Near EastCairo, Egypt

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Table of Contents

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 2

Objectives ........................................................................................................................................ 2

Expected Outputs ............................................................................................................................ 2

Structure .......................................................................................................................................... 3

The Regional Perspective of the Workshop ..................................................................................... 3

Summary of Presentations, Discussions and Recommendations .................................................... 3

Setting the Context: Social and Political Transition in the Near East - Implications for Food Security and Nutrition ..................................................................................................................... 4

Policy Roundtable: Food Price Volatility .......................................................................................... 6

Policy Roundtable: Increasing food security through smallholder-sensitive investment in agriculture ....................................................................................................................................... 9

Policy Roundtable: Gender, Food Security and Nutrition ............................................................. 11

ANNEXES ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Annex I List of Participants .......................................................................................................... 14

Annex II Agenda and Time Table of the Workshop ........................................................................ 22

Annex III Opening Statements and Key Note Speeches................................................................. 24 Dr. Saad AlOtaibi, FAO ADG/RR Near East ................................................................................... 24 H.E Salah Youssef, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Arab Republic of Egypt ....... 25 Michael Michener on behalf of the Chair of CFS ........................................................................ 28 Kostas Stamoulis, Secretary CFS, Director ESA FAO .................................................................... 31

Annex IV Food Price Volatility Background Documents ................................................................ 35

Global Perspective ......................................................................................................................... 35

Regional Perspective ..................................................................................................................... 49

Annex V Increasing food security through smallholder-sensitive investment in agriculture .........53

Background Documents ................................................................................................................ 53 Global Perspective ...................................................................................................................... 64 Regional Perspective ................................................................................................................... 64

Annex VI Gender, Food Security and Nutrition Background Documents ...................................... 69Global Perspective ......................................................................................................................... 69Regional Perspective ..................................................................................................................... 84

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Introduction

1. The Near East is one of the driest regions in the world and many of its countries suffer from water shortages and deteriorating land quality which both impact food production. Traditional agriculture is dominant and extreme climatic events critically undermine efforts for its sustainable development. A high population growth rate has increased both rural and urban unemployment which, coupled with widespread poverty, exacerbates the food insecurity situation and undernourishment. In many countries agricultural development and food security have also been threatened by civil strife and social tensions that are part of socio-political transition.

2. The Near East Regional Multi-stakeholder Workshop on Food Security and Nutrition was organized in response to the recommendation of the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC) at its 30th Session in Khartoum, Sudan, December 2010. The FAO Regional Office for the Near East (FAO/RNE) and The Committee on World Food Security (CFS), in collaboration with other relevant UN agencies, were recommended to jointly convene a workshop prior to the 37th Session of CFS (17th – 22nd October 2011) in order to strengthen linkages and to reach common consensus on regional food security issues.

3. Topics discussed at Policy Roundtables included volatile food prices, investment in small-holder agriculture and gender, food security and nutrition. These three topics mirrored the Policy Roundtables at the 37th Session of CFS and are very important in the region. A further Policy Roundtable was held on the effect of the current socio-political transition in some countries on food security and nutrition.

Objectives4. The specific objectives of the workshop included:

• Engaging a wide range of food security and nutrition stakeholders in the Near East region in constructive dialogue on four key topics resulting in concrete policy recommendations that will advance food security and nutrition in the region;

• Contributing to a more effective regional food security and nutrition governance mechanism through which countries and other participants can provide policy inputs to CFS through a multi-stakeholder consultation process.

Expected Outputs5. For participating countries:

Participants discuss the implications of the socio-economic transition on food security and nutrition in the region and identify policies that address food security and nutrition challenges;

Mirroring the CFS 37 Agenda, participants discuss policy options related to three key topics and share best practices;

Recommended actions are agreed at the regional level towards the implementation of improved policies, promoting policy convergence, coherence and joint action.

6. For the Near East Region, CFS and development partners:

Multi-stakeholders in the Near East region identify possible linkages with CFS and agree on the next steps leading to the 31st NERC to be held in Baghdad, Iraq during 2012;

FAO and the CFS Secretariat prepare a workshop report with policy recommendations to be forwarded to the 37th CFS Plenary Session from 17th – 22nd October, 2011.

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StructureParticipants

7. The workshop brought together 86 participants from 13 Member Countries (Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, occupied Palestinian territories, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen), as well as UN agencies including WFP and IFAD as part of the joint CFS Secretariat, NGOs, farmers associations, private sector, civil society, donors and other funding institutions and regional organizations. Each of the thirteen countries was represented by at least two senior officials, one from the Ministry of Agriculture and the other from another relevant ministry. (See Annex I List of Participants.)

Background Documents and Presentations

8. For the Policy Roundtables on food price volatility, investment in small-holder agriculture and gender, food security and nutrition, global and regional levels background papers were presented. The global paper was the same background paper that was prepared for the Policy Roundtables at CFS 37. The regional papers were prepared specifically for this workshop. Each background paper included the challenges, key issues, policy implications, and matters for the attention of CFS. The global and regional background papers are in Annexes IV, V and VI.

9. The presentations made were based on these background documents. For the session on the effect of socio-political transition on food security and nutrition, three presentations were made. One provided a regional perspective and the other two focused on the experiences of Tunisia and Egypt. At the end of each session, participants were updated on FAO developed guidelines, tools, programs and support mechanisms relevant to the topic discussed.

Format for Discussion

10. The workshop was opened with an Opening Statement followed by Key Note Speeches. For the subsequent sessions a roundtable format was used in order to facilitate discussions. Each session had a facilitator, a rapporteur and panelists. Rapporteurs were selected by, and represented, Member Countries. The panelists represented a wide range of stakeholders such as governments, international organizations, grassroots and civil society organizations and the private sector. The facilitator opened the session by inviting the panelists to make their presentations. This was followed by an open discussion that was summarized by the facilitator at the close of the session. The facilitator worked closely with the rapporteur to draft policy recommendations which were presented to the participants in the closing session. These recommendations were forwarded to CFS 37.

The Regional Perspective of the Workshop11. The Opening Statement was made by Mr. Saad AlOtaibi, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative

for the Near East. This was followed by Key Note speeches by Mr. Salah Youssef, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Arab Republic of Egypt, Mr. Mike Michener, CFS Bureau Member on behalf of the Chair of CFS, and Mr. Kostas Stamoulis, CFS Secretary and Director, ESA, FAO. The full text of the Opening Statement and Key Note Speeches can be found in Annex III.

12. In his Opening Statement, Mr. AlOtaibi acknowledged the cooperation of the FAO/RNE and CFS in organizing the workshop in response to the recommendation of NERC 30 and in compliance with the Regional Priority Framework for the Near East countries (RPF) which was endorsed by NERC 30. The RPF accords highest priority to food security in the region. Mr AlOtaibi also emphasized the timeliness of the workshop with the region passing through critical social and political transition. He drew attention to the possible short-term negative effects of the transition especially on the poor. Mr. AlOtaibi highlighted the role of the FAO/RNE in assisting Near East countries in longer term actions needed for sustainable food security and nutrition. He called upon the workshop to discuss, debate and exchange views on strategic options and to provide sound analyses and pragmatic, doable recommendations for governments and decision makers.

13. In his Key Note Speech, the Egyptian Minister of Agriculture welcomed the participants and expressed his government’s appreciation to FAO and the UN system for supporting Egypt’s concerted efforts to enhance agricultural development and to promote food security. He highlighted some of the significant programmes recently launched including the formulation of the Sustainable Agricultural Development Strategy 2030 and the

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establishment of the Consultative Council for the design of agriculture and food security policies. The Minister referred to the heavy burden of the subsidy program on the national budget with the total annual subsidies for the major food commodities reaching 21 billion Egyptian pounds and the subsidized credit for agricultural production 18 billion pounds. The increase in people living below the poverty line means that Egypt is in need of short-term finance to expand its social safety nets for vulnerable groups and to launch programs for the employment of youth and for improving food security and nutrition especially for mothers and children.

14. Mr. Michael Michener, speaking on behalf of the CFS Chair, highlighted the salient features of the reform of CFS and the challenges and opportunities this presents in the context of regional initiatives and other regional linkages. He stated that the reformed CFS now has a structure that allows inputs from all stakeholders at global, regional and national levels, and that it is working along with governments and in partnership with NGOs/CSO sand the private sector. Its vision is to be the most inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for all stakeholders to work together to ensure food security and nutrition for all. He also indicated that a big part of the CFS reform is more involvement from the region and countries.

15. Mr. Kostas Stamoulis, the Secretary of CFS, focused on the CFS agenda as an instrument to promote coherence in food security governance. He indicated that the challenges recently posed by the high and volatile food prices to food security and the uncoordinated global, regional and national policy responses make the need for such coherence clearer than ever. He highlighted the agenda of the reformed CFS and how it can bring the desired coherence through promoting coordination at global level by:

a) Providing a platform for discussion and coordination to strengthen collaborative action among governments, regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders (the coordination gap);

b) Promoting the sharing of knowledge among all of its stakeholders and to ensure its discussion and dissemination (the knowledge gap);

c) Promoting greater policy convergence and coordination, including through the development of international strategies and voluntary guidelines on food security and nutrition on the basis of best practices, lessons learned from local experience, inputs received from the national and regional levels, and expert advice and opinions from different stakeholders, and though developing a Global Strategic Framework for food security and nutrition in order to improve coordination and guide synchronized action by a wide range of stakeholder (the policy coordination gap);

d) At country and/or regional request, facilitate support and/or advise in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of nationally and regionally owned plans of action (the monitoring/accountability gap).

16. Mohamed Yusuf Aw-Dahir, FAO-RNE Regional Food Systems Economist introduced the participants, facilitators and panelists and highlighted the motivation for the workshop, its objectives, and expected outputs. He mentioned that the workshop will ultimately help pave the way for support for countries in the region in developing policies and taking actions that will enhance food security and nutrition.

Summary of Presentations, Discussions and RecommendationsSetting the Context: Social and Political Transition in the Near East - Implications for Food Security and Nutrition

17. The first presentation in this session briefly addressed the social and political transition in the region, its major causes and likely consequences for food security. Demographic transition in the region has been going on for some time and is challenging food security though urbanization which escalated from 30% in 1960 to 57% in 2010. The failure of the economy to meet the demand for jobs, with the region registering the lowest employment rates in the world (47% overall, 21% for women, 34% for youth) and very high rates of unemployment especially in rural areas. Although the Near East recorded the lowest poverty rate (4%), the rate has been increasing more than for any other region and impacting both rural and urban areas, but more so for the urban and landless rural people. Food insecurity, especially among the poor, has been compounded by soaring food prices. The phenomenon is not only a manifestation of external forces as the region is a net food importer, but it is also a problem of market governance with prices of local food products rising in some countries much higher than for imports. In Egypt, for

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example, the price increase during 2004-2008 for cereals, which are mostly imported was, 66%, while prices for local food products increased by 70% for meat and fish, 82% for dairy products, 102% for vegetables and 139% for fruit.

18. In addition to the legitimate aspirations of the population for freedom and dignity, the transition �revolution� in many countries of the region is also caused by the predominant political economy of exclusion and marginalization of the productive sectors. This has resulted in stagnation of agricultural productivity, a decline in incomes for most farmers and the degradation of natural resources. Stagnation in the industrial sector - or even a process of deindustrialization - and the predominance of tertiary, unproductive jobs for the majority of population has exacerbated the situation. The fruits of economic growth were of benefit only to a minority which ensured its political and economic power through patronage.

19. The economy is challenged in the transitional stage with the development of productive activities that will generate nearly 30 to 60 million jobs over the next two decades, diversifying the rural economy and enhancing the development of peripheries and small towns.

20. The experiences of Egypt and Tunisia through transition were the subject of the subsequent presentations. The challenges to food security were enumerated and assessed in the presentation on the Egyptian experience. Soaring global food prices were reflected in an increase in food prices by 33% over the last year further deepening poverty - as much as 54% of household earnings in Egypt are spent on food. National food security was further hit hard by restrictions on exports since Egypt is the largest importer of wheat worldwide. Internal factors impacting food security include resource degradation, population pressure and urban encroachment on agricultural land, a dependence on food imports and the State�s less than favourable attitude towards agriculture. The on-going transition has, up until now, adversely impacted food security and temporarily increased poverty as a result of the slow-down in economic growth (1.2% - 2.0%) and agricultural production. A severe drop in tourism with its structural and functional linkages with nearly 27 sectors and the frequent industrial relations acts and strikes were a cause of concern. The return of Egyptian workers from Libya as a result of the socio-political transition there also deprived the Egyptian economy of remittances and transfers.

21. The socio-political transition in Tunisia is also a reflection of people�s legitimate aspirations for freedom and dignity and for an equitable distribution of wealth with due consideration to the social fringes and regions. The transitional government has immediately worked on defining a strategy for economic and social development for the period 2012-2016 based on the values of fairness, transparency and good governance. This has restored confidence in the economic and financial sectors and improved the business environment for promoting investment and private initiatives. In addition, an emergency program has for job creation has been initiated and the promotion of regional development and private investment. The redefined priorities for agriculture include consolidation of food security, the enhanced contribution of the agricultural sector to promote youth employment in rural areas, as well as accelerated regional development.

22. An intervention was made by FAO on regional actions to address food security. While high and volatile food prices threaten millions of consumers, they also provide opportunities for producers to increase production, especially where yields are low as in the Near East. This would increase food availability and enhance resilience to shocks. FAO efforts in this direction include the Updated Comprehensive Framework for Action (UCFA) as well as actions at regional and national levels. The UCFA addressed MDG1 “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger” through meeting immediate needs of vulnerable groups, supporting information and accountability systems, building long-term resilience and contributing to global food and nutrition security. Actions of FAO at the Near East regional level included the establishment of the Near East and North Africa Regional Network for Agricultural Policies (NENARNAP), the regional programme for food security, the Regional Food Security Analysis and early warning unit for enhanced governance of food systems and response to crises, and establishing information management tools for decision making.

23. At the end of the session participants proposed the following key recommendations for Plenary and for forwarding to CFS 37:

a. A regional CFS should be formed that meets twice a year and tackles two to three issues at each meeting;

b. There is an urgency at the national level to coordinate efforts and to put in place mechanisms, including comprehensive policies, to address food security and nutrition and to monitor developments related to the transition;

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c. A regional policy network should be established that enables policy practitioners to share information, good practices and lessons learned. In times of transition, existing and new policies should be carefully examined to ensure their effectiveness;

d. Accurate and timely information on agricultural production and market dimensions should be analyzed and disseminated to allow effective monitoring of food security and nutrition at the national and regional levels. The tools exist but capacity is needed to implement them

e. Employment opportunities should be created in both rural and urban areas with a special focus on the employment of women and youth;

f. Increased investment is needed in the sustainable intensification of agriculture, the reduction of food losses and improved food quality and safety which are key to improving food security and nutrition and addressing the underlying causes of price volatility. Where they don’t exist, investment in regional and national programmes for food security is needed;

g. Attention should be paid to the unsupervised conversion of agricultural land for other purposes, such as for housing, during times of transition;

h. Subsidies should be targeted at those who need them to reduce market distortions and the fiscal burden on governments. Attention should be paid to the subsidy of cereal crops to avoid the predominance of cereals in the diet which can lead to malnutrition;

i. The entire agricultural production chain should be monitored to make sure that high prices benefit farmers as well as traders;

j. Emergency food reserves and stocks should continue to be made available to support populations that have been displaced by instability;

k. Nutrition education should be widely disseminated;

l. Partnerships for food security should be inclusive of all stakeholders and institutions should be efficient;

m. Regional trade should be strengthened by reducing barriers;

n. Trans boundary pests and diseases and other food safety threats should be monitored and controlled;

o. Peace in the region should be the first priority.

Policy Roundtable: Food Price Volatility

24. The first presentation in this policy roundtable emphasized the lingering global concern about the continued rise in food prices and their volatility, and reviewed the main drivers of these high prices. Their impacts, though widely felt, have been heaviest particularly on the urban poor and landless, thus reinforcing poverty traps and jeopardizing food security. The increased uncertainty due to price volatility has also impacted investment to increase food production. The challenge is to increase productivity growth of the agricultural sector, improve resilience to shocks and dampen negative impacts of high and volatile food prices on the consumers.

25. The presentation also reviewed the set of policy options to reduce food price volatility and to mitigate its negative impact at the global level in the CFS 37 Policy Roundtable Background Paper on Food Price Volatility (See Annex IVa). Increasing investment to boost agricultural productivity growth and resilience is central to addressing food price volatility. Actions needed to increase food production and availability also include:

• Support to agricultural research and technology transfer,

• Regulating agricultural commodity future markets to facilitate transfer of price risk and to contribute towards price formation,

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• The use of food reserves to stabilize domestic prices;

• Integrating developing countries with international market and building transparent, accountable and fair rules-based multilateral trade system;

• Supporting Agricultural Market Information Systems (AMIS) to enhance policy coordination and preparedness of government and the international community to respond rapidly and effectively to threats to food security;

• Developing comprehensive national food security strategies;

• Taking measures to reduce food waste and post harvest losses.

26. To mitigate negative impacts of price volatility, the presentation emphasized the need to develop social protection strategies and safety nets to improve the ability of the poor to cope with increased food expenditure and avoid selling assets important for well-being. This included:

• Develop risk management instruments to enable small producers to protect themselves against price and weather-related risks;

• International support though compensatory finance to help countries avoid negative impacts on growth from sharp commodity price changes and through other facilities that would enable the country to finance food imports when the need arises;

• Facilities for food aid in times of high and volatile food prices;

• Hedging instruments such as the use of future markets to guarantee timely food imports at more stable prices providing protection against food price volatility.

27. The second presentation addressed the regional perspectives of soaring food prices and their volatility. The Near East, as a net food importer and the largest importer of cereals, is highly vulnerable to price shocks and the limited fiscal capacity of several countries of the region restrains their ability to pay for food imports and provide safety nets. The presentation listed and discussed the policy actions to address impacts of high food prices and stressed their short-term focus to make food immediately available and less on long-term resilience. On the supply side, the small producers responded positively to rising food prices but their benefits were reduced because of several structural and policy constraints.

28. Actions needed on food price volatility in the region rest on three pillars:

a) Minimizing the impact of food price shocks through strengthening safety nets, reforming food subsidies to ensure proper targeting for vulnerable populations, providing people with access to family planning services and promoting education;

b) Enhancing domestic food resources by promoting agricultural productivity through increased investment in research and development and through promoting regional cooperation in trade and investment;

c) Managing market volatility though developing food information systems at regional and national levels, assessing potential for food reserves, employing relevant financial risk hedging instruments and building human capacity for better policy formulation, coordination and implementation.

29. Three further supporting presentations were made in this session to inform the workshop on:

30. The Voluntary Guidelines for the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security which became imperative as a result of increasing demand for and decreasing supply of land and natural resources. There is a need to improve how people, communities and others acquire rights to use and control these resources. Participants were informed about the role of the guidelines, the time schedule and the process for their preparation and adoption by CFS.

31. Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) has been developed to address the global market information gap

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as a result of the unavailability of official data due to weak links between providers, the inadequate capacity of many countries to collect the required data and weaknesses in relation to market information provision and policy coordination. The main information deliverables of the system include the development and dissemination of high quality and timely information products and analysis and the development of appropriate methodologies and indicators. Assistance to countries to build capacity in food market outlook information collection, the issuance of global food price alerts when needed, coordinating the policy responses of the major exporting and importing countries when alerts are issued and working closely with the CFS are other important aspects of AMIS.

32. FAO Food and Agriculture Policy Decision Analysis Tool (FAPDA) developed to contribute to harmonize Member Countries’ policy decisions for global and national food security.

33. Participants raised and discussed a number of issues related to soaring food prices and their implications and made recommendations to address the concerns. The thematic drivers of the agricultural commodity market notably the tightening of inventories, increased macro influence and increased uncertainty maintained price volatility. High prices of inputs, especially fertilizers and pesticides, as well as energy were emphasized as the main causes of high production costs. Delegates discussed the possibilities of using safe alternatives and non-conventional renewable energy sources for agricultural production. The impact of climate change on agricultural production and the vulnerability of the region to climatic changes was also discussed as well as the possibilities of reconsidering agricultural production patterns to cope with these changes. The need for regional and international cooperation was emphasized. Despite the limited potential for the expansion of agricultural land in most countries of the Near East, the transfer of agricultural land into residential dwellings as a result of escalating population pressure is on the rise. The possibilities of inter-regional cooperation and of the integration of agricultural production were discussed. Concerns were expressed about consumer protection and the importance of crafting and enforcing laws and regulations as well as establishing marketing mechanisms, possibly through cooperatives, to cut down the margins for middlemen and to guarantee fair prices for producers and consumers.

34. At the end of the policy round table participants proposed the following key recommendations for Plenary and for forwarding to CFS 37:

a. Reduce food price volatility and take advantage of high food pricesi. Explore innovative methods for exchange of country experiences, knowledge sharing and technology

transfer (i.e. through mobile phones), particularly in the areas of water and land management. There was a request for FAO to organize a workshop on this subject.

ii. Strengthen the cooperative systems to support small-holder farmers’ production and marketing and ensure they benefit from high food prices (rather than middlemen only).

iii. Improve the efficiency of supply chain management to reduce consumer-producer price spread.

iv. Promote the sustainable management of natural resources through: the implementation of the international environmental agreements such as the Convention to combat desertification and to protect biological diversity; and the enhanced utilization of renewable energies to reduce dependency from oil and other traditional energy sources.

v. Treat water as national wealth, and, in addition to price incentives, invest in new technologies to enhance water management efficiency.

vi. Strengthen information management and tools to ensure decision makers have the right information at the right time.

vii. Invest and re-organize research systems, especially governmental ones, to expand access to new technologies, tools, etc. In this context, increase efficiency in food production to reduce import dependency in a sustainable manner

b. Reduce Negative Impacts of High Food Prices and Food Price Volatilityi. Address micro-nutrient deficiencies in the region, through the production of enriched and fortified foods.

Draw on countries experiences such as Egypt that presented its extensive experience in producing Vitamin A fortified flour and iodized salt.

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ii. Rationalize food subsidy systems, by developing targeting approaches.

iii. Develop a better understanding of the purpose and costs of different food reserve schemes at regional, national and household level.

iv. Explore ways to strengthen the capacities and engage more effectively young populations in the labour force.

v. Implement safety nets through better targeting of the most vulnerable populations affected by FPV.

vi. Develop agricultural insurance frameworks to protect small-holder farmers from FPV.

vii. Explore possible ways to reduce food waste in the region.

c. Cross-cutting issuesi. Establish a multi-stakeholder mechanism to promote regional cooperation on food security and nutrition.

Regional stakeholders should explore ways for setting up such a mechanism that should be based on existing structures.

ii. Promote policy coherence and coordination at national level, by expanding dialogue to all stakeholders involved in food security and nutrition (i.e. ministries, service departments, etc).

iii. Enhance regional cooperation with the objective to allocate food production based on comparative advantages and enhance intra-regional trade.

iv. Give voice to consumers to shift consumption patterns.

Policy Roundtable: Increasing food security through smallholder-sensitive investment in agriculture

35. The first presentation in this Policy Roundtable focused on smallholder-sensitive investment in agriculture, how to support it, and how to improve smallholder-sensitive corporate investment to meet the multiple goals of increased agricultural production, environmental conservation and resilience, and enhanced nutrition. The presentation acknowledged the important role of small holders in producing the bulk of food locally consumed in most of the developing world, with their investment being the primary investment in agriculture. Enhancing such investment is critical to improving food security and nutrition and providing descent livelihoods for the rural poor.

36. The large gaps between investment and need in most developing countries and their consequence - insufficient growth in agricultural production - compared to demand growth, were underscored. The global signs of trend reversal with more public resources spent on agriculture are less apparent in most of the agriculture-based developing countries. The situation is not expected to improve much in the short term given the recent economic and financial crises. Increase in private investment, including smallholder’s own investments, is thus essential. The enhancement of these investments requires addressing the main constraints such as smallholders lack of reliable information about market prices and market demand, precarious tenure rights over natural resources, limited access to financial capital and services, and their poor access to human and intellectual capital.

37. The issue of growing corporate investment and making it smallholder-sensitive was discussed. Enhancing the capacity of smallholders to contribute to food security and nutrition, as well as their rights, interests and potential to achieve the goals were duly considered. On the other hand, enhanced private investment, and corporate investment in particular, requires an enabling environment in terms of clear and sound public policies and good governance. These factors are not in place in many developing countries, which has adversely impacted corporate investment.

38. The second presentation provided a review of the challenges and policy options for investing in food security in the Near East and emphasized the considerable importance of agriculture in the economy of many of the countries in the region. Despite its importance, both public and international investment in the sector remained low. The registered increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in recent years has been fueled by soaring food prices and the need of some of the wealthy countries, mostly from within the region, to invest in food production as a way

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to protect against uncertainty in world markets. The lack of information on agricultural investment in the region makes it particularly difficult to assess its impacts or design the policies necessary to enhance its contribution to food security, agriculture and rural development.

39. A summary of the policy options required for enhancing and efficiently utilizing investment in agriculture and food security were provided. Some of the approaches cited included the proper valuation of investment projects and opportunities that would go beyond benefit and cost analysis to also include the impact on ecosystems. Establishing a well-functioning regulatory framework to improve the investment climate and business operations and to safeguard local people is an important factor. Developing policies to facilitate community oriented efforts by foreign businesses, improving infrastructure and exploring alternative investment modalities that are particularly geared toward improved food security are other actions that can be taken to improve the investment climate.

40. A regional focus on food security may be needed to better formulate and harmonize cooperation policies and to tap into opportunities, given the diverse national and household food security concerns and resources availabilities. Within this context, reference was made to the recommendation of the NERC 30 to establish a permanent Regional Investment Forum for Food Security to promote investments that support broad-based and inclusive food security in the region and to serve as a mechanism for information exchange and capacity development, including sharing of best practices which contribute to food security and sustainable development addressing concerns of all stakeholders. A careful assessment of international codes of conduct and other voluntary guidelines for investment and their applicability for corporate investments would also be needed to ensure broad-based development and food security, reflecting the regional priorities.

41. In a separate intervention, the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) briefed the workshop on its experience with investing in food security. Agriculture is the backbone of the economies of most IDB Member Countries and is characterized by low productivity, degradation of natural resources, rising production costs and low investment. The strategic objective of the Bank is to increase agricultural productivity to ensure food self-sufficiency. This has been approached though promotion of intra trade and investment in agriculture and food production, and by fostering the sustainable development of rural and marginalized communities through creating enabling environments and building local capacity. The workshop was informed of IDB’s Jeddah Declaration intended to support its Member Countries affected by the global food crises, contribute towards meeting both the urgent and medium-to long-term needs of the least developed Member Countries, and to enhance IDB’s involvement in food production and the development of the agricultural sector in general.

42. A wide range of issues related to investment in agriculture and the food sector were discussed by the participants and recommendations were made. The opportunities for investment to enhance food security as a result of the region’s diversity were discussed. The problems of investment in potential countries were also discussed as well as actions needed to resolve these problems including designing of flexible and stable investment policies. The discussion also considered the behavior of external investors and the importance for them to act not only as profit reapers but to add to development of the local communities and to involve smallholders, if any, as partners and not solely as direct labour. The discussion on the content of the agreements between Member Countries with investment potential and external investors profited from the wide experience and strong presence of the sector at the workshop. In this respect the discussion emphasized the importance for corporate investment to also support initiatives of the private sector, including smallholders, not only in production, but along all the commodity chain and to include storage and transport to beneficiary countries. The experience of the Nubaria rural development project in Egypt to use soil suitability maps to guide effective land use was well received by the participants and prompted discussions on technical support to be provided to countries with investment potential for preparing investment and soil suitability maps which would provide local and external investors with guidance for effective investment. The issue of a regional code of conduct for responsible agricultural investment which would involve all stakeholders including private sector and business organs has been debated extensively, and is seen important for safeguarding national government and external investors and for ensuring rational and sustainable utilization of natural resources.

43. At the end of the Policy Roundtable, participants proposed the following key recommendations for plenary and to be forwarded to CFS 37:

a. Smallholder farmers are the backbone of agriculture. They need to receive information in a way that is timely, useful and relevant to their situations. Extensions services should ensure that best practices in agricultural production are disseminated. If farmers receive support that is appropriate and timely, they will produce more and better food

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b. Water use should take into consideration the scarcity in the region. This involves access to technology and skills that benefit farmers and conserve water. Water should have an economic value so that everyone in the agricultural production chain appreciates its value.

c. The region is diverse. Some countries have natural resources and others have resources to invest. Private sector investment requires a stable environment. Some countries have internal issues which should be discussed in a pragmatic way. Some countries have laws that do not encourage investment. These issues could be address by agreeing on a regional code of conduct for responsible agricultural investment.

d. Policy recommendations should take into account analysis of what has happened in the in the past, what the successes and failures have been and what impacts they have had. Past investments in agriculture should be evaluated for their success including their impact on the eco system, smallholders and land tenure. However, while past experiences are important, prices in the years to come will be higher and more volatile so regional cooperation should take that into consideration. A regional sustainable policy network would encourage investment.

e. Data on investment should be analyzed and shared to inform stakeholders of best practices and facilitate regional investment.

f. By encouraging the clustering of small plots of land, production and market opportunities can be increased.

g. Donor conditionality and political influence should not dictate what crops are grown. Market rules and regulations should be applied with full transparency and disclosure.

h. Projects that are targeted at smallholder farmers should be sustainable and stable. Human capacity development, technology, health and education are all important. The participation of women and youth should be encouraged.

i. The increasingly young and urban populations in the region should be taken into consideration when designing policies that support smallholder farmers

j. Investments in smallholder agriculture should have a long term vision and large scale investments should not threaten their effectiveness.

k. The heavy dependence on food imports should be evaluated

l. Volatile fertilizer prices seriously impact productivity. Supplies of fertilizers should be ensured for the growing season.

Policy Roundtable: Gender, Food Security and Nutrition

44. The first presentation focused on the global dimensions of gender, food security and nutrition and emphasized women’s vital role across all three pillars of food security. Their role in producing food for their families, and using their earnings from paid work to secure food and improve nutrition is conditioned by the prevailing social constraints and norms governing their ability to access necessary production and market resources and services. Their lack of access to complementary resources such as health care, and their time poverty in particular, impacts their prime role in ensuring food and nutrition security for their families. Improving women’s nutritional status is thus crucial to improving their health, mental and physical capacity and productivity and is the pathway to improved nutritional status for the whole family and to better human development for the next generation.

45. Various recommendations were discussed such as the need for policies to be cognizant of gender issues and to ensure the policies produce the desired results. The discussions reflected the need for laws and policies that would guarantee men and women equal rights to access productive resources such as land, credit, extension and information, etc. The importance of including the improvement of women’s, adolescent girls’ and children’s nutritional status among the main goals and expected outcomes of agriculture, food and nutrition security related programmes, strategies and policies was stressed. Other recommendations discussed included developing strategies aimed at increasing the number of women from diverse backgrounds in decision-making and policy influencing positions in the agricultural sector. Investing in strengthening basic infrastructure for essential public services and rural institutions, making these gender-sensitive and building the human capital of women and

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girls was recommended. Scaling up direct nutrition interventions, particularly in the first 1,000 days of life is, targeting educational efforts, and building vocational skills which broadening the choices women can make and strengthening their influence within their households and their communities were also discussed. The collection of sex-disaggregated data in food security and agricultural information systems is seen as critical in providing the foundation for gender-focused data analysis and for the better understanding of gender related constraints and more gender-aware policy decisions. To effectively combat food security and malnutrition, focus is needed on the empowerment of women, the improvement of women’s nutritional status and the eradication of the gender gap in agriculture.

46. The second presentation in this policy round table highlighted the main challenges facing women in the Near East with regard to their roles in agricultural production, and household food and nutrition security.

47. Women in most countries of the Near East work heavily in agriculture as unpaid family labour and lack access to decent work. They often do the more labour intensive and time consuming crop and livestock production tasks and post harvest activities. Their access to productive resources such as land, credit and technology is very limited and their access to employment is the lowest worldwide despite the rise in their education relative to their male counterparts. Disparities in access to healthcare between Near East countries and within countries are great, but on the whole women’s access to these services is constrained by their limited freedom of movement, limited financial power and by social norms. As a result, progress in the reduction of maternal mortality rates is slower than should be. Women also bear the burden of malnutrition reflected in the wide prevalence of anemia among women of child bearing age, the emergence of vitamin D deficiency, the impact of early marriages on the health and nutrition of young mothers and their babies, as well as the prevalence of obesity in almost all countries of the region and across the different wealth quintiles. They also bear the burden of malnutrition among their children with resultant high prevalence of stunting among the low-income countries as well as the middle and high-income countries.

48. The decision making power of women in almost all countries of the Near East is limited with little say, if any, in matters related to finance, freedom of movement, children´s education, health care-seeking behavior and the use of family planning methods, all of which affect the household food and nutrition security.

49. The important role of women in agricultural production, income generation and food security and nutrition was emphasized throughout the discussions following the presentations and examples were cited from different parts of the region, including the experience of the NGO Hawa Organization in Sudan. The various physical, financial and social constraints negatively impacting these roles were illustrated and a call was made for developing policy and legal frameworks to ensure women’s equal access to productive resources, financial services, agricultural technology and information and employment opportunities.

50. The gender challenge in food security and nutrition was extensively discussed and stress was placed on the importance of investing in nutrition sensitive agriculture, protecting women’s rights and improving their social and nutritional status. It was agreed that the long-term investment in better nutrition, economic, social and political empowerment for women is essential for sustained improvements in food security and nutrition.

51. At the end of the Policy Roundtable, participants proposed the following key recommendations for plenary and to be forwarded to CFS 37:

a. Promote capacity building in the implementation of gender sensitive interventions, through the development of national guidelines by the national institutions such as the MoA;

b. Expand the multi-stakeholder engagement to promote the sustainability of gender sensitive and nutrition interventions

c. Ensure policies and interventions promoting gender equality are adaptable to the regional culture

d. Raise awareness and advocacy on women’s rights at regional, national and local level, with a view to promoting the enforcement of existing legal frameworks such as women’s rights to land ownership

e. Strengthen capacities to collect gender disaggregated data, ensuring standardization of methodologies in order to collect comparable data

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f. Enhance women’s access to credit and financial resources, particularly as they often lack collaterals in the region

g. Establish a regional observatory for gender, food security and nutrition, to focus on the following key objectives:

h. document the contribution of women to food security and nutrition

i. monitor the impact of policies and interventions related to food security on women empowerment, health, and nutrition,

j. mobilize funds to implement interventions and actions to promote women’s contributions to food and nutrition security

k. Establish a multi-stakeholders network to promote exchange of experiences, knowledge and technologies promoting gender and nutrition

l. Promote the utilization of innovative tools in addressing gender empowerment and nutrition, working in partnership with national government to explore the scalability of similar initiatives.

m. Explore the use of fertilizers to improve the nutritional quality of food production by adding micronutrients to the soil; target women as the main producers of certain crops to pilot test the utilization of micronutrient enriched fertilizers. In addition, ways of promote fertilizers’ waste management should be explored.

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ANNEXES

Annex I List of Participants

ALGERIAMs. Hadda Ait Ben AliChef de Bureau à la Direction de la Régulation et du Développement Rural Ministère de l�Agriculture et du Development RuralAlger, AlgeriaTel: +213-21-890422Fax: +213-21-732616Mob: +213-552307106E-mail: hadbi.hadda@yahoo.fr

Mr. Mohammed Larbi CherfaouiDocteur D’etat Economie Rural, Ingenieur en Chef De L’Agriculture, Chef Division Economie agricole, Agro-Alimentaire et RuralMinistère de l�Agriculture et Du Development RuralAlger, AlgeriaTel: +213-21- 521283-8632-528636Fax: +213-21-521283-8632-528636Mob: +213-559055484E-mail: mohammedlarbicherfaoui@yahoo.fr

Mr. Salah MowadHead of Agriculture Services and Follow up SectorMinistry of Agriculture and land ReclamationTel: +2-02-37600893Fax: +2-02-37488671E-mail: egy.ippc@live.com

Dr. Akila Hamza Coordinator, Food Security Information CenterTel: +202-37496013; Mob: +20-0122174660Fax: +202-37496013E-mail: akilasaleh@hotmail.com

Mr. Mohamed Abubakr FattahDirector, International Specialized Agencies Ministry of Foreign Affairs Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02- 25756060Fax: +2-02-25801122E-mail: Mohfattah98@hotmail.com

EGYPTMr. Magdi AnwarHead of the Central Administration for Foreign Agriculture RelationsMinistry of Agriculture and land ReclamationCairo, Egypt

Dr. Salah Abdel MoemenPresident of Agricultural Research CenterAgricultural Research CenterTel: +202-35720944Fax: +202-35722609Mob: +2-0124809957E-mail: salah1993@yahoo.com

Mr. Mohamed Samir Borhan3rd Secretary International Specialized AgenciesMinistry of Foreign Affairs Cairo, EgyptTel: +202- 25756060; Fax: +202- 25801122E-mail: Mohamed.borhan@mfa.gov.eg

Mr. Amr RamadanDeputy Assistant Minister for NAM, OIC and Specialized Agencies Affairs Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cairo, EgyptTel: +202- 25756060- 27735423Fax: +202- 27735423E-mail: Ramadan@ties.itu.int

Mr. Raafat Salaheldin ZakiDirector General, Foreign AgricultureMinistry of Agriculture & Land ReclamationTel: +2-02-33374811; Mob: +2-0107702054Fax: +2-02-33374811E-mail: iocd_far@yahoo.com

Mr. Abdel-Aziz TageldinProfessor Water Resources EconomicsInstitute of National Planning Mob: +2-0106573574E-mail: abdelaziz.ibrahim10@gmail.com

MOROCCOMr. Nabil ObeidaIngénieur d�Etat en Agronomie, grade principale charge du dossier FAO au sein de la division de la cooperation Ministère de l�Agriculture et de la Pêche Maritime � Departement de L�AgricultureRabat, MoroccoTel: +212-5-37665518Fax: +212-5-37764891Mob: +212-6-22586514E-mail: n.obeida@yahoo.fr

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IRANMr. Gholam Hossein AghayaDirector of Agricultural Planning, Economic & Rural Development Research Institute (APERDRI),Agricultural Planning, Economies and Rural Development Research Institute.Teheran, Iran Tel: +98 -21-8889454; Mob: +98-9127471986Fax: +98-21-88896660E.mail: g.aghaya@gmail.com

JORDANMr. Fuad Irteimeh Director of Agricultural StatisticsDepartment of Statistics, Amman, JordanTel: +962-6-5300700/Ext 1350Mob: +962-5798214740Email: fouad@dos.gov.jo

Mr. Bassem Al FawaeerProject Manager, Increase the income of poor rural householders Ministry of Agriculture Projects DirectorateAmman, JordanTel: +962-6-5686151; Mob : +962-799059477Fax: +962-6-5684705E-mail: bfawaeer@yahoo.com

LEBANONMr. Salah ElHajj Hassan Advisor to the Minister of AgricultureMinistry of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Institute, Beirut – LebanonTel: +961-1823900; Mob: +961-3741899Fax: +961-1823900E-mail: mmlebanon@hotmail.com

Ms. Leyla HattaneIn charge of FAOMinistry of Foreign Affairs and CooperationRabat, MoroccoTel: +212-537-766829Fax: +212-537-765508Mob: +212-666178662/653181567E-mail: l.hattane@maec.gov.mo

OMANMr. Sultan Saif Sultan Al-ShaibaniDirector General of Agriculture and Animal Wealth, Al-Dhahira RegionTel: +968-25-689077; Mob: +968-99269260Fax: +968-25-689108E-mail: sss2020@hotmail.com

Mr. Said Al-SheyadiDirector of Food Security Department at the Public Authority for Stores and Food ReserveMuscat, OmanTel: +96824791518-707717 (Ext:105)Fax: +96824794433Mob: +96899870771Email: salsheyadi@gmail.com

Ms. Maha ShakhashiroDeputy of PlanningMinistry of AgricultureDamascus, Syrian Arab RepublicTel: +963-11-2238220Fax: +963-11-2219213Mob: +963-966215582E-mail: iman-bazazeh@hotmail.com

Mr. Ahmed Al MarshidEconomic Studies and Planning Department,Grain Silos and Flour Mills Organization.Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Tel: +966-1-2102720Fax: +966-1-2103333 -2244Mob: +966-505400455E-mail: morsheed@gsfmo.gov.sa

Mr. Ahmad Feda AmoudMinister CounselorSyrian Embassy Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-37495210Fax: +2-02-33358232Mob: +2-0100966900E-mail : amoud.feda@yahoo.com

SUDANMr. Nabeel Ahmed SaadDirector, General of Planning and Agricultural Economics DirectorateKhartoum, SudanTel: +249-Fax: +249-183-779954Mob: +249 012295701E-nail: nabeelosaad@yahoo.com

TUNISIAMr. Abderrahman ChaffaiDirecteur des études et de la planification Ministère de l�Agriculture et de L�EnvironnementTunis, TunisieTel: +216-71-890904Fax: +216-71-785764Mob: +216- 55669743E-mail: chaffai.abderrahman@iresa.agrinet.tn

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SYRIAMr. Haitham Al Ashkar Deputy Director,National Agricultural Policy Center for Research, Ministry of AgricultureDamascus, SyriaTel: +963-11-5455370 ext: 201Fax: 00-963-11-5455368Mob: +963-944843564E-mail: haitham.alashkar@napcsyr.org haitham.alashkar@gmail.com

SAUDI ARABIAMr. Mosleh Alghamdi General Manager Department of Studies Planning and Statistics,Ministry of AgricultureRiyadh, Saudi Arabia Fax: +966-1-4031792Mob: +966-505200196E-mail: ecstc@moa.gov.sa

Mr. Khaled LachtarDirecteur Des Grandes CulturesDGPA, Ministère de l�Agriculture et de L�EnvironnementTunis, TunisieTel: +216-71-789192Fax: +216-71-780246Mob: +216- 98479195E-mail: khaledlachtar@yahoo.fr

YEMENMr. Abdul Malik AlthawrDeputy Minister of Agricultural Production Development Sector Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation Sana’a, Republic of YemenTel: +967-1-282444Fax: +967-1-282444Mob: +967- 777410000E-mail: agriculture@yemen.net.ye

Mr. Abdalla Al-ShaterDeputy Minister for Projects Programming SectorMinistry of Planning and International Coo.Sana’a, Republic of YemenTel: +967-1-250112Fax: +967-1-250112Mob: +967-777117716E-mail: ashater@mlic.gov.ye

AFAMr. Yasser KhairyHead of Economic SectionArab Fertilizer Association Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-24172347; Mob: +2-0127659962Fax: +2-02-24173721Email: info@afa.com.eg

Mrs. Mushira MoharamHead of Publishing and Document SectorArab Fertilizer Association Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-24172347; Mob: +2-0182300989Fax: +2-02-24173721Email: info@afa.com.eg

Mr. Mohamed El-FoulyProfessor, National Research Center Arab Fertilizer Association Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33365223; Mob: +2-0122261276Fax: +2-02-37610850Email: mohelfouly@link.net

ILOMr. Dorthea SchmidtSenior Employment Specialist Cairo, EgyptTel: +202-23999361Fax: +202-27360889Mob: +2-0199916990E-mail: Schmidt@ilo.org

Mr. El’vis BeytullayevProgramme OfficerInternational Labour OrganizationGeneva, SwitzerlandTel: +41227997079Fax: +41227997050Mob: +41797290429E-mail: beytullayev@ilo.org

IFADMr. Nabil AlmahainiIFAD Representative, IFADDamascus, Syrian RepublicMobile: +963-944337838E-mail: n.mahaini@ifad.org

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WFPMs. Magdalena MoshiRegional Programme Adviser, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-22581730 ext:2440Fax: +2-02-225281735Mob: +2-0198197662E-mail: Magdalena.moshi@wfp.orgMr. Rasmus EgendalOIC Deputy Regional DirectorWorld Food ProgrammeTel: +2-02-25281730Fax: +2-02-25281735Mob: +2-0166616606E-mail: rasmus.egendal@wfp.org

UNHCRMr. Ashraf AzerAssistant Community Services Office Health & HIV Focal PointTel: +202-38355801-2-3Fax: +202-38355762Mob: +2-0124456470E-mail: azer@unhcr.org

Mr. Awad HusseinExecutive Director,West Nubaria Rural Development Project (WNRDP), Egypt, CairoTel: +202-3443020; Mob: +20-127342415Email: wnrdp@hotmail.com

UNDPMs. Ghada WalyAssistant Resident Representative and Poverty Reduction Team Leader,UNDP World Trade CenterCairo, EgyptTel: +202- 25784840

Mr. Marawan Abi SamraUNDPD Regional Office,World Trade CenterCairo, Egypt

Mr. Khalid Abu-IsmailPoverty & Economic Policy AdviserUNDP Regional OfficeCairo, EgyptE-mail: Khalid.Abu-Ismail@undp.org

WORLD BANKMr. Adrien PinelliOperations OfficerWorld Trade CenterCairo, EgyptTel: +20-25741670 Ext.309Fax: +202-Mob: + 0161019808E-mail: apinelli@worldbank.org

EUMr. Alberto Cortezon GomezProgramme Manager Social, Rural and Regional DevelopmentEuropean Union to Egypt Cairo, Egypt Tel: +2-02-37494680 Ext. 426Fax: +2-02-37495357Mob:Email: alberto.cortezon@eeas.europa.eu

UNIDOMr. Bassel ElkhatibIndustrial Development OfficerUNIDO Vienna, AustriaTel: +43-1-260263512Fax: +43-1-2602673512Mob: +43-6766627877Email: b.alkhatib@unido.org

Mr. Hany ElsalamonyQuality& Food Safety ExpertGiza, EgyptTel: +202-37484142; Fax: +202-37483919 Mobile: +2-0106081234E-mail: elsalamony@etrace-eg.org

AOADDr. Salah Abdel KaderHead of Food Security Dpt.Arab Organization for Agricultural DevelopmentKhartoum, SudanTel: +249183472176472; Mob: +249-91239415Fax: +249-183-471402-471E-mail: salgadir@gmail.com

Mr. Mahmoud MedanyDirector , Regional Office Arab Organization for Agricultural DevelopmentCairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33365795Mob: +2-0105287312E-mail: rumedany@yahoo.com

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LASMs. Nermine WAFAHead of Programs & Activities Division League of Arab StatesCairo – EgyptTel: +2-02-25750511; Mob: +2-0113021577Fax: +2-02-25743023Email: sa22401@gmail.com

CAEUMr. Mohamed Al RabeaGeneral Secretary ,Council of Arab Union Economic, Giza – EgyptTel: +2-0237602432 37602459Fax: +2-02-37602698; Mob: +2-0110053112Email: info@caeuweb.org Mohamed195717@yahoo.com

ICARDAMr. Fawzi KarajehRegional coordinator for the Nile Valley and Sub-Saharan Africa (NVSSA) International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry AreasCairo, EgyptTel: +202-35725785

Mr. Adel KhalilEconomic Expert, Director of the Training Council of Arab Union EconomicGiza – EgyptTel: +202-37480107Fax: +202-37610681Mob: +2-0105216413Email: caeutraining@yahoo.com adelmkhalil@yahoo.com

Ms. Maha SedkyCounselorCouncil of Arab Union EconomicTel: +202-37602432 – 37602459Fax: +202-37602698Mob: +2-0144413777Giza – EgyptEmail: info@caeuweb.org mahasedky@yahoo.com

Mr. Hassan SalemDirector, Office of the Secretary GeneralCouncil of Arab Union EconomicGiza – EgyptTel: +202-37602432 – 37602459Fax: +202-37602698Mob: +2-0111999998Email: info@caeuweb.org Hassan@caeuweb.org

AAEAMr. Abdelmajid MahjoubGeneral DirectorArab Atomic Energy AgencyTunis, TunisiaTel: +216-71-808400 Fax: +216-71-Mob: +216-98460711Email: am.mahjoub@Yahoo.fr

Mr. Ali Hammad Professor Food Science & Microbiology Arab Atomic Energy AgencyCairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-Fax: +2-02-Mob: +2-0106607085Email: ahammad50@yahoo.co.uk

CACUMr. Mohamed Reda IsmailPresidentCentral Agricultural Cooperative UnionCairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33370209Fax: +2-02-37609256Mob: +2-Email:Egypt.cacu@iec.egnet.net

Arab Group for Protection of NatureMs. Razan ZuayterPresident, Arab Group for the Protection of NatureAmman, JordanTel: +962-6-5673331 Fax: +962-6-5699777Mob: +962-795552324Email: razan.zuayter@gmail.com

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USAID Mr. Mark PetersRegional Water AdvisorUSAIDCairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-2522-6843Fax: +2-02-22522-7041 Mob: +2-0120888098E-mail: mpeters@usaid.gov

Mr. Mohamed Abo ElWafaProgramme ManageAgri-Business, PSDCairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-25226719Fax: +2-02-25197192Mob: +2-0120888098E-mail: maboelwafa@usaid.gov

Mr. Karim AkroutIPC, Focal Point North AfricaA.D.DTel: + 216-71-360 427Fax: +216 71 360310Mob: +21623 350189Email: karimakrout@yahoo.fr

Mr. Hassan Al-JaajaaManaging DirectorSidra Agriculture CompanyTel: +974-44821494Fax: +974-44821495Mob: +97466029717Email: Hassan.jaja@gmail.com

HAWAMs. Abla AhmedPresident, Hawa OrganizationKhartoum, SudanTel: +249-183-781052 Fax: +249-183-781052Mob: +249-912912461Email: ablamahdi@hotmail.com

A’SAFFA FOODSMr. Saleh M. Al Shanfari ChairmanMuscat - OmanTel: +968-24701428Fax: +968-24701521Mob: +968-99492775E-mail: telfaz@gmail.com

LTFMs. Marlen SchuepbachPolicy AdviserHLTF Coordination TeamRome, ItalyTel: +39-06-54592641; Mob: +39-3319581489Email: marlen.schuepbach@undp.org

PBD& Agricultural CreditMr. Ramzy MersalSector Head for Agri. Inputs and Storage AffairsPrincipal Bank for Development & Agricultural CreditTel: +2-02-279 56 869;Mobile: +2-010 1131739 Fax: +2-02-279 62 753 E-mail: dr.mersal@yahoo.com

AFDBMr. Yasser ElwanSenior Irrigation Engineer African Development BankTel: +2-02-22563790 ext: 6739Fax: +2-02-22563792; Mobile: +2-0101649878E-mail: y.elwan@afdb.org

THE NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR CONSUMERMs. Wajed Al HessaThe National Society for ConsumerTel: +962-6-5153211 Fax: +962-6-5156983Mob: +962-795290570E-mail: consumer@go.com.jo

USA EMBASSY Mr. Jonathan P. GresselAgricultural Minister CounselorU.S. Embassy , Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-27972388; Mobile: +2-0122168527 Fax: +2-02-27963989 E-mail: Jonathan.Gressel@fas.usda.gov

CFSMr. Michael MichenerU.S. Permanent Representative AlternateCFS Bureau MemberRome, ItalyTel: +39-06-46743507; Mob: +39-3356610099Fax: +39-06-46743520E-mail: Micheal.Michener@usda.gov

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IDBMr. Sohail MalikSenior Sector Specialist Islamic Development BankJeddah. Saudi ArabiaTel: +966-26466706; Mob: +966-542372403Fax: +966-2-6467849E-mail: smalik@isdb.org

Mr. Kostas StamoulisCFS SecretaryFAO/HQ, Rome, ItalyTel: +390- 657056295E-mail: Kostas.Stamoulis@faor.org

Ms. Rossella FanelliExternal Relations Officer World Food Program/CFS SecretariatRome, ItalyTel: +39-06-65132723Fax: +39-065-132795Mob: +39-3480855242E-mail: rossella.fanelli@wfp.org

Ms. Cordelia SalterCFS, FAO/HQRome, ItalyTel: +39-06-57053093Fax: +39-06570Mob: +39-3496165440E-mail: Cordelia.Salter@fao.org

Mr. Gunther Feiler Policy Officer TCSFAO/HQ, Rome, ItalyTel: +39-0657053621Fax: +39-06570Mob: +39-345868086E-mail: Feiler.Gunther@fao.org

Mr. Fathi HadhriFood Security OfficerFAO/HQ, Rome, ItalyTel: +39-0657056646Fax: +39-06570Mob: +39-3493116637E-mail: fathi.hadri@fao.org

FAOMr. Benoit HoremansCoordinator, Sub-Regional Office for North Africa FAO/SNE, Tunis, TunisiaTel: +216-71-906553; Mob: +216-98703250 Fax: +216-71-901859E-mail: benoit.horemans@fao.org

Mr. Ahmed Bougacha Assistant FAOR, FAO/SNE, Tunis, TunisiaTel: +216-71-906553Fax: +216-71-9018859Mob: +216-98703258E-mail: ahmed.bougacha@fao.org

Mr. Rene VerduijnFAO ConsultantHelsingborg, SweedenTel: +46-42135555Mob: +46-707527491Email: rjcverduijn@gmail.com

Ms. Sunae KimPolicy Consultant, TCSPFAO/HQRome, ItalyTel: +39-0657053339Mob: +39-3707205079E-mail: Sunae.Kim@fao.org

Mr. Richard ChinaDirector Policy DivisionFAO/HQTel: +3906-5705Fax: +3906 -5705E-mail: Richard.China@fao.org

Mr. Shukri Ahmed Senior Economist Officer, ESTFAO/HQRome, ItalyTel: +39-06-57053737Mob: +39-3339219540E-mail: Shukri.Ahmed@fao.org

Mr. David PalmerSenior Land Tenure OfficerFAO/HQRome, ItalyTel: +39-06-570 53513E-mail: David.Palmer@fao.org

Mr. Lahsen Esslimi Policy Officer, FAO Sub-regional Office for the GCC States & Yemen , FAO/SNGAbu-Dhabi, United Arab EmirateTel: +971-2-6586774, Mob: +971-501208697Fax: +971-2-65586733E-mail: lahsen.esslimi@fao.org

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Mr. Saad AlOtaibi Assistant Director General & Regional Representative for the Near EastFAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000; Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: RNE-ADG@fao.org

Mr. Moujahed AchouriDeputy Regional Representative for the Near East, Head Multidisciplinary Team for Oriental Near East & FAO Representative in EgyptFAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +202-333-160-00; Fax: +202-374-959-81E-mail: Moujahed.Achouri@fao.org

Ms. Irene OmondiProgramme OfficerFAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: Irene.Omondi@fao.org

FAO/RNE SUPPORT STAFFMs. Omnia Mokhtar FAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: Omnia.Mokhtar@fao.org

Mr. Mohamed AwDahir Food Systems EconomistFAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000; Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: Mohamed.AwDahir@fao.org

Ms. Fatima HachemFood & Nutrition Officer, FAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000, Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: Fatima.hachem@fao.org

Ms. Ingy YoussefFAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: Ingy.Youssef@fao.org

Ms. Nadida OsmanFAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000, Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: Nadida.Osman@fao.org

Mr. Nasredin ElaminSenior Policy OfficerFAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000, Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: Nasredin.Elamin@fao.org

Ms. Aysen Tanyeri-Abur Senior Policy Consultant , FAO-RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000E-mail: Aysen.Tanyer-Abur@fao.org

Ms. Sanaa MahfouzLibrary Assistant, FAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: Sanaa. Mahfouz@fao.org

Mr. Mohamed OmarFAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000, Fax: +202-37495981E-mail: Mohamed.Ibrahim@fao.org

Mr. Saad El Medani AhmedFAO ConsultantFAO/RNE, Cairo, EgyptTel: +2-02-33316000Fax: +2-02-37495981E-mail: Ahmed.SaadElmadany@fao.org

Mr. Mohamed OsmanFAO/RNETel: +2-02-33316000Fax: +202-37495981

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Annex II Agenda and Time Table of the Workshop

AGENDA AND TIMETABLEMonday, 3 October 2011

8.30-10.15 - Official opening remarks – Dr. Saad AlOtaibi, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East

- Key Note Speech- H.E Salah Youssef, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Arab Republic of Egypt

- The Reform of the CFS and its linkages with regional processes: strategies and challenges - Micheal Michener, on behalf of the Chair of the CFS Bureau

- Linkages with CFS 37th plenary session and forthcoming 31st FAO Regional Conference for the Near East - Kostas Stamoulis, ESA Director, CFS Secretary

- Introduction of participants, facilitators and objectives of the workshop - Mohamed Yusuf Aw-Dahir, FAO-RNE Regional Food Systems Economist

- Identification of Rapporteurs:Overall Rapporteur:Mr. Mohamed Abubakr FattahDirector, International Specialized Agencies Ministry of Foreign Affairs – EgyptOpening Session Rapporteur:Mr. Bassem Al FawaeerProject Manager, Increase the income of poor rural householders Ministry of Agriculture Projects Directorate - JordanPanel One Rapporeteur:Mr. Haitham Al Ashkar Deputy Director,National Agricultural Policy Center for Research, Ministry of Agriculture - SyriaPanel Two Rapporeteur:Mr. Mosleh Alghamdi General Manager Department of Studies Planning and Statistics,Ministry of Agriculture - Saudi Arabia Panel Three Rapporeteur:Ms. Hadda Ait Ben AliChef de Bureau à la Direction de la Régulation et du Développement Rural Ministère de l�Agriculture et du Development Rural - Algeria

10.15-10.3010.30-10.45

- Photo Session - Coffee break

10.45-13.00 Setting the context: social and political transition in the Near East. Implications for food security and nutrition

Panelists: Marwan Abisamra, UNDP Regional OfficeMohamed Abubakr Fatah, Government of Egypt: Country experience; Khaled Lachter; Government of Tunisia: Country experienceFathi Hadri, FAO; Gunther Feiler, FAO; Regional Actions to address food security,

Facilitator: Richard China, Director, FAO Policy and Programme Development Support Division

Rapporteur: Mr. Bassem Al Fawaeer13.00-14.30 Lunch break

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14.30- 16.00 Policy Round Table 1 – Price Volatility and Food Security

Panelists: René Job Christian Verduijn, Senior Food Security Consultant, FAO; Global perspectiveNasredin Elamin, Senior Policy Officer, FAO RNE: Regional perspective

Mohamed Reda Ismail, President, Central Agricultural Cooperative Union, EgyptWajed Al HessaNational Society for Consumer Protection(Arab Consumer Federation) Facilitator: Kostas Stamoulis, Director, Agricultural Development Economic Division, ESA Rapporteur: Mr. Haitham Al Ashkar

16.00-16.30 Coffee break16.30-17.00 Wrap up by Rapporteur Mr. Haitham Al Ashkar 17.00-18.00 Towards Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Land Tenure and other Natural Resources.

Update on the progress in the consultations – David Palmer, FAO Senior Land Tenure Officer

18.30-20.00 Reception (TBC)

Tuesday, 4 October 2011

8.30-10.00 Policy Round Table 2 - Investment in Food Security: issues of smallholders, natural resources and food systems

Panelists: Awad HusseinExecutive Director,West Nubaria Rural Development Project /IFAD, Global perspectiveAysen Tanyeri- Abur , Senior Policy Consultant, FAO RNE: Regional perspectiveSohail Malik,Senior Sector Specialist, Agriculture and Rural Development Islamic Development Bank, Jeddah, KSA;IDB Investment in Food Security in the RegionMohsin ElBatran Chairman, Principal Bank for Development and Agricultural Credit (PBDAC), Egypt

Facilitator: Dr Yasser Elwan, Senior Irrigation Engineer, African Development Bank, Egypt Field Office (EGFO)

Rapporteur: Mr. Mosleh Alghamdi

10.00 –10.30 Coffee break10.30 - 11.00 Wrap up by Rapporteur Mr. Mosleh Alghamdi and plenary discussion11.00-12.30 Policy Round Table 3 – Gender, Food Security and Nutrition

Panelists: Rasmus Egendal, Deputy Regional Director, WFP Global perspectiveFatima Hachem, Food and Nutrition Officer, FAO, RNE, Regional Perspective,Abla Mahdi Ahmed, President, HAWA Organization(NGO), Khartoum SudanMohamed El Fouly, Arab Fertilizer Association (AFA),

Facilitator: Ms Magdelina Moshi, Regional Program Advisor, WFP, Cairo, Egyp)

Rapporteur: Ms. Hadda Ait Ben Ali

12.30-14.30 Lunch break14.30- 15.00 Wrap up by Rapporteur Ms. Hadda Ait Ben Ali

15.00 –15.30 Coffee break 15.30 –17.30 Final wrap up by Workshop Rapporteur Mr. Mohamed Abubakr Fattah

and plenary discussion

17.30 –18.30 Conclusions and recommendations

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Annex III Opening Statements and Key Note Speeches

Dr. Saad AlOtaibi, FAO ADG/RR Near East

Official Opening Statement

His Excellency Dr Salah Youssef, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, the Arab Republic of Egypt

Their Excellencies (Yemeni Deputy Ministries??), the Chair of the CFS Bureau Mr. Micheal Michener

FAO Divisional Directors, Honorable Representatives, Guests and Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen

It is my pleasure to welcome you to this important regional Multi Stake-holder Workshop on Food Security and Nutrition. The workshop is jointly organized by the FAO Regional Office for the Near East (RNE) and the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). The Workshop is organized in response to recommendation by of the last FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC30th)

It is also in line with the Regional Priority Framework where food security is and by far the most important priority for our work in the region. Gathered today with us are policy makers and leaders in the field of food security and nutrition from all the countries in the region, as well as UN agencies, various international and regional organizations, civil society representatives, and private sector. It is my sincere hope that the workshop will bring more cooperation and enhanced collaboration between the countries of this region to hedge forthcoming risks and ensure the food security for the people in this region.

There have not been times more challenging as the times we live in today. The region today is undergoing a pivotal political and social transformation. While this change is welcomed by the people in the region and is expected to generate new opportunities, it also poses great risks and challenges. The transformation is also having profound short term negative impact on the poorest and most vulnerable, and has been accompanied by civilian displacement, cross border population movement, social unrest, disruption of economic activity and armed conflict. Adding the ongoing global financial and economic meltdown and natural disasters, the prospects of a sustainable development and food security seem dim.

By virtue of its mandate, the FAO Regional Office is committed to support Member Countries design effective food security and nutrition policies. This workshop is therefore aimed at sharing and discussing policy options for countries in the region in the areas of food price volatility, small-holder sensitive investment in agriculture and, gender and nutrition. Through this it will also create the opportunity to share best practices and facilitate coordination of national policies.

Finally, I encourage participants and the UN agencies, especially those dealing with food security information systems and programs to engage in constructive debate and exchange of ideas. In our cooperation, we hope that we can provide rigorous analysis, and actionable recommendations including policy options to the governments and decision makers of this region. In hopes that our meeting today yields sustainable and fruitful cooperation as well as long lasting collaboration and friendship.

I wish you a fruitful meeting and discussions. Thank you.

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H.E Salah Youssef, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Arab Republic of Egypt

Keynote Speech (in Arabic)

كلمة معالي السيد الدكتور/ صالح يوسف

وزير الزراعة واستصالح األراضي

في افتتاح ورشة العمل عن التغذية واألمن الغذائي

القاهرة 3-4 أكتوبر 2011

السيد الدكتور/ سعد بن عايض العتيبي

المدير العام المساعد والممثل اإلقليمي للشرق األدنى

لمنظمة األغذية والزراعة بالقاهرة

السيد األستاذ/ مجاهد عشوري

ممثل منظمة األغذية والزراعة بجمهورية مصر العربية

السيدات والسادة خبراء وممثلي دول إقليم الشرق األدنى وممثلي وكاالت األمم المتحدة والمنظمات اإلقليمية والعربية والقطاع الخاص وممثلي وزارة الزراعة واستصالح األراضي

السيدات والسادة الضيوف

يسعدني أن أرحب بكم جميعا في ورشة العمل التغذية واألمن الغذائي والتي ينظمها المكتب اإلقليمي 2011 أكتوبر 3-4 من الفترة بالقاهرة خالل فندق سوفتيل في والزراعة األغذية لمنظمة األدنى للشرق وكما تعلمون جميعا أن األزمة االقتصادية العالمية قد أثرت على الكثير من البلدان النامية وقد أدت إلى تفاقم الجوع في العالم وزيادة عدد الجوعى نتيجة الرتفاع أسعار السلع الغذائية وفي هذا اإلطار وفدت إلى مصر في نوفمبر عام 2008 بعثة التقييم المتكاملة من جانب أجهزة األمم المتحدة المختلفة وذلك لدراسة أثر ارتفاع أسعار السلع الغذائية على جمهورية مصر العربية والتي صدر عنها تقرير لهذه البعثة تناول تأثير ارتفاع

أسعار السلع الغذائية وسبل تحقيق األمن الغذائي.

إن قطاع الزراعة في مصر يعتبر من أنشطة القطاعات التي تساهم بدور فعال في االقتصاد المصري حيث يشارك بنسبة %20 من إجمالي الناتج المحلي ويستوعب ما يزيد على %34 من العمالة في مصر وتولي الحكومة ممثلة في كل من وزارة الزراعة واستصالح األراضي ووزارة الموارد المائية والري والوزارات األخرى المعنية بموضوع تحقيق األمن الغذائي عناية خاصة حيث تعمل بكل الجهد لتحقيق أهداف مؤتمر القمة العالمي لألمن الغذائي كما وأن مصر لها دور بارز وجهود كبيرة للعمل على زيادة اإلنتاج الزراعي وتحقيق األمن الغذائي المنشود من خالل التوسع األفقي والتوسع الرأسي وزيادة المساحة المحصولية وتنمية

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الصادرات الزراعية وحجم االستثمارات الحكومية المخصصة للقطاع الزراعي وحجم االئتمان وقد تمت إنجازات أخرى في كثير من المجاالت على سبيل المثال ال الحصر:

)التنمية البشرية، البحوث الزراعية، اإلرشاد الزراعي، التعاون الزراعي، التعاون على المستوى الدولي، المحافظة على الموارد الطبيعية، ترشيد استخدام المياه، إنتاج التقاوي المنتقاة، االهتمام بالمرأة والشباب(. هذا ومن أجل توفير وزيادة الغذاء للمواطنين وإتاحة فرص عمل للشباب واستيعاب ما تتطلبه الزيادة السكانية فإن

مصر تولي اهتماما كبيرا بموضوع األمن الغذائي سواء على المستوى الوطني أو اإلقليمي.

لقد حقق قطاع الزراعة زيادة في اإلنتاج من الحبوب مثل األرز كما نجح أيضا في زيادة اإلنتاج من المحاصيل النقدية والتصديرية عالية القيمة والتي تتمتع فيها مصر بميزة نسبية في القطن والخضر والفاكهة والنباتات الطبية والعطرية وزهور القطف كما نجحت مصر في تحقيق االكتفاء الذاتي في الدواجن والبيض

واأللبان على الرغم من وجود أزمة مرض أنفلونزا الطيور التي مرت بالبالد والبلدان األخرى.

إن الحكومة المصرية تقوم بتوفير الدعم لعدد كبير من السلع الغذائية الرئيسية لتوفير الغذاء للمواطنين يأتي على رأسها رغيف الخبز حيث يصل الدعم إلى ما يزيد عن 21 مليار جنيه كما أن هناك دعما للسكر والزيوت توفرها الحكومة للمواطنين كما تسعى الدولة على زيادة تشجيع االستثمارات في المجال الزراعي الرئيسي لالئتمان والتنمية الزراعية البنك التي يمنحها للمزارعين القروض وتشجيع زيادة اإلنتاج بتوفير بقروض ميسرة تصل إلى 18 مليار جنيه سنويا كما تسعى الوزارة على زيادة اإلنتاج الزراعي من خالل تحسين األسعار المزرعية للمزارعين وضمان االستخدام اآلمن للمبيدات وتحقيق التوازن السمادي والعمل

على إنتاج تقاوي بذور عالية اإلنتاج والجودة لخدمة المزارعين.

األمن تحقيق مع تنسجم التي الملموسة اإلجراءات من عددا بالفعل اتخذت قد الزراعة وزارة إن الغذائي حيث أعدت استراتيجية التنمية الزراعية المستدامة حتى عام 2030 التي تسعى إلى تحقيق نهضة اقتصادية واجتماعية شاملة قائمة على قطاع زراعي ديناميكي قادر على النمو السريع المستدام ويعني بوجه خاص بمساندة الفئات الضعيفة والحد من الفقر الريفي وعلى الرغم مما تحقق من زيادة في اإلنتاجية الغذائية خالل العشرين سنة األخيرة إال أن كل هذه الزيادة ال تعكس اإلمكانيات الكامنة لزيادة إنتاجية الوحدة األرضية أو الوحدة الحيوانية فإن مصر يمكنها أن تقترب من االكتفاء الذاتي لبعض السلع فقد تم تحديد إنتاجية الغذاء المتوقعة للمحاصيل الرئيسية عام 2030 على النحو التالي 3.6 طن للقمح، 5.2 طن لألرز، 5 طن للذرة 10 طن للعنب، 4 طن للموالح، 15 طن للقطن، 1.8 طن للبنجر، 35 طن 65.4 طن للقصب، الشامية، للمانجو، 30 طن للطماطم، 14 طن للبطاطس وزيادة نصيب الفرد من األلبان من 63 كجم سنويا لتصل إلى

90 كجم بحلول عام 2030.

إن وزارة الزراعة واستصالح األراضي قد أنشأت المجلس االستشاري إلعداد وصياغة السياسات المقترحة لتحقيق األمن الغذائي وبمشاركة كل من المؤسسات ذات الصلة بالموضوع من وزارات الزراعة واستصالح األراضي، الصحة، المالية، التنمية االقتصادية، الصناعة والتجارة، التضامن االجتماعي، التنمية المحلية، الموارد المائية والري، مركز المعلومات ودعم اتخاذ القرارات بمجلس الوزراء، منظمة األغذية والزراعة، البنك الدولي، برنامج األغذية العالمي، الصندوق الدولي للتنمية الزراعية، منظمة األمم المتحدة إنشاء هذا الدولية حيث جاء المنح الخاص، وجهات البحوث والقطاع الجامعات ومراكز للطفولة وممثلي المجلس إلعادة النظر في السياسات الزراعية عن طريق توفير محفزات وتكنولوجيات فعالة لزيادة اإلنتاج المحلي واستحداث الوظائف في المناطق الريفية وتوسيع شبكات األمان االجتماعي من أجل حماية الشرائح الهشة من السكان التي تعتمد في معيشتها على مصادر محدودة حيث يتم العمل على إيالء المزيد من التركيز

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التغذية وتعزيز الغذاء وتحسين الفقيرة وخاصة صعيد مصر وتعزيز فرص الحصول على المناطق على القدرة اإلنتاجية للفئات الضعيفة من السكان.

إن األمن الغذائي يختلف عن االكتفاء الذاتي حيث يتضمن األمن الغذائي توافر الغذاء وضمان الوصول إليه واستخدامه وسالمته وأن قضية األمن الغذائي تجعلنا نعمل في البحث عن طرق زيادة اإلنتاج لتحقيق األمن الغذائي عن طريق زيادة االستثمارات في الزراعة وتقليل التعرض لتقلبات السوق وتحقيق تخفيض تؤكد على الزراعة واستصالح األراضي إن وزارة والنقل، التخزين المخزون بسبب سوء فقد مالئم في الغذائي والبد من المدني في قضايا األمن المجتمع الغذائية واإلصالح المؤسسي ومشاركة التوعية أهمية التركيز على معلومات اإلنذار المبكر واالهتمام بإدارة األزمات ومع زيادة السكان الذين يعيون تحت خط الفقر فإن مصر في حاجة إلى دعم تمويلي على المدى القصير وعلى التوسع في شبكات األمان االجتماعي لكل المجموعات الهشة وهذا يتطلب برامج تستهدف التركيز على تشغيل الشباب واألمن الغذائي والتغذية

الصحية لألم والطفل واالهتمام بالصحة العامة.

الدكتور/ سعد السيد العمل ونشكر تنظيم ورشة إلى منظمة األغذية والزراعة على بالشكر نتوجه األستاذ/ والسيد والزراعة األغذية لمنظمة األدنى للشرق اإلقليمي والممثل المساعد العام المدير العتيبي مجاهد عشوري ممثل منظمة األغذية والزراعة بالقاهرة ونشكر المنظمة على دعمها لجهود التنمية الزراعية المتواصلة في مصر وفي بلدان اإلقليم من أجل تحقيق األمن الغذائي. ونتمنى لورشة العمل الوصول إلى توصيات فاعلة للحد من تقلبات األسعار وتحقيق األمن الغذائي وزيادة االستثمارات الزراعية في دول اإلقليم.

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Michael Michener on behalf of the Chair of CFS

The Reform of CFS and its linkages with regional processes: strategies and challenges

Excellencies, friends, ladies and gentlemen.

My name is Mike Michener of the US Mission to the UN Agencies in Rome, Italy. I represent North America on the Bureau of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). I am here today representing Noel de Luna of the Philippines, Chair of CFS, and he sends his warmest greetings. On his behalf, it is my privilege and pleasure to address you today and say a few words about CFS, the reform of CFS, and the challenges and opportunities this presents in the context of regional initiatives and other regional linkages. Let me also thank the Government of Egypt for hosting this important event.

Let me begin with just a little background on CFS. The Committee on World Food Security was established in 1974 as an intergovernmental body to serve as a forum in the United Nations System for review and follow-up of policies concerning world food security including production and physical economic access to food.

CFS now has a structure that allows input from all stakeholders at global, regional and national levels. It is comprised of a Bureau and advisory Group, Plenary, a High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) and the Secretariat.

The vision of the reformed CFS is to be the most inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for all stakeholders to work together to ensure food security and nutrition for all. It will work in a coordinated manner in support of country led processes that lead to food security. Using a phrased approach CFS will:

Coordinate a global approach to food security

Promote policy convergence

Support and advice countries and regions

Coordinate an national and regional levels

Promote accountability and share best practices

Develop a global strategic framework for food security and nutrition.

CFS underwent reform to make it more effective by including a wider group of stakeholders and increasing its ability to promote policies that reduce food insecurity.

In the 35th session in October 2009, the members of CFS have agreed on a wide-ranging reform that aims to make CFS the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform dealing with food security and nutrition and to be a central component in the evolving Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition.

The CFS reforms are designed to focus the Committee’s vision and role on the global coordination of efforts to eliminate and ensure food security for all. This includes supporting national anti-hunger plans and initiatives; ensuring that all relevant voices are heard in the policy debate on food and agriculture; strengthening linkages at regional, national and local levels; and basing decisions on scientific evidence and state of the art knowledge.

The framework of the reformed CFS broadens participation and aims to:

Give a voice to all stakeholders in the world food system

Be inclusive and encourage an exchange of views and experiences

Build on empirical evidence and scientific analysis

Monitor the effectiveness of actions towards reducing hunger.

But why did CFS need to reform? The answer lies in the alarmingly high numbers of the hungry- and the lost opportunity that they represent. Crises- either man made or natural-make hunger worse but hunger is also rising during periods of high growth and low prices. Clearly, global governance of food security is not working as well as it could.

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The challenge of reducing food insecurity is enormous- as is the challenge to bring about coherence and coordination in the way the world addresses food security.

Over the last few years in the wake of rising food prices and the global economic and financial crisis, widespread concerns about food security and nutrition have been raised.

Renewed political attention has been given to world food security and its governance with the intention to address both the effects as well as the long term structural factors that contribute to hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition.

Pledges to increase resources devoted to agriculture and food security especially in those countries most in need have been renewed.

The regional and country initiatives are welcome developments and show that food insecurity is on the agenda at a local level as well as improved coordination at a global level.

A big part of the reform is more involvement from the regions and countries. The reformed CFS can help bring more attention to the food security situation in your region and the lessons you have learned can be shared with others. So, while it is my privilege to be here today, I am also here because CFS needs your involvement to succeed.

In facing up to the challenge of the reform we have followed an inclusive process. Food security is- and should be- the concern of everyone. As part of its inclusiveness, the reformed CFS has a broader range of stakeholders.

The Bureau now has 12 members including two representatives from the Near East- Egypt and Jordon. Algeria is also there. There is also an Advisory Group made of UN agencies and other UN bodies, NGOs and CSOs, international agricultural research institutions, international and regional financial institutions, private sector associations and philanthropic foundations.

I believe that this is a very rich mixture and this was one of the key aspects that helped lead to a successful reform process and will guarantee its political legitimacy.

A High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) in the area of food security and nutrition was also established to provide independent expertise support. This is done through a rigorous process that combines scientific knowledge with experiences on the ground.

The HLPE will ensure that CFS has at its fingertips the latest scientific evidence and knowledge from experts who represent a cross-cutting mix of all aspects of food security. It will help identify emerging trends, prioritize actions and focus attention where I’s needed most.

The Secretariat has also been expanded and the FAO is now joined by representatives from the other Rome based agencies namely the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

One of the major innovations introduced by the CFS reform is the increased focus on intercessional activities at various levels, including within regions. Coordination among actors and levels, including within regions. Coordination among actors and levels between plenary sessions will be facilitated by the CFS Bureau assisted by the Advisory Group. This will provide important input and help prepare the plenary in a way which achieves results and points the way forward.

Furthermore, the CFS now also reports to the United Nations General Assembly through the Economic and Social Council. We hope that you will follow our progress.

The first session of the reformed CFS was held from October 11th through the 16th last year and it showed that the spirit of the reform has been fully implemented. Ensuring that the views of all stakeholders were taken into consideration took time and efforts but the outcome was a series of recommendations that will ensure that food security and nutrition are kept high on the global agenda.

As I already mentioned, you are a crucial part of the reform. CFS can make sure that the country and regional food security needs are known at a global level. To that end in the last plenary session of CFS we have included country and regional case studies highlighting lessons learned and showcasing best practices.

The Near East region has important inputs to share. Learning from the experience of Near East countries who are implementing their national food security strategies and the way community based networks for food security and nutrition are being implemented would surely serve other regions and countries faced with similar agriculture challenges.

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These valuable lessons should be shared and CFS can help spread the word and make sure that other countries and regions know how you are making progress to develop agriculture in the Near East.

We all need to learn from each other. An integral part of the CFS reform process was involvement of multiple stakeholders in the debates, and this is now a feature of the reformed CFS. Food Security is such a big challenge the more people who participate, the better.

Another one of the major reasons why CFS was reformed in 2009 was that there was a need for CFS to be based on the reality on the ground. This is crucial- it will be fundamental for CFS, through its Bureau and Advisory Group, to nurture and maintain linkages with different actors at regional, sub regional and local levels to ensure ongoing, two-way exchange of information among these stakeholders during intercessional periods. This will ensure that at its annual sessions the Plenary is made aware of latest developments on the ground, and that, conversely, results of the deliberations of the Plenary are widely disseminated at regional, sub-regional and country as well as global levels. Existing linkages should be strengthened, such as through FAO Regional Conferences, and other regional and sub regional bodies dealing with food security and nutrition related issues.

To implement this, the CFS Chair presented a Report on CFS at the Near East Regional Conference in Khartoum on December 7, 2010. The 30th Near East Regional Conference recommended the following: “The Conference agreed with the importance of re-enforcing the linkage between CFS and the Near East region. It urged the CFS Secretariat in close collaboration with the FAO Regional Offices and other relevant UN agencies to organize a workshop on Food Security and Nutrition to be held prior to the 37th Session of CFS.

10 months after that decision, we are gathered here today in Cairo to discuss in concrete terms, based on the specific conditions of the region, implications of the recent events on food security and nutrition agree on the way forward.

One very specific linkage that can be done would be to note as an example the Arab Organization for Agricultural Development (AOAD) and perhaps expand its role so that it can be a coordinating mechanism between CFS, the FAO Regional Office, and the AOAD.

There is no need to create new institutions if everybody agrees. What is necessary is that such a coordinating mechanism should be inclusive and transparent.

Aside from that such a coordinating mechanism can also serve as the instrument by which lessons and best practices can be shared with other regions and countries.

During the 36th CFS, we have learned lessons on food safety nets shared by Jordon. It is hoped that the deliberations this week will result in something concrete that can be shared during the 37th Session of CFS.

Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I think- and I’m sure you will all agree- that it is time that we work together to remove the scourge of hunger from the face of the earth. Even as the world’s hungry and malnourished declined to 925 million this year from over one billion last year, the Near East and North Africa are still home to 37 million hungry and malnourished.

Let me repeat- the world is watching and they are very expecting results. We cannot miss this unique opportunity. We cannot let down the millions of people undeservedly pass their days in hunger.

Thank you very much.

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Kostas Stamoulis, Secretary CFS, Director ESA FAO

The CFS agenda as an instrument to promote coherence in food security governance

I would like to make a few points as to the links between the CFS agenda and the role of the committee in the global governance of food and agriculture. Please note that what follows is my personal views and do not necessarily reflect those of CFS or its governing bodies.

To understand better the logic behind the agenda of the committee, it is essential to talk about global governance.

I will use the words of Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of the WTO global governance who describes it describes as “the system we set up to assist human society to achieve its common objectives in a sustainable manner”.

Thus defined, global governance of food security can be considered to cover the overlapping categories of functions performed internationally, among them: information creation and exchange; support in formulation and development of strategies, policies, rules and regulations; promotion of knowledge affecting the achievement of food security; provision of technical assistance and food security projects and programmes; humanitarian, emergency and disaster activities.

This is not the first time that the global system is out in a search of coherence in order the face threats to food security. The creation of the World Food Council and the institutional arrangements that followed in 1974 came about in an effort to face the food crisis of 1973. Whatever the reasons for failure of previous initiatives, it has to be recognised that today, relative to the 1970s, we live in a different world, a more inter-dependent global system, the emergence and expansion of the role of other actors ( such as the private sector and the CS ) as important players in the global governance of agriculture and food security.

The need for coherence in food security governance has never been so clear as in the case of the high food price spike in 2007-2008. World Food Security has been challenged by high and volatile food prices and it is being challenged today with another major increase in the prices of major agricultural commodities. The sharp rise in prices, combined with the economic crisis of 2009 and beyond, has cause a sharp increase in the number of undernourished people. A major factor behind the sharp price increases the “market panic” that accompanied it rests to a large extent with the uncoordinated policy response to what could be an important but not extraordinary event. Prices reached levels not justified by the underlining fundamentals.

It follows therefore that policy coherence is key to facing challenges to food security.

GOVERNANCE AND COHERENCE

Especially following the food crisis, one can claim ( rightly in my view) that there is no lack of mechanisms to promote coherence. Just to name a few:

• The HLTF which coordinates the UN Agencies

• The GAFSP

• The Committee on World Food Security (CFS)

• The G8

• The G20

• Regional and national food security strategies embedded in the overall development agenda.

Does the number of agreements, mechanisms of coordination and initiatives guarantee coherence or we need something more?

I would dare say no. Why ?

First, in a certain way, incoherence in global governance of food security reflects incoherence in food security governance at the national level (e.g. where responsibility for food security is divided between different ministries, and common

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vision and coordination is not always there. Food security policies and actions are not coordinated with those taken in other fields that strongly affect food security such as trade, energy and human rights).

Second, at the international level authority for food security is spread out among a number of international organizations and other initiatives, each with its own objectives and policy preferences, and distinct functions; this makes the system of governance highly fragmented, with objectives that may overlap or even contradict one another.

Third, international agencies who are actors in food security governance handle different pillars of FS. Mandate creep is often a big problem.

Lastly, the global governance of food security or some of its aspects are often not sufficiently or not adequately linked with global governance in other related issues such as human rights environmental governance.

What is needed is an agreed vision on goals and desired outcomes responding to the real and most critical needs on the ground; efficient, transparent and accountable organizations, cooperating with other agencies based on comparative advantages and clear task divisions, capable of making effective use of appropriate policy instruments at the right time in a properly coordinated manner; with an active and meaningful participation of all relevant stakeholders.

How can CFS bring about more coherence in the global governance of food security? What concrete actions/initiatives is CFS taking to address some of the key governance gaps? And how does the agenda address this.

The coordination gap

In the absence of a global authority or government, coherence in governance means essentially a process of coordination. One of CFS’s primary roles is indeed one of providing a global approach to food security. How?

By giving voice to all stakeholders in the world food system. There are 5 categories of participants (UN agencies; CSOs; international research institutions; international financial institutions; private sector/philanthropic foundations) who attend CFS meetings on equal footing with Member Countries.

By engaging in an ongoing dialogue with other global initiatives (G8, G20, AFSI, HLTF, SCN)

By initiating a consultative process to agree on a Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition

Therefore CFS Promotes Coordination at global level... Provides a platform for discussion and coordination to strengthen collaborative action among governments, regional organizations... and other relevant stakeholders...

Relevance to Agenda Items :

UPDATES ON GLOBAL AND REGIONAL INITIATIVES AND LINKAGES WITH CFS

This agenda item is intended to provide a platform for discussion to strengthen coordination and collaborative actions at the global and regional level amongst a wide variety of stakeholders.

Representatives of major global and regional food security and nutrition initiatives will provide a brief background on their initiative, update the Committee on latest developments and highlight linkages with CFS. Following the presentations there will be an open discussion.

The global section will include such initiatives as G20, L’Aquila Food Security Initiative (AFSI), the Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis (HLTF), and Report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The regional section will include such initiatives such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) and the Horn of Africa.

The knowledge gap

It refers to the need to define nature, causes, gravity and magnitude of a problem so that policy options can be formulated.

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One of CFS’s primary roles is to promote the sharing of knowledge among all of its stakeholders and to ensure its discussion and dissemination. How?

By establishing a multi-agency Secretariat (WFP-FAO-IFAD) allowing to capitalize on the three agencies’ technical knowledge and comparative advantages

By establishing an experts process (HLPE) creating synergies between world class academic/scientific knowledge, field experience, knowledge from social actors and practical application in various settings.

The relevant part of the agenda includes

A. The “ Price Volatility” and “Investment in Agriculture” studies produces by the High Level Panel of Experts

B. Also the background papers for the round tables produced by multi-stakeholder task teams. (gender and food security)

C. The results of the technical workshops on food security and nutrition such as the “Roundtable on monitoring food security” which was organised under the auspices of the Committee

3) The policy coordination gap

This is a major source of disconnect in global governance. While the source and scale of today’s pressing challenges are global, and any effective solution to them must also be global, the policy authority for tackling them remains within the states.

CFS is an essential forum to seek consensus about normative approaches to address global challenges.

Promoting greater policy convergence and coordination, including through the development of international strategies and voluntary guidelines on food security and nutrition on the basis of best practices, lessons learned from local experience, inputs received from the national and regional levels, and expert advice and opinions from different stakeholders.

Also

Develop a Global Strategic Framework for food security and nutrition in order to improve coordination and guide synchronized action by a wide range of stakeholders.

Also

Support and advice to countries and regions. At country and/or region request, facilitate support and/or advice in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their nationally and regionally owned plans of action...

A. Three multi-stakeholder policy roundtables are included in this year’s plenary : (a) Price Volatility ( b) gender (c ) investment etc. Negotiations among all stakeholders will take place to arrive at policy recommendations for countries, regions, the global community and for international organizations.

B. The approval of the Voluntary Guidelines on the responsible governance of land tenure and other natural resources

C. The discussion of the process for the Global Strategic Framework, a living document which will provide guidance to the work of the committee but also promote coherence of actions by other stakeholders.

D. The discussion of a process to arrive at a plan of Action for food security in countries is protected crisis.

The “monitoring”/ “accountability” gap

Support and advice to countries and regions. At country and/or region request, facilitate support and/or advice in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their nationally and regionally owned plans of action.

Once knowledge has been acquired, policies formulated, there is a need for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their impact. The accountability/compliance gap is the most challenging one to fill, not just for CFS but for the whole of the UN.

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In this context CFS’s role/challenge is to facilitate support and/or advice in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their nationally and regionally owned plans of action for the elimination of hunger, the achievement of food security. How?

A. By endorsing a process to develop and implement a tool for in-country use which will allow to map policies, programmes, strategies, plans and projects supporting food security and nutrition objectives. The tool will also allow to chart the linkages of these actions to domestic and donor resource flows, implementing institutions and beneficiary population groups. 5 countries will report this year

B. By discussing and approving its own results Based Framework

C. By monitoring the implementations of the Decisions taken during the 36th Session

The essential challenge in contemporary global problem solving remains a world without central authority for making policy choices and mobilizing the required resources to implement them; and consequently, only second – or even third-best solutions are feasible.

Generating ideas and seeking answers to address those gaps in the global governance system is a task for all of us to undertake.

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Annex IV Food Price Volatility Background Documents

Global Perspective

COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITY

Thirty-seventh Session

Rome, 17-22 October 2011

Item V

POLICY ROUNDTABLE – FOOD PRICE VOLATILITY

Table of Contents

Paragraphs

I. CHALLENGES 1 - 5

II. KEY ISSUES 6 - 10

III. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 11 - 77

A. POLICY OPTIONS TO REDUCE FOOD PRICE VOLATILITY 11 - 55

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Matters to be brought to the attention of CFS

The Committee:

i. Stresses the need for concerted international efforts to address the structural causes of fod price volatility and ensure that its impacts do not undermine poor producers and consumers’ right to food

ii. Welcomes the report of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Price Volatility and Food Security and recommend its consideration by all stakeholders*

iii. Welcomes the Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture of the G20 as a positive effort to address a number of the main causes and implications of food price volatility and recommends its endorsement by the G20 Summit to be held in November 2011

iv. Urges stakeholders to take into account the assessment by FAO and other international organizations of the positive and negative effects of different policy responses to high and volatile food prices, as discussed in the series of regional and subregional consultations organized by FAO in 2011:

Actions to increase food production and availability and enhance resiliency to shocks

a. Increase stable and sustainable public and private investment to boost agricultural productivity and rural development, with particular attention to smallholder agriculture

b. Promote a significant expansion in funding for agricultural research and development, including by strengthening the current reform process of the CGIAR, supporting national research systems, and promoting technology transfer, knowledge sharing and capacity building through cooperation

c. Support the development, or review, by Member Countries, of comprehensive national food security strategies which are inclusive of civil society and farmers’ organizations and combine a range of policies across several sectors

d. Urge Member Countries to explore incentives to reduce waste in the food system, including addressing post harvest losses

Actions to reduce volatility

e. Support the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) to enhance food market information and transparency, and urge the participating international organizations, major private sector actors and governments to ensure the dissemination of timely and quality food market information products

f. Acknowledging the need for countries to better coordinate responses in times of food price crises, support the establishment of the AMIS Rapid Policy Response Forum and request the CFS Bureau to decide upon and implement a mechanism for collaboration between that Forum and CFS

g. Improve transparency, regulation and supervision of agricultural derivative markets

h. Noting that a fair and predictable international trade in food is crucial for reducing excessive price volatility, maintain focus on building a transparent, accountable, fair and rules-based multilateral trading system taking into account food security concerns and, in that context, support the conclusion of the Doha Development Round

i. Encourage reforms so that renewable fuels and feed stocks can be produced where it is economically, environmentally and socially feasible to do so, and traded more freely and recommend the development of contingency plans to adjust, at least temporarily, policies that stimulate biofuel production or consumption when global markets are under pressure and food supplies are endangered

Actions to mitigate the negative impact of volatility

j. Develop stable, long-term national social protection strategies and safety nets that can be leveraged and scaled-up in times of crisis. Reiterate, in this context, the mandate for an HLPE study on the matter, requesting its presentation to the 38th Session of CFS

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k. Recommend the use of national and local social safety nets and local purchase mechanisms, whenever appropriate, for the delivering of food aid, while taking time, market, production, institutional and other relevant factors into account

l. Endorse efforts requested by the G-20 for WFP and other international organizations and partners to elaborate a proposal for a pilot program for small, targeted regional emergency humanitarian food reserves, consistent with annex II of the WTO agreement on agriculture

m. Develop risk management instruments, recommend their mainstreaming into national food security strategies, and explore counter-cyclical compensatory mechanisms for vulnerable countries in the event of external price shocks. Attention should also be given to the inclusion of best practices and lessons learned for vulnerable small food producers

n. Establish a consultative process in CFS to develop a code of conduct for the use of food eserves and their impact on price volatility, including a further assessment of the constraints and effectiveness of local, national and regional food reserves. The timing and exact nature of the process are to be determined by the Bureau in consultation with the Advisory Group and other stakeholders. report on the status of this process is to be presented to CFS in October 2013

o. Welcome the decision by the G-20 to agree to remove food export restrictions or extraordinary taxes for food purchased for non-commercial humanitarian purposes by WFP and not to impose them in the future, and urge all Member States to agree to the same principles

p. Welcome international support for food aid in times of high and volatile food prices, including under the framework of the Food Aid Convention (FAC), and urge its maintenance through a collective effort

v. Recommends that FAO, IFAD, WFP, WTO, the World Bank and other relevant international organizations and CFS stakeholders reinforce the policy dialogue among themselves and Member Countries with a view to enhance adoption and implementation of the above recommendations at all appropriate levels

vi. Requests the CFS Secretariat to prepare, in collaboration with the Advisory Group and based on information made available by the relevant stakeholders, a general report on the state of implementation of all of the above recommendations and action points, to be presented to CFS at a date to be decided by the CFS Bureau.

* The HLPE Report on Price Volatility and Food Security and The Summary and Recommendations for Policymakers (CFS:2011/3 Add.1) should be considered along with this background document.

CHALLENGES

1. The world faces renewed concerns about rising food prices and food security and nutrition. The last year has been marked by a continuation of the extreme price volatility in global food markets, as grains prices soared to the level they were at the peak of the 2008 food crisis.

2. Concerns about high food prices and extreme volatility linger. The high prices of 2008 pushed an additional 80 million people into hunger, increasing the number of hungry and malnourished to one billion. Food price surges did and can dramatically reverse earlier progress in reducing hunger - towards both the 1996 World Food Summit target (reducing by half the number of hungry people in the world by 2015) and the first Millennium Development Goal (halving the proportion of hungry people in the world).

3. Volatility in food prices challenges the fundamental human right to adequate food. High and volatile prices not only increase, but also deepen poverty and food insecurity. The impact of food price volatility falls heaviest on the poorest – especially the urban poor and the landless – who may spend as much as 75% of their income on food. The diets of the poor also often lack diversity so the scope for switching to less expensive foods can be limited. As richer consumers are able to maintain more or less the same level of food consumption, price surges result in increasing inequity in the distribution of food.

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4. High food prices also reduce poor net food consuming households’ purchasing power and can lead to irreversible harm. They reinforce poverty traps, as both physical and human capital is eroded and spending on education and health care is cut. Poor food consumers are not the only group to suffer. For poor food producers, higher prices have, in principle, a positive effect and present an opportunity for overcoming poverty. However, price volatility increases uncertainty and deters the investments essential to increasing food production and reducing vulnerability. Even at the national level, increasing and volatile food import bills threaten exchange reserves, disrupt development budgets and slow growth and development.

5. Food prices are likely to remain volatile. Given the overall growth in world incomes, the demand for food is less price sensitive, leading to price volatility and higher incidences of price surges threatening the food security and nutrition of millions of poor people. The policy challenge is to increase productivity growth, particularly for small producers, to improve resilience to shocks, to promote market access and better functioning food markets and to design effective and coherent policies that, where possible, reduce volatility and limit its negative impacts. The High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) Report on Price Volatility to the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) and the Interagency Report on Food Price Volatility to the G20 are efforts to tackle the policy challenge of managing the risks associated with volatile food prices, ultimately to protect the most vulnerable.

KEY ISSUES

6. Food prices are expected to remain high. Growing population and income in emerging and developing countries significantly strengthens the demand for food. By 2050 the world’s population is expected to have reached about 9 billion people and the demand for food to have increased by between 70% and 100%. Support policies leading to increased demand for crops by the biofuel sector in developed countries also contribute to strengthening the demand. On the supply side, the rate of growth in agricultural production is expected to fall to 1.5% between now and 2030 and further to 0.9% between 2030 and 2050, as compared with 2.3% per year since 1961. If the rate of growth of agricultural production does not keep pace with demand, there will be upward and continuing pressure on prices. With the supply-demand balance already tight, an external shock can result in significant food price surges and extreme volatility.

7. Beyond market fundamentals, there is a consensus that an additional set of drivers also affect food prices. These drivers can be identified by linkages between the agricultural and the energy markets and macroeconomic factors which strengthen the incentive of financial institutions to enter in agricultural commodity futures markets. These forces together can render agricultural markets much more vulnerable to shocks. Especially during the 2007-08 period, the concurrence of so many drivers, such as high oil prices, monetary expansion and low interest rates, in conjunction with crop production decreases around the world, gave rise not only to an unprecedented price surge, but also to significant volatility. Policies can also result in extreme price surges. For instance, export restrictions implemented by major exporting countries can result in substantial price increases, rendering the global food market unreliable as a source of food.

8. Food security is a complex and multidimensional issue. At times, when food security is threatened by global food price volatility, there is need for both international and national responses. For example, increased coordination of policies at the international level can ensure effective and rapid responses to food price surges. At the national level, there is a need for comprehensive national food security strategies that take into account the country’s specificities and characteristics, and that address both the food supply and access dimensions of food security. Such strategies should include policies that reduce food price volatility and measures that mitigate its impact especially on vulnerable populations, benefiting both consumers and producers. Such strategies should be evidence based, developed and implemented in an inclusive manner with the participation of civil society, farmers’ organizations and the private sector.

9. Increasing investment in agricultural productivity growth is central to reducing food price volatility at both international and national levels. Other policy solutions that directly reduce food price volatility in the global markets include the removal of policy distortions, such as restrictions on imports and exports or biofuel subsidies and mandates. Better and timely food market information to governments, producers and consumers can calm markets and reduce the likelihood of price surges. Enhanced transparency in agricultural

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commodity futures markets can enhance their price discovery and risk transfer functions and decrease volatility in the short term. In times of food price surges, compensatory mechanisms can assist food deficit low income countries to meet increased food import bills.

10. At the national level, developing countries need information systems to monitor food markets, assess hunger and malnutrition, provide early warning and target assistance effectively. Social safety nets can reduce the impact of food price surges on the most vulnerable consumers. Food reserves can be linked to such social safety nets but can also be utilized to directly stabilize market prices in national markets. Other policies that can mitigate the impact of food price volatility on producers include market based risk management instruments. Such risk management strategies can also be adopted by countries to stabilize their food import bills.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS

POLICY OPTIONS TO REDUCE FOOD PRICE VOLATILITY

Investment to increase productivity and resilience

11. Volatile prices and their effect on the livelihood of the poor is the result of 20 years of under-investment in agriculture and neglect of the sector. By 2050 the world’s population will have increased from the current 6.8 billion to 9.1 billion. This represents a 34% increase over the next 40 years. These particular estimates suggest that in the future, with the supply of food not growing at the same pace with demand, upward pressure on prices will be a principal attribute of world food markets.

12. Investing in agricultural productivity growth and resiliency, as well in agricultural and food market institutions, is central to addressing food price volatility. For the majority of poor countries a healthy agricultural sector is essential to reduce vulnerability to international price volatility, to overcome hunger and poverty and to also provide the platform for wider economic growth. Analysts suggest that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth arising from agriculture is almost four times as effective in reducing poverty as GDP originating outside the sector. Agricultural productivity growth increases not only resilience to shocks, but also acts as a multiplier in local economies, eventually leading to higher rural wages and vibrant rural markets where farmers and workers spend their earnings. Such investment should give attention to the needs of smallholder farmers and women farmers in particular who make up about half of smallholder farmers in the world.

13. Increasing public investment in transport and productive infrastructure, as well as in human capital, is central in stimulating productivity. Improving infrastructure, in particular rural roads and market facilities such as warehouses, storage facilities and market-information systems are important in reducing transport costs and integrating smallholders to markets. Investing in, and improving irrigation facilities, and market institutions and mechanisms will result in increased quantities of food produced, better quality and more stable prices. Improvements in extension, education, health and nutrition are also important elements of a comprehensive policy approach to increase productivity, enhance food security and the welfare of smallholders. It is essential that women farmers are equally reached and served.

14. Improving agricultural innovation systems, building capabilities, and scaling up successes are priorities for strengthening the capacity of smallholders to produce more efficiently and deliver on food security and nutrition. Agricultural research is increasingly being delivered by the private sector with technologies being developed for larger, commercial farming operations. The adoption of such technologies requires increased management skills and knowledge on the part of the farmers. As a result, there is limited access to such innovative technologies by small farmers in developing countries. There is need to improve technological innovation and global dissemination of technology specific for, and well targeted to small-scale agriculture. Smallholders need to be at the centre of innovation systems and help shape the R&D agenda so that crops and livestock products that matter to them as producers and consumers receive adequate attention. Women farmers need to feature more prominently in these systems than they have so far. Innovations should address women farmers’ unequal access to inputs and services to enhance their potential to increase production.

15. There is also need to support the development of technologies and provide the appropriate incentives to address challenges specific to climate change and sustainable use of resources, such as land and water. Participatory extension activities towards sustainable agricultural intensification should target small farmers as the ability to respond to volatile environmental conditions requires innovation and management skills at the farm level.

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16. The amount required in developing countries to support this expansion in agricultural output and ensure food supplies for the world in 2050, amount to an average annual net investment of USD 83 billion (in 2009 USD). This total includes investment needs in primary agriculture and necessary downstream services such as storage and processing facilities, but does not include public goods like roads, large scale irrigation projects, electrification and others.

17. However, the share of official development assistance destined for agriculture has fallen to as little as 3.8% and, given the investment needs, it remains inadequate. The capacity of the poorer developing countries to fill the investment gap is limited. The share of public spending on agriculture has fallen to an average of around 7% in developing countries, even less in Africa. National governments will have to contribute significantly.

18. Above and beyond, official development assistance and public expenditure on agriculture, governments should shape an enabling environment for the private sector, including smallholder farmers, to increase investment, thus achieving productivity growth and enhanced resilience on which long term food security will depend. Private sector investment needs to be encouraged at all stages in the value chain – upstream of the farm, in seed and fertilizer production and distribution, and downstream in storage, processing, marketing and distribution. Non competitive markets characterized by the development of cartels, or structures with few traders or suppliers should also be tackled.

19. To facilitate private sector investment, developing and less developed countries will need to support the introduction of effective governance systems and institutions, stable macroeconomic conditions, sound structural and financial policies, human capital development and public services. It is also crucial that an enabling legislative and policy environment for small producers’ organizations is created. A variety of institutional and organizational arrangements have emerged to address smallholders’ constraints. These arrangements enable small farmers to integrate in markets that provide an array of services from enhancing access to product markets, access to information, financial services and technologies, to facilitating participation in policy making. Such organizations can also assist in shaping national agricultural development and food security strategies that are country-owned and led, evidence-based and inclusive.

Regulation of agricultural commodity futures markets

20. Futures markets are an integral part of the food market system that perform two important functions. They facilitate the transfer of price risk, and they contribute towards price formation. Over the 2005–2011 period, agricultural futures prices increased dramatically and the question as to whether food price surges is a phenomenon similar to a ‘speculative bubble’ lingers in the minds of many analysts and observers. This period also witnessed a significant increase in commodity futures trading, as well as the entry of a new class of traders composed of financial investors, such as pension funds, banks and sovereign wealth funds. These investors regard commodity futures as assets, comparable to traditional asset classes such as equities, bonds and real estate. As a rule, they passively invest in commodity futures, taking long term positions, ‘buying and holding’ them, as opposed to short term positions taken by the traditional speculators who buy and sell rapidly.

21. The debate on the impact of speculation on food price volatility offers no concrete conclusion. Some analysts suggest that the entry of financial investors in commodity futures markets has little effect on prices. Other analysts point out that the large amount of money invested in agricultural commodity futures by financial investors can destabilize prices away from their equilibrium, as this is determined by supply and demand. It is likely that such speculative activity in futures markets amplifies price volatility in the short term only. Longer-term equilibrium prices, however, are ultimately determined in cash markets where buying and selling physical commodities reflects the fundamental supply and demand forces.

22. In spite of the on-going debate, there is widespread agreement that both risk transfer and price formation functions of agricultural commodity futures markets will improve with appropriate regulation across all futures exchanges and markets. In particular, there is need for more information on transactions across futures markets. Detailed trading data is necessary to enable participants to monitor information about who is trading, the frequency and the volume of transactions. Such information exists in some commodity exchanges, however, in an aggregate form which makes the identification of various participants difficult. There is also need for greater transparency across over-the-counter (OTC) markets, where transactions take place off the regulated commodity exchanges.

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23. Significant improvements in the regulation of futures markets have already been decided or are under consideration. In the United States, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) has mandated a tightening of financial market regulation to improve transparency and reduce the risk inherent in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trade. In the European Union, the Commission has adopted a proposal for regulation of OTC derivatives trading and is currently reviewing several key directives that regulate financial markets including the Market Abuse Directive and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive.

24. Speculators are willing to take on the risk of future price fluctuations and gain a premium. Adequate regulation should improve, not ban, speculative trading in order to improve the performance of food markets. The debate on regulatory measures is on-going at national and international levels. Some exchanges already apply position limits on commodity futures contracts and monitor futures contract trade against physical quantities. A number of practices aiming to improve transparency and market functioning include: • Establish a trade depository to register OTC contracts, and bring all sufficiently liquid OTC derivatives on to

commodity exchanges• Use of speculative position limits on commodity futures contracts to effectively minimize the possibility that

participants, such as large financial institutions and funds, influence the market• Use of limits on inventories held in delivery warehouses by non-commercial entities to limit market manipulation

possibilities• Ensure that changes in regulation are adopted across commodity exchanges and across countries in order to

avoid the migration of participants.

Public food reserves and private storage

25. Since the 2008 food price crisis, there has been renewed interest in the potential role of public food reserves in a market environment characterized by volatile food prices. The HLPE Report on Price Volatility and the Interagency Report on Food Price Volatility to the G20 both address the potential of public food reserves. However, their recommendations on food stocks differ significantly, with the former putting forward proposals for the use of buffer stocks and the latter stressing the need to use food reserves for humanitarian purposes only.

26. National food buffer stocks that seek to stabilize domestic prices are one type of public food reserve. These mechanisms rely on a combination of food stocks, domestic procurement to defend a floor price, food releases to rein in price increases and trade measures that shield domestic markets from world market price fluctuations. A number of rice producing Asian countries rely on a combination of rice buffer stocks and a trade monopoly to shield their domestic markets. In Africa, in spite of a shift to liberalized marketing systems during the 1990s, buffer stocks remain a central characteristic of the food markets in a number of countries.

27. The experience with food buffer stocks is mixed. In Asian countries, buffer stocks have been used to stabilize prices and provide the confidence to farmers to make the necessary investments and raise productivity. In Africa, frequent, discrete and largely unexpected changes in stock operations tend to increase uncertainty and discourage the entry of traders. This hinders the development of competitive food markets with negative consequences for food security especially in times of international price surges.

28. Stabilizing prices through buffer stocks is a policy option that requires significant resources. Domestic procurement, food releases from buffer stocks and trade programmes require a line of credit, as well as continuing budgetary allocations to cover any operational losses occurring in the domestic and international trading. From the WTO perspective, expenditures associated with the acquisition and holding of reserves for food security and humanitarian purposes qualify under the WTO Green Box. However, the utilization of stocks in support of price stabilization mechanisms can be considered as trade distorting.

29. In times of crisis the cost of buffer stock operations may be prohibitive, as costs escalate in line with increases in prices. In addition, buffer stocks set to defend against price surges are not effective. A buffer stock can only be released in the market where it was bought. Once its stock is exhausted, there are no further means to curb the price surge. In general, buffer stocks, given sufficient finance, are more effective in moderating downward price movements than price surges. In addition, buffer stocks set to defend against price surges can also be vulnerable to speculative attacks. If speculators perceive that the stocks held by the stabilization agency are insufficient to maintain the pre-determined lower price level, they will compete to buy the entirety of the stock in order to take advantage of likely profits.

30. At the international and regional levels, buffer stock mechanisms are also subject to high costs and the criticisms

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for limited effectiveness in containing price increases. However, as countries attempt to achieve self-sufficiency and build their stocks, proposals for international and regional food reserves should be examined, as they could preserve global production efficiency with different types of food being produced where it is economically and environmentally feasible to do so.

31. Past experience from international stock management schemes is largely, but not entirely negative and there is little evidence that buffer stock stabilization resulted in any significant reduction in price volatility. International schemes, such as those characterizing the International Commodity Agreements, require continuing commitment and are vulnerable to changing market conditions. Regional stocks, such as the ASEAN Food Security Reserve, established in 1980 with an initial stock of 50,000 tonnes of rice, have been used infrequently, if at all.

32. In spite of the arguments against the use of buffer stocks, a number of analysts suggest that national food reserves can play a vital role in reducing food price volatility and the high human, political and economic costs of price surges. Such costs may necessitate revisiting the role of food reserves in the current new context of increased food price volatility. Policy experts should learn from past experience in order to design innovative solutions for food reserves, including the use of call options, to improve their effectiveness, while at the same time reducing their costs.

33. At their meeting on 23 June 2011, the G20 Ministers of Agriculture called on interested international organizations to develop a code of conduct for responsible emergency food reserves management, compiling a set of voluntary principles and good practices. At the same time, the HLPE Report on Price Volatility suggests that there is need for increased international coordination of storage policies. Although past experience suggests that managing international stocks schemes is difficult due to its high information and coordination costs, additional efforts to explore forms of international coordination may be necessary.

34. One possibility would be to establish small, strategically positioned humanitarian emergency food reserves at the regional level, linked upstream to effective early warning systems and downstream to social protection safety nets. It is important that such emergency food reserves are integrated in national and regional food security strategies with well-defined rules in terms of replenishment and triggering mechanisms. At the request of G20 Ministers of Agriculture, the World Food Programme and other International Organizations are preparing a feasibility study, costs-benefit analysis and proposal for a pilot regional emergency humanitarian food reserve system in West Africa, in close cooperation with ECOWAS and its Member States. The study, analysis and proposal will provide a valuable blueprint for a regional system of food reserves that can capitalize on economies of scale, spread the risk across a region, and provide effective assistance to vulnerable groups in times of crisis.

35. Efforts to design food reserve systems will benefit from further analysis, the evaluation of current practices and the examination of innovative solutions to enhance the well-functioning of national or regional stocks and to improve their effectiveness in mitigating the negative effects of food price surges without distorting market behaviour. Past and ongoing work, such as the study on the ECOWAS pilot humanitarian food reserves system, would provide valuable inputs in this regard. It is recommended that CFS initiates such a process assessing the role of food reserves in the context of price surges and volatility with the ultimate objective to develop a set of voluntary principles for the management of food reserves.

Domestic support and trade policies

36. Strengthening the integration of developing and vulnerable countries with the international market is of paramount importance for development. Historically, farm subsidies and protection in some OECD countries have been seen as a deterrent to investment in agriculture in developing countries, thus increasing their vulnerability to international price shocks. Policies that distort production and trade in agricultural commodities stimulate production in areas where it would not otherwise occur and discourage competitive producers elsewhere. This leads to both inefficiency and long run food insecurity. Despite on-going reforms there are still significant barriers to trade in agricultural commodities both among developing countries and between developing and developed countries.

37. During the price surge episodes of 2008 and 2010, a number of emerging economies and developing countries implemented export restrictions in an attempt to lower domestic prices and ensure domestic food security. In general, export bans can lower domestic food prices and are seen as supporting consumers. However, export restrictions by both large and small exporters can harm traditional trading partners. Food export bans restricting

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humanitarian food aid are particularly pernicious and harm the most vulnerable. Concerted implementation of export restrictions by major exporters renders the international market unreliable as a source of food. While the right of sovereign countries to enhance food security is not questioned, the more countries implementing such policies, the more world price instability will increase, potentially causing problems for those countries that do not resort to any stabilization policies.

38. Existing trade rules negotiated in times of low and stable food prices offer little protection against soaring prices and volatility and may even exacerbate them. The asymmetry between current disciplines on import and export measures is arguably over-permissive of export restrictions which shatter confidence in international markets. Current draft modalities in the WTO Doha Development Round do not seem to address that asymmetry. More predictable and less discretionary policies would convey clearer information and render panic and hoarding less likely, resulting in less uncertainty.

39. Building a transparent, accountable and rules-based multilateral trade system to guarantee food access for every country is now a major challenge for the international community. It is important that such a system improves market access, while at the same time addressing public policy concerns regarding both food security and the heterogeneity of the World Trade Organization member states, taking into account special needs of poor and vulnerable countries. Special Safeguard Mechanisms can protect smallholders in developing countries against surges of subsidized agricultural imports which can devastate their livelihoods. Such safeguards can encourage producers in developing countries to invest in their small farms and earn a stable income.

40. There is need to:• Significantly improve market access by reducing trade distorting domestic support, especially by developed

countries• Eliminate export subsidies in order to shape a level playing field in the international market and increase

efficiency • Address food export bans, or extraordinary taxes on humanitarian aid supplies• Maintain and strengthen appropriate safeguards for developing countries, especially the most vulnerable

ones, to improve their efficiency and competitiveness and strengthen their integration in the international markets.

41. In order to achieve more transparency and predictability, there are also proposals to strengthen the WTO provisions on exports:1. An obligation to submit a notification to the WTO Committee on Agriculture, prior to instituting any new

export prohibition or restriction on foodstuffs. Such notifications should be supported by detailed data and analysis demonstrating the reasons for instituting such measures and how trading partners of that Member may be affected

2. Upon receipt of such notification to the WTO Committee on Agriculture, there should be an obligation to respect a mandatory consultation period (say of a period of one month) with potentially affected countries prior to the export restriction being implemented

3. An obligation to spell out explicitly the duration of an eventual measure, stipulating a maximum period of its application (e.g. 3 months).

Global food market information and transparency and international policy coordination

42. The food price episodes of 2008 and 2010 have exposed a number of weaknesses in the process of market information and the coordination of actions and policy responses. These include:• Lack of reliable and up-to-date information on crop supply, demand, stocks and, especially, export availability

from countries and regions; lack of clear and comprehensive indicators of current market conditions• Uncertainty and lack of transparency that resulted in hoarding, panic buying and sub-optimal policy choices• Lack of an effective and credible mechanism for issuing alerts concerning deteriorating food situations• Lack of effective policy recommendations and policy coordination• Lack of clear links between information, alerts and response.

43. The result is limited preparedness on the part of governments and the international community to respond rapidly and effectively to threats to food security. Building on and complementing existing systems, improvements in global market information could be achieved through the G20 collaborative food information and policy initiative, namely,

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the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS). Such initiatives aim to improve data reliability, timeliness and frequency as well as enhancing policy coordination in times of crisis.

44. Participation in AMIS would be open to all countries. However, early efforts will focus on the main market players which account for the greater part of world food production, consumption and trade. AMIS would also involve a joint Secretariat, housed in FAO, comprising of international organizations with capacity to collect, analyse and disseminate information on a regular basis regarding the food situation and outlook, as well as food policies. The structure of AMIS would include two groups to effectively perform two important functions: a Global Food Market Information Group would be responsible for food market information collection and analysis, while the promotion of international policy coordination would be the objective of a Rapid Policy Response Forum.

45. The Global Food Market Information Group would cover the study of production, stocks, trade, utilization and prices, including futures prices. In more detail, it could:• Provide continuous, quality, reliable, accurate, timely and comparable information regarding the supply and

demand position and its probable short term development• Promote the improvement of the statistics and information• Collect and analyze information on national policies and their international effects.

46. The AMIS Rapid Policy Response Forum would enhance policy dialogue and promote policy coordination when the market situation and outlook indicates a high food security risk. Its actions would be as follows:• Receive and assess information and analyses from the AMIS Secretariat on the current global market situation

and outlook and issue regular statements on the ensuing implications for food security• Promote early exchange of key information on and discussion of prevention and responses to crises among

policy-makers and assist in mobilizing wide and rapid political support for appropriate policy response and actions on issues affecting agricultural production and markets in times of crisis, without seeking influence on the humanitarian responses

• Work closely with the CFS to promote greater policy convergence and strengthen policy linkages at the world level.

47. AMIS will consist of a standing network of countries and organizations focusing exclusively on food price volatility, combining both political will and strong technical expertise to increase market information, enhance transparency and promote dialogue on appropriate actions in times of crisis. It is proposed that the Rapid Policy Response Forum collaborates closely with CFS, providing briefs to the Bureau and Advisory Group of the CFS on market and food security assessments, as well as on appropriate policy options so that CFS has all relevant information to promote greater policy convergence and strengthen policy linkages at global level.

Curbing non food demand for crops and limiting waste

48. At the international level, crop prices are progressively more related to oil prices. Increases in the price of oil enhance ethanol’s competitiveness relative to petrol and strengthen its demand. Since both biofuel and food or feed sectors utilize the same input, for example grain or sugarcane, increases in the production of ethanol reduce the supply of food and result in increases in its price.

49. This strong integration between the agricultural commodities and energy markets means that if oil prices are high and a crop’s value in the energy market exceeds its value in the food market, crops will be diverted to the production of biofuels which will increase the price of food to an extent determined by biofuel demand.

50. Sudden changes in the price of oil can be abrupt and may cause increased food price volatility. Support to the biofuel industry has created a growing demand for certain crops, competing with food demand for available food or feed supplies, thus resulting in increasing prices. For example, subsidies to first-generation biofuel production lower biofuel production costs and, therefore, increase the dependence of crop prices on the price of oil. There is a need to reconsider such support policies.

51. There are proposals to remove provisions of current national policies that subsidize, or mandate biofuel production or consumption and improve access by opening international markets. The elimination of both subsidies and trade barriers will result in biofuels being produced where it is economically feasible to do so. Other proposals call for more flexible measures that take account of the impact of biofuels on the availability and price of food. According to these proposals, countries that support their biofuel sector, develop plans to adjust policies that stimulate

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biofuel production or consumption when global food markets are under pressure, so that demand for food or feed by the biofuels sector is weakened.

52. On the supply side, post-harvest losses and waste combine to reduce the availability of food by a very large percentage globally. FAO estimates that poorly developed systems for handling, storage, packaging, transporting and marketing of agricultural products in developing countries results in losses ranging between 15% and 50%. Addressing post-harvest losses is an effective way to dramatically increase food supply in developing countries.

53. Assistance to farmers, cooperatives and community grain storage initiatives is an important first step in reducing post-harvest losses and increasing resilience, as well as addressing emergency needs and reducing domestic food price volatility by allowing farmers to market beyond harvest season. At the village level, there are clear advantages to collaboration in storage in order to aggregate sufficient amount of produce, reduce storage and transport costs and attract traders.

54. Private sector storage investments in developing countries, either on-farm, in villages or on a larger scale, are constrained by poor policies, insufficient public support and poor enabling environments. This makes farmers reluctant to undertake such improvements, compelling them to tolerate quite high post-harvest losses.

55. There is a need for policies to facilitate access to credit for storage improvements by farmers, cooperatives and private traders and provide the necessary technology and training to minimise post-harvest losses. There is also a need for training to build specialized storage management skills both for farmers’ associations and cooperatives as well as for the private sector.

B. POLICIES TO MITIGATE THE NEGATIVE IMPACT OF FOOD PRICE VOLATILITY

Social protection safety nets

56. In an environment of rapidly increasing food prices, the provision of subsidized food or cash to the poor through safety nets improves their ability to cope with increased food expenditure and prevents households from selling assets that are important for their well-being, such as animals, or from reducing expenses on important activities, such as health and education. These safety nets should also provide a specific focus on nutrition, given the increased risks on health and nutritional status in times of crisis.

57. It is important that safety nets can be scaled-up rapidly, delivering assistance in a flexible manner, in terms of cash or food depending on market conditions. Scaling up takes place by increasing the transfer per capita or by adding new beneficiaries. However, safety net expansion presents significant difficulties, highlighting the need for contingency planning. Firstly, the safety net programme should have the administrative capacity to expand. Secondly, if the expansion takes place through the addition of new beneficiaries who have become vulnerable due to the food price increases, additional targeting mechanisms should be employed.

58. Well-targeted programmes are difficult to design and often are integrated into the existing social safety net system. Targeted food safety nets such as child nutrition schemes, job and asset creation and school feeding programmes help vulnerable people to cope with price volatility or other shocks and can be, given the budget, scaled up relatively easily in a crisis.

59. Quick targeting may also be achieved through combinations of geographical, demographic and self-targeting criteria. Linking the transfers to certain conditions, as for example, supporting pregnant and lactating women and children under two years of age, provides both a targeting method and a mechanism for mitigating the short term impact of the shock while simultaneously reducing long term adverse consequences.

60. Flexible and diversified assistance, based on a range of transfers is a critical tool to address food insecurity and mitigate the negative effect of food price surges on the vulnerable. Such transfers can be made in the form of cash, food vouchers, or food. Targeted cash transfers or food vouchers are appropriate where food markets function and improved access to food is the objective of the intervention. They can also foster local food market development by providing greater incentives to the private sector to engage in higher volume, more stable marketing channels, thus achieving economies of scale. If private traders are unable to scale-up the distribution of food, or for example, local markets are isolated, cash transfers can result in food price inflation. In such situations, food distribution is more appropriate, as it increases availability without exerting additional upward pressure on local market prices.

61. Finally, such mechanisms ought to have a counter-cyclical budget so that operations can be scaled-up when prices

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surge and scaled-down subsequently. Such budget requirements present significant difficulties, highlighting the need for assistance from the international community to food deficit low income developing countries, which may not be able to meet such expenditures in times of crisis.

62. Food price surges undermine the existing food price arrangements in the ongoing negotiations of the Food Aid Convention (FAC) which specifies an annual guaranteed minimum amount of food and food related resources to recipient countries in response to food emergencies and other situations, such as the provision of assistance to safety nets. The FAC provides about 5 million tonnes of food per year in donors’ collective commitments. However, during the ongoing negotiations, proposals have been put forward to allow individual donor country commitments to be expressed in terms of value, rather than in terms of food quantities in order to enable governments to budget accurately their FAC commitments. With high and volatile prices projected for the next decade, such a practice will transfer the risk of volatile prices onto the food assistance recipient countries. There is need to minimize this risk, through market-based risk management instruments, while retaining the collective commitment to provide specific amounts of food.

Risk management for producers

63. Risk management for producers in developing and emerging economies faces important challenges. The vulnerable population is made up mainly of geographically dispersed smallholders with limited access to markets and knowledge. This results in high operational costs for risk management programmes, in addition to weak demand for risk management instruments. There are also significant constraints on the development of insurance and financial markets, and often institutional capacity is low with no established commodity exchanges. Risk management mechanisms for vulnerable producers depend on the nature of the risk, which may be related to weather or to pests and diseases affecting crops or animals, or may be economic, relating to prices of inputs and outputs.

64. Considerable effort and research is being invested in developing innovations such as weather index-based crop insurance to enable smallholder producers to protect themselves against weather-related risks. The underlying concept is that farmers are paid whenever rainfall or temperature is so high or so low that it is likely to cause a significant fall in crop yields, or whenever droughts, frost, or precipitation cross specific thresholds. Index-based insurance presents a number of advantages as it is based on an independently verifiable weather index that allows insurance companies to efficiently transfer part of their risk to international markets or to re-insurers. However, in order to be effective, index-based insurance requires a number of conditions to be in place. The index chosen must be strongly correlated to local yields and there must be a network of local weather stations network and weather data collection systems. There is also need to overcome information problems to stimulate demand for such instruments. Farmers and other stakeholders should have a clear understanding of how weather index insurance works.

65. Protection against price risks for farmers is also subject to similar problems. In addition to poor access to markets and knowledge, farmers produce quantities that are too small to make participation in futures markets worthwhile. Even if aggregated across producers, through farmers’ organizations, production is subject to problems of standardization and quality. Moreover, few developing countries have commodity exchanges where farmers and other market participants can hedge against price fluctuations.

66. There is need to significantly support pro-smallholder innovations in financial markets. Public investment in increased institutional capacity and adequate technical assistance and training is necessary, as the private insurance sector faces high set up costs and barriers. Innovative products, such as index insurance often require public-private partnerships, or public investment in the development of data gathering and analytic capacity. If index insurance is to scale up, governments and donors will need to intervene more actively to provide an enabling environment and facilitate the development of insurance markets. However, in general, it has been proven extremely difficult to target smallholders directly in a cost-effective manner for use of financial risk management tools.

67. Food markets in many developing countries are not well-integrated with established commodity exchanges rendering financial hedges ineffective and subject to high levels of basis risk (the lack of correlation between exchange-trade prices and local prices). There is need to encourage regional commodity exchanges in developing countries so that contracts and risk management tools are linked to local conditions thus improving market functioning and the transfer of risk.

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68. Warehouse receipts systems can help small producers manage risks. They may also improve a country’s private storage capacity and lead to more competitive markets. The principle of warehouse receipts is that farmers or traders can deposit amounts of staple food of a stated quantity and quality in a secure warehouse and obtain evidence of ownership. Warehouse receipts programmes can contribute towards reducing storage losses, moderating price volatility and facilitating access to finance, as the evidence of ownership can be used as collateral to obtain credit. In this manner, warehouse receipts can assist smallholders to better manage risks, while at the same time promote efficient private trade.

International compensatory mechanisms

69. In times of crisis, compensatory facilities are important mechanisms assisting countries to avoid major fiscal deficits, and lower the cost of imported food, while maintaining key social assistance programmes. One of the major international responses to commodity market volatility in the past has been compensatory financing, such as that provided through the European Union’s Système de Stabilization des Recettes d’Exportation (STABEX) to ACP countries and the Compensatory Financing Facility of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Both programmes aimed to provide compensatory finance to help countries avoid a negative impact on growth from sharp commodity price changes. Neither has been used extensively probably because of insufficient funding in the first instance and excessively high interest rates in the second.

70. During the 2008 price surge, a number of countries which experienced significant increases in their food and fertilizer import bills resorted to the Exogenous Shock Facility (ESF) of the IMF. ESF provided for liquidity to mitigate the negative impact of exogenous shocks on developing countries’ balance of payments, international reserves position and inflation. Since 2009, the IMF established three facilities to allow for significantly more financing and more concessional terms: the Rapid Credit Facility, providing disbursement without programme-based conditionality; the Standby Credit Facility for short-term financing and adjustment needs caused by policy slippages or shocks; and, the Extended Credit Facility which also includes arrangements to provide rapid support for food and fuel price shocks.

71. Such facilities could be strengthened or expanded to enable a country to finance food imports when the need arises, rather than to compensate balance of payment losses after the fact. Mechanisms, such as the Global Food Crisis Response Programme (GFRP) of the World Bank which is targeted to the poorest and most vulnerable countries and efforts for a broader crisis window under the International Development Association should be supported.

72. An additional option for consideration is a food financing facility, as foreseen by the Marrakesh Decision and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference at Doha. On the basis of analysis by FAO and UNCTAD, a proposal has been developed to create a Food Import Financing Facility (FIFF) through which less developed and net food importing countries would have access to short-term finance in the event of soaring food import bills.

73. A FIFF would enable a country to finance food imports when the need arises, rather than to compensate balance of payment losses after the fact, and would be based on the international community providing conditional guarantees, rather than finance. Trigger conditions could involve a level of food import bills that are predicted to go above a certain threshold compared to normal. The FIFF could also benefit from guarantees from a number of developed countries which would enable it to borrow from the international bank and capital markets.

Stabilizing food imports bills through market-based mechanisms

74. Innovative market-based mechanisms, such as the use of futures markets to guarantee timely food imports at more stable prices, provide protection against food price volatility. Nevertheless, such options involve the establishment of institutions at national level and the building up of technical expertise.

75. The principal instruments that could be used to stabilize food import bills are futures and options contracts or over the-counter (OTC) instruments. Financial institutions, usually international banks, intermediate such hedging instruments to governments. By buying futures contracts, a government which wishes to protect itself against a possible grains price surge, ‘locks in’ the grain purchase price. The major advantage to the hedging government is that the cost of food imports is known more or less accurately at the time the hedge is initiated. In practice, futures may not be a useful instrument for governments since there is an unknown liability associated with taking a futures

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position each time the government hedges. If market prices move down against a government that has bought futures contracts, the government will be responsible for paying, to the market counterparty, the difference in price movements.

76. An alternative to hedging with futures contracts is hedging with option contracts, which allow a government to secure price protection at a certain level in return for a fixed premium which is usually paid in advance. Call options are physical commodity hedges, which integrate price protection into a physical import agreement. For importers, a call option has the effect of putting an approximate ceiling price on the contracted food quantities. A ceiling price is particularly attractive if the intention is to hedge against a price. A major advantage of the call option strategy is that it has a market price. Unlike hedging with futures, the cost of protection is known in advance. Purchasers can decide on the level and duration of protection that they require or can decide that the cost is too high.

77. Significant investment is needed to overcome the lack of technical expertise on the use of hedging instruments in low income countries. Many governments are not focused on ex ante management of food price shocks and are not assessing food price risk as a contingent liability with fiscal implications. Experience has shown that engaging developing and emerging countries on risk management takes a sustained effort to build capacity to the point where decision-makers are comfortable with the use of risk management tools and have established appropriate institutional frameworks (including careful budgeting of costs and targeting of benefits). Globally there is a need to learn lessons from countries such as Mexico that have become sophisticated in developing a framework for analyzing fiscal risks and taking innovative steps to manage those risks.

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Regional Perspective

Food Price Volatility

Matters to be brought to the attention of the CFS Regional Multi-stakeholder Workshop for the Near East:

The Near East countries are highly vulnerable to food price fluctuations mostly because of their dependence on food imports.

Consumer support programmes continue to be important in many countries in the region and they are crucial in providing food for large segments of the populations of these countries.

Several actions in response to rising food prices have been taken by the countries in the region whichinclude mostly actions to address the short-term impacts of high food prices. These actions and future policy directions were discussed in the sub-regional food price seminars held in early 2011.Reducing vulnerability to price shocks rests on three strategic pillars:

i. Minimizing the impact of price shocks through strengthened safety nets, providing people with acesss to family planning services and promoting education

ii. Enhancing domestic food supplies

iii. Managing market volatility.

Some key policy options in this context include the following:

i. Actions to reform subsidies and ensure proper targeting for vulnerable populations

ii. Actions to increase investment in agriculture at the national and regional level to improve resilience to future shocks in food prices

iii. Regional cooperation in trade and investment including establishing food reserves at national and regional levels

iv. Building institutional and human capacities for better food policy formulation, coordination and implementation

v. Developing information systems at regional and national levels.

A potential regional food reserve which was repeatedly mentioned by countries will require analysis and consultative discussions to reach an informed consensus and define a road map for its establishment and use.

A regional investment forum for food security, as recommended by the 30th Near East Regional Conference could help countries to promote intra-regional investment in food and agriculture.

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BACKGROUND

High and volatile food prices have become an increasingly important global issue in the past four years. Starting in 2007-2008, commodity prices, and particularly prices of cereals, have soared to levels much higher than historical levels. Although they subsided in 2009-2010, cereal prices have remained above the pre-2007 levels. During 2010-2011, another peak in sugar and vegetable oil prices has affected food and agriculture markets. High and volatile prices are expected to continue in the near future.

While several reasons have contributed to the soaring food prices, their impacts have been felt in a similar fashion across many countries. Net buyers of food (as is the case for most of the Near East Region) the urban poor, rural landless, and small farmers have been affected negatively by the increase in food prices which have jeopardized their food security. On the other hand, some producers have benefited to some extent from the high prices, and investment in agriculture has increased during recent years.

These impacts have spurred a number of policy actions in the countries of the region to address primarily the immediate impact of high food prices particularly on consumers. Most of these responses have been ad-hoc without concrete programmatic action and planning due to the sudden nature of the increase in prices. Also it is difficult to address the issues in the long run, given the many challenges that the countries are facing such as fiscal pressure, high import dependency, scarcity of land and water resources and political uncertainty. The results of the ad-hoc actions have been mixed, but in most cases, need to be better evaluated and designed given that food prices are expected to stay at higher levels with continuing volatility in the near future.

VULNERABILITY TO FOOD PRICE VOLATILITY IN THE NEAR EAST

Near East countries import at least 50% of the food calories they consume. As the largest net importers of cereal, they are more exposed than other countries to severe swings in agricultural commodity prices, and their vulnerability will probably be exacerbated in coming years by strong population growth, low agricultural productivity, and their dependence on global commodity markets. Projections of the region’s food balance indicate that dependence on imports will increase by almost 64% over the next twenty years.

Demand and supply factors are increasing food security risks in the region. Population growth, urbanization, and income growth are relatively strong in Near East countries and therefore will increase the demand for food. The structural factors driving food demand are increasing faster in the countries in the Near East than world wide. The combined population growth rate of all the Near East countries is projected to be 1.7 percent, higher than the world rate of 1.1 percent. Not only is the number of people increasing faster than elsewhere, but so is their purchasing power. The current income growth rate of 3.4% outpaces the global average of 3%. Ur banization is also on the rise with urban populations growing by 3% during the 1990-2006 period, surpassing the global average of 2.2%.

Supply-side constraints are also more binding due to acute compe tition for limited amounts of arable land and water. This constraints countries’ ability to increase cereal production. Thin cereal markets and climate change will increase price sensitivity impacting these demand and supply fac tors.

Water and land constraints are particularly challenging for agriculture in the Near East region. Approximately 75% of exploitable renew able water resources are taken out of the natural system and used compared to between 1% and 30% in other regions. In some areas, non-renewable sources such as fossil groundwater are being over-exploited. Consequently, there is little to no potential for sustainable increase in water use. The expansion of ar able land is also much slower in Near East countries than globally.

The food security implications of high food prices for the Near East countries with different resource endowments and fiscal balances rest on the extent of exposure to food price and quantity risk, which is a function of dependence on cereal imports and fis cal balances. The countries in the Near East region are price takers and import dependent because they produce a rela tively small share of world cereals which exposes them to substantial price and quantity risk. Price risk is the risk that cereal prices will be prohibitively high, making purchase difficult even though quantity is available on world markets. Quantity risk is the risk of food

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not being available, even if there are sufficient funds for purchase.

Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) and other countries that are highly dependent on cereal imports but have strong fiscal balances are less vulnerable to price risk because of their strong resource base. How ever, since these countries depend entirely on food imports, they are concerned about quantity risk that could occur through export bans and other export restrictions like the ones witnessed at the height of the recent shock. GCC countries are most vulnerable to food-price shocks when oil prices are low and food com modity prices are high. Low oil prices weaken fiscal balances of oil-rich nations, making it harder for them to handle high food commod ity prices.

The poor in the region are hit hardest by food-price shocks, spending anywhere from 35% to 65% of their income on food. Rough calcu lations suggest that, barring economic growth, a 30% increase in food prices in Egypt would result in a 12% point increase in poverty. (In fact poverty has fallen because there was economic growth). In Mo rocco a 14% increase in food prices would result in a 4% point increase in poverty. Some groups of poor people stand to lose more than others from higher food prices. Those that stand to lose the most are the urban poor, the rural landless, and small and marginal farmers.

It is important to note that although the countries are highly vulnerable to price shocks, the transmission of food prices have shown different patterns. The transmission of international prices to domestic prices during the 2007-08 price hike was found to be high and immediate in countries with the least intervention in food markets (e.g. Morocco and Yemen, and to some extent Jordan). In countries with relatively more interventions on imports and/or domestic food prices, such as Egypt and Syria (for wheat), the connection between international and domestic prices was generally low

ACTIONS TAKEN BY COUNTRIES IN THE REGION

The recent price shocks provide important lessons about the potential macro and micro economic effects of high food prices, and on the results of government responses to these trends. At the macro level, inflation in Near East countries is a challenge, increasing at more than twice the speed of world inflation in recent years and worsening due to the recent political transition in several countries. Non-oil-exporting countries in particular face increasing fiscal pressure. In ad dition to inflation, food-price shocks directly affect trade and fiscal balances. Many Near East countries (e.g. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Ye men) have increased wages for public sector employees and have tried to support the poor by increasing bread subsidies, implementing direct cash transfers, and lifting tariffs on basic food commodities. However, these measures are not sustainable without concurrent increases in revenues. In order to finance the additional ex penditure, oil-poor countries may be forced to reduce other essential expenditures or increase borrowing, which has a negative long-term effect on their economies. Non-oil-exporting countries that rely significantly on cereal imports such as Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco, all have fiscal and trade deficits, contributing to their eco nomic hardship. However, rising revenues from other commodity exports have eased some of the burden in oil-poor countries that are rich in other natural resources. For example, Morocco’s phosphate exports tripled in value in 2008 and covered the oil deficit, while Jordan’s export of potash helped cushion its food-import bills.

Oil-rich countries have been able to absorb high food prices thanks to high oil revenues. Their governments have been able to raise public sector wages and implement large food subsidy programmes without incurring unbearable fiscal strain. However, the recent sharp decline in oil prices may deteriorate trade surpluses, which would reduce foreign exchange earnings, government revenues, and invest ment options. If oil prices continue to decline but food prices remain high, fiscal and trade surpluses could become chronic deficits. Syria, for instance, is currently an oil-exporter but re serves are declining, and expensive food-subsidy programs are contributing to a deteriorating fiscal balance.

Across-the-board food-subsidy programs can create a substantial fiscal burden, even though they are important in providing food to large segments of the population in many countries. Food-price shocks drive up the cost of government food subsidies. At the same time, a common gov ernment response to shocks is to increase the coverage and size of these subsidies, driving up costs even further. In countries such as Syria and

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Egypt, which have across-the-board sub sidies, the subsidies exceed 1% of GDP and could become a major fiscal problem if commodity prices stay high or in the event of future price shocks. While social and political considerations may make ratio nalizing food subsidies unpopular, countries can adopt potential strategies to improve their performance and reduce their fiscal burden.

Investing in smallholders is essential to eradicating rural poverty and increasing food security at the national level. There are many reasons policy makers should help smallholders. They usually make up the majority of the rural population and the rural poor. Enabling small holders to become more productive contributes to household food security, which contributes in turn to national food security.

ENSURING FOOD SECURITY IN VOLATILE MARKETS: POLICY OPTIONS

Policy Options to offset future vulnerability to food price shocks rest on actions under three critical pillars:

Minimising the impact of food price shocks.

Key actions in this respect may include:

Reform of food subsidies to ensure proper targeting for vulnerable populations

Improving access to family planning services

Educating families about the benefits of balanced diet.

Enhance the food supply provided by do mestic agriculture and improve rural liveli hoods by addressing lagging productivity growth through increased investment in research and development.

Increasing productivity through research and development and making the most of scarce water resources

Increasing investment in agriculture at national and regional levels to improve resilience to future shocks in food prices

Promoting regional cooperation in trade and investment.

Reduce exposure to market volatility by improving supply chain efficiency and by more effectively using financial instruments to hedge risk.

Building institutional and human capacities for better food policy formulation, coordination and implementation

Developing information systems at regional and national levels

Tailoring food reserve strategies to the specific needs of countries and the region as a whole to effectively and efficiently address food volatility risks

Employing relevant financial risk hedging instruments.

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Annex V Increasing food security through smallholder-sensitive investment in agriculture Background Documents

Global Perspective

COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITYThirty-seventh Session

Rome, 17-22 October 2011Item V

POLICY ROUNDTABLE HOW TO INCREASE FOOD SECURITY AND

SMALLHOLDER-SENSITIVE INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE

Table of Contents

Paragraphs

IV. EMERGING CHALLENGES 2 – 5

V. KEY ISSUES 6 - 54

A. INADEQUACY OF CURRENT INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE 6 - 11

B. SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURAL INVESTMENT: CHALLENGES

AND OPPORTUNITIES 12 - 33

C. SMALLHOLDER-SENSITIVE CORPORATE INVESTMENT

IN AGRICULTURE 34 - 41

D. THE NEED FOR ENABLING PUBLIC POLICIES

AND INVESTMENT 42 - 54

VI. POLICY IMPLICATIONS 55

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Matters to be brought to the attention of CFS

The Committee:

• Underlines the paramount importance of increased and improved investment in agriculture for achieving food security and nutrition for all

• Recognizes that the bulk of investment in agriculture is undertaken by a multiplicity of private actors, in particular farmers themselves, their cooperatives and other rural enterprises

• Acknowledges that smallholder farmers, many of which are women, play a central role in producing most of the food consumed locally in many developing regions and are the primary investors in agriculture in many developing countries

• Welcomes the report of the High Level panel of Experts (HLPE) on “Land Tenure and International Investments in Agriculture” and recommends its consideration by all stakeholders.*

The Committee is also asked to consider the following set of recommendations to member governments, international partners and other stakeholders. The recommendations are derived from this background document and the HLPE Report on Land Tenure and International Investments in Agriculture:

i. Ensure that public investment, services, and policies for agriculture give due priority to supporting and complementing smallholders’ own investment

ii. Ensure that agricultural policies and public investment gives priority to food production and nutrition, with a focus on strengthening sustainable smallholder food production and on fostering smallholder- inclusive local, national and regional food markets

iii. Ensure that public policies and investments play a catalytic role in the formation of partnerships among agricultural investors, including private-public partnerships

iv. Give due attention to new market and environmental risks facing smallholder agriculture and design investments, services and policies so as to mitigate these risks and strengthen the ability of smallholder farmers to manage them. Align investment incentives in agriculture with environmental sustainability considerations

v. Actively involve organizations representing agricultural producers, notably smallholders and agricultural workers, in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of policies for investment in agriculture and in the design of investment programmes in agriculture and food value chains

vi. Make use, on a voluntary basis, of the framework for “Mapping food security actions at country level” to report periodically to the Committee on relevant actions taken at national level with regard to public and private investment in agriculture, including on the implementation of the recommendations above, and to share lessons learned from national experiences

Furthermore the Committee:

vii. Requests the HLPE to include in its plans for future work a comparative study of constraints to smallholder investment in agriculture in different contexts with policy options for addressing these constraints. This should include a comparative assessment of strategies for linking smallholders to food value chains in national and regional markets and what can be learned from different experiences

viii. Supports launching an inclusive consultation process within the CFS for the development and the broader ownership of principles for responsible agricultural investment that enhance food security and nutrition to be overseen by the CFS Bureau with the assistance of the joint Secretariat and in close collaboration with the Advisory Group and the involvement of all interested stakeholders with a view to submitting these principles for the consideration of CFS

ix. Acknowledges that the first step of this inclusive consultation process will be to find agreement on the scope, purpose, intended recipients and structure of these principles as well as on the format of the consultation process, taking into account existing frameworks - including the RAI principles developed by FAO, IFAD, UNCTAD and the World Bank - and respecting the need to maintain full coherence and avoid duplication with the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land and other

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Natural Resources, which are expected to be approved prior to the start of this consultation process

x. Recommends the explicit recognition of smallholder-sensitive investment as defined in this document (para 5) among the criteria for characterizing responsible corporate investment in agriculture.

* The HLPE Report on Land Tenure and International Investments in Agriculture including the Summary and Recommendations for Policymakers (CFS:2011/4 Add.1) should be considered along with this background document.

78. What this paper is about. This paper focuses on smallholder investment and how to support it. It also considers corporate investment in agriculture and the need to promote synergy between this and smallholder investment. The important role that public policies and investment must play to strengthen smallholder investment and to promote smallholder-sensitive corporate investment is discussed. The paper concludes by highlighting some key policy implications. Specific recommendations for the CFS are presented in the preceding recommendation box.

EMERGING CHALLENGES

79. Growing concern about food and nutrition insecurity. Persistently high numbers of undernourished people, coupled with increasing global food price volatility and price spikes, have raised renewed concerns in recent years about food and nutrition insecurity in developing countries. Some of the underlying causes of these phenomena directly concern agriculture, as they relate to:

a) A growing imbalance between food supply and demand b) Supply instabilityc) A shrinking resource base for food production. d) Poorly functioning agricultural markets, which do not cater well to the needs of vulnerable producers or

poor consumers are another key factor.

80. Three major sets of challenges for agriculture. Today, agriculture faces three sets of major challenges. First, it needs to ensure adequate food and nutrition for a rapidly growing world population with rising incomes and changing diets. Second, agriculture needs to enable a large percentage of the one billion rural people living in dire poverty to achieve decent livelihoods as farmers, livestock producers, artisanal fishers, and workers in agricultural supply chains. Third, agriculture must become more sustainable and resilient to deal with a deteriorating environment and with climate change. Meeting all these challenges requires increasing and improving the quality of investment in agriculture.

81. Centrality of smallholder agriculture. More than 85% of agricultural holdings in developing countries are below 2 ha1, and in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa about 80% of farmland belongs to, or is cultivated by, smallholders2. Therefore, smallholders’ own investment is by far the primary investment in agriculture in many developing countries. Enhancing smallholders’ own investment is thus critical to improving food security and nutrition and to reducing rural poverty. It is currently estimated that smallholders produce up to 80% of food consumed locally in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia3. Enhancing the quality of smallholders’ investment is also key to achieving important environmental goals such as reducing water scarcity, restoring soils, preserving biodiversity, and mitigating climate change.

82. Defining smallholder-sensitive investment. Virtually any investment in agriculture can have an impact on smallholder farmers. Agricultural investments affect the natural resource base for agriculture; they affect the market opportunities available to smallholders; they can generate pressure on policymaking processes that may adversely affect smallholders; and they affect the ability of smallholders to increase their capital base. In this context, smallholder-sensitive means that investments (both public and private) are mindful of, and attentive to respecting the rights, interests and potential of smallholder agriculture and of family farmers.4 This goes beyond preserving the rights of smallholders vis-à-vis other investors by highlighting the importance of investment in

1 IFPRI, “Food security under stress from price volatility, agricultural neglect, climate change and Recession” 2009. Presentation prepared for IPC Spring Seminar Salzburg, May 11, 2009 )original data source FAO Agricultural World Census.(2 IFAD. Governing Council 2010 – background paper prepared for the High Level Panel, “From summit resolutions to farmers’ fields: Climate change, food security and smallholder agriculture”.3 Ibid4 Private investment in this paper is broadly defined to include investment by smallholders and cooperatives as well as large scale investment by corporate or commercial interests. What is small scale and large investment is of course context specific.

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supporting the potential of smallholder agriculture to contribute to food security and nutrition, poverty reduction, and key environmental goals.

KEY ISSUES

Inadequacy of current investment in agriculture

83. Large gaps between investment and needs. At present, not enough resources are going into developing country agriculture to enable it to meet current and emerging challenges. This is perhaps most evident in relation to agricultural R&D and technology development, human capital development and management and enhancement of natural resources. Large gaps also exist in infrastructure development – for rural energy, irrigation, post-harvest handling and storage, processing, and transportation.

84. In 2009, FAO estimated a need for 83 billion dollars of annual net investment in developing country agriculture and in downstream sections of agricultural supply chains, simply to meet demand for food resulting from a growing global population.5 In June 2011, the Global Harvest Initiative made its own estimate and calculated that 90 billion dollars a year is needed in investment in developing country agriculture to boost productivity and feed the world’s population in 2050.6

85. A comparative analysis of investment levels in different regions shows that the investment gap is unevenly distributed. For instance, capital stock per agricultural worker shows growing disparities and inequalities among agricultural producers in different countries and regions. According to studies conducted by FAO in 2009,7 the average capital stock per worker in 2005 amounted to 2,780 dollars in sub-Saharan Africa, against 3,880 dollars in South Asia, 11,610 dollars in the Near East and North Africa, and 25,240 dollars in Latin America and the Caribbean. Projections to 2050 suggested a considerable widening of this gap in capital endowment per capita.

86. The consequences of inadequate investment and inappropriate policies. One major consequence of inadequate investment in agriculture is insufficient growth in agricultural production compared to demand growth. In the past couple of decades, yield growth has declined in many parts of the world, notably in areas that witnessed an increase of yields during the Green Revolution. The OECD FAO Agricultural Outlook 2011-2020 projects a growth in agricultural production of only 1.7% globally in this decade, compared to 2.6% in the last one. Insufficient or misguided public investment in agriculture and inappropriate policies have also contributed to the marginalization of smallholder and family agriculture and to the difficulties faced by small farmers as investors.

87. Some signs of a trend reversal – more public resources spent on agriculture. Globally, government spending in agriculture increased in terms of levels and intensity ratio between 1980-2007, but the share of spending decreased, and the trend was less favourable to agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa and in agriculture-based countries.8 Overseas Development Aid (ODA) to agriculture also decreased in the 1990s and early 2000s, but has recently begun to pick up again. According to OECD figures, for instance, aid to agriculture as a percentage of total ODA (bilateral and multilateral) was as low as 3.7% in 2006, and up to 6% in 2009, compared with figures three times as large in the 1980s. In the past decade there has also been progress in public expenditure in agriculture in some developing countries, sometimes in a regional framework. The example of the NEPAD/CAADP process is probably the most relevant one. South-South public investment flows have also grown significantly in the past decade, both in and around agriculture.

88. Growing public expenditure in and for agriculture are a welcome development, and the trend needs to grow. Given the recent economic and financial crises affecting many countries directly and through pressure on ODA, there are however limits to what public investment can accomplish. Increasingly, private investment (starting from farmers’ own investment) needs to play a leading role in unlocking the potential of agriculture as a driver of food security and nutrition, reduced poverty, and environmental benefits. In this regard, the impact of increased public expenditure in agriculture on food security and nutrition is largely linked to the extent to which this complements

5 FAO. “How to Feed the World in 2050.” Paper prepared for the High Level Expert-Forum on Feeding the World in 2050. Rome, October 20096 Global Harvest Initiative. “Enhancing Private Sector Involvement in Agricultural and Rural Infrastructure Development”. Policy Brief )June 2011(. 7 J. Schmidhuber, J. Bruinsma, and G. Bedeker. “Capital requirements for agriculture in developing countries to 2050.” Paper prepared for the High Level Conference on Feeding the World in 2050. Rome, September 2009 8 IFPRI. Statistics of Public Expenditure for Economic Development. Washington, 2010

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smallholder investment, with a focus on sustainable food production.

Smallholder agricultural investment: challenges and opportunities

89. Smallholder farmers as primary investors in agriculture. As noted, smallholder and family farms constitute the vast majority of farms in developing countries, and they are estimated to support about 2 billion people9. Women constitute a large proportion of the rural workforce in agriculture – notably smallholder agriculture, amounting to an average of above 40% in the developing world, and even higher percentages in some regions10.

90. Smallholders mostly invest in farms, through activities to enhance the value of their natural and physical asset base – land, livestock, crop trees, on-farm buildings and infrastructure. Much of smallholders’ investment in human and intellectual capital development in agriculture is also done on farm, both informally among household or community members, and through on-site extension visits and peer-based learning and innovation. The immediate proximity of farmers to the site of their investment activities makes them best attuned to the investment needs of their farms. However, this very proximity makes it particularly difficult to put precise figures on the size of smallholder investment.

91. Smallholder investment spans four main types of capital. Broadly speaking, smallholder investment in agriculture spans four types of capital: human capital (resulting from training and from formal and informal education); intellectual capital (resulting from agricultural R&D and innovation, formal and informal); natural capital (maintenance, restoration, and improvement of the land, water, fishery, and forest base); and physical capital (building up assets such as livestock, equipment, farm buildings and infrastructure). Investment in these assets is supported by financial and social capital (social networks, organizations, norms of reciprocity, greater market bargaining power achieved through group formation, etc.). Different households, and different members within households, may engage in different types of investment, and have a different capital base.

92. Whether or not smallholder investment occurs and yields positive returns depends on many factors. For smallholder investment to support agriculture in meeting current challenges, it is not enough for investment to yield positive private economic returns. Rather, these need to be aligned with positive returns in terms of food security and nutrition, more resilient livelihoods, and environmental sustainability. To this end, it is of particular importance for smallholders to be able to invest in ways that help link them up to appropriate market opportunities, strengthen the resilience and environmental sustainability of their asset base and facilitate availability and access to nutrient-rich and diverse, culturally appropriate foods in local markets.

93. Investment results from incentives, perceived risk, and assets/capital. As is true for other private investors, smallholder investment decisions result from a combination of incentives, perceived risk, and available capital. Each one of these will be briefly considered in turn in the next paragraphs, as each can be the focus of enabling policies and complementary investment.

94. A changing incentive framework. As investors, smallholders respond to the incentives they face when deciding whether to invest money, time, or labour. For commercially-oriented farmers, incentives primarily result from price signals in relevant markets and from policies affecting trade and markets. At present, the market incentive framework for smallholders is changing due to higher agricultural and input prices and a transformation in the structure and functioning of food and agricultural markets. However, agricultural prices are transmitted to small farmers in ways that are significantly affected by policies. Price transmission from urban markets to farmers is also often difficult, partial, and delayed in many countries due to distance, poor infrastructure, and governance problems. This is a major problem hindering farmer investment for instance in parts of Africa, which has the largest proportion of population among regions living more than five hours away from a market town of at least 5,000 people.11

95. For non-commercially oriented farmers, but also for many who regularly sell part of their produce, an important incentive to investment is also the need to produce for self-consumption. This can motivate a minimum of investment even in the absence of market-based incentives. Under these conditions, improving non-commercial investment can contribute to food security and nutrition.

9 IFAD. Governing Council 201010 FAO. State of Food and agriculture 2011. Rome, 201111 G. Livingston, S. Schonberger, and S. Delaney. “Sub-Saharan Africa: The state of smallholders in agriculture”. Paper presented at the IFAD Conference on New Directions for Smallholder Agriculture, 24-25 January 2011

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96. A worsening risk environment. As all investors, smallholders also base their investment decisions on their assessment of the risks involved and on the tools they have to manage them. At present, in many parts of the developing world the risk environment faced by smallholders is worsening.

97. Market-related risks are increasing due to price volatility and to the transformation of agricultural supply chains. In particular, greater vertical and horizontal integration, higher and more stringent quality standards, new types of contractual arrangements and market institutions, result in a higher risk of market exclusion for smallholders. The latter often already have limited bargaining power in agricultural markets, and in many countries also face organizational obstacles. On the other hand, both smallholders and other actors in agricultural supply chains tend to face greater risks and transaction costs in dispersed chains than in more integrated ones.12 Environmental and climatic changes also make investment more risky, rendering weather patterns and yields harder to anticipate, and crop failures more frequent. Increasingly, there are also new risks of loss of access to, or control over, land and other natural resources, due to resource degradation and competition.

98. At the household level, smallholders also have to take into account risks related to anticipated or unanticipated household expenses. Such risks need to be factored into smallholders’ investment calculations because the capital base they can erode cannot always be neatly differentiated between the household as a “farming enterprise” and the household as a consumption unit.

99. Information mechanisms shape perceptions of risks and incentives. How incentives and risks factor into the decisions of smallholders as investors depends on the information mechanisms they have available. In many cases, smallholders operate with limited information about incentives and risks, and this affects the quality and timing of their investment decisions. Key types of information that can affect smallholder decisions concern market demand and prices, inputs and energy costs, weather patterns, and policies affecting agriculture and markets.

100. In many countries, farmers’ organizations, private sector operators and others have invested in the development of better market information systems for small farmers in recent years. Over time, access to reliable information about market prices and market demand can support farmers not only in making informed decisions about what to sell, when, where, and at what prices, but also about what to produce and how. Better information systems concerning weather forecast, patterns of resource change, monitoring of extreme weather events and droughts, and climate change scenario modelling, are also important in this regard and they are evolving in many parts of the world.

101. Information systems that can help smallholders make appropriate investment decisions are in many cases increasing their outreach in rural areas of developing countries thanks to information and communication technology and infrastructure. Mobile phone telephony in particular is making access to relevant information easier and affordable for a vast number of users in urban and, albeit less so, rural areas.13 However, information systems do not only require supportive technologies but also mechanisms to ensure reliability of information. In this regard, a range of actors and institutions can play critical roles – from farmers’ organizations, traders, and other actors in agricultural supply chains, to public and private research, academic, and data collection institutions.

102. The capital asset base for smallholder investment. Finally, a determining factor for smallholder investment is availability of the necessary capital and access to the desired production assets. As noted, smallholder and family farmers can have access to a very diverse capital base, and the same is true of women and men (or different age groups) within the same households. The transaction costs associated with the use of their asset base may also vary significantly. However, some general considerations can be offered.

103. Precarious tenure over natural capital. A common constraint is related to precarious tenure over land, water, and other resources, which is worsening in many parts of the world due to various factors, with smallholders, on many occasions losing access to these resources. For women farmers, in particular, there is abundant evidence that lack of secure access and tenure is a major hindering factor for increasing productivity and improved food security. Women are also often most affected by loss of their tenure and use rights over natural resources in an environment of growing competition. Lack of secure tenure can be an especially serious constraint for investment among particular livelihood groups (e.g. pastoralists) and for indigenous peoples. Institutions governing tenure of natural resources may also make it challenging for smallholders to increase their asset base (e.g. through purchasing or renting land), which can often be a precondition for more effective investment.

12 Ibid. 13 IFAD 2010. IFAD Rural Poverty Report 2011. New realities, new challenges: new opportunities for tomorrow’s generation. Rome: IFAD..

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104. Precarious tenure rights over land can have important indirect effects on the smallholders’ ability to access other forms of capital, notably financial capital through formal institutions, to mitigate risk or for investment proper. They often affect the ability of women farmers to access membership in farmers’ organizations (which may be intermediaries for access to inputs, technology, knowledge, and machinery), or their access to advisory services. Precarious tenure rights also reduce incentives for investment, particularly in the absence of well-organized land market institutions14. Where these rights are particularly threatened, the balance of incentives for investment between agriculture and other sectors (including away from rural areas) can shift in favour of the latter, which may result in growing pressure on small farmers to migrate to urban areas.

105. Limited access to financial capital. A second common constraint is related to access to financial capital and services. In order to invest in agriculture smallholders require a range of services, from credit, to savings, to insurance. However, smallholders often have limited or no access to formal sources of finance. Studies show that poor farmers in particular typically rely on savings, borrowing from family and friends, and various informal institutions to finance their investment as well as their consumption needs15. Although microfinance institutions have become relatively widespread in some rural areas in developing countries, the products they offer are generally inadequate to sustain significant investment in agricultural production. Many smallholder households recurrently incur significant debt to finance their production and consumption needs.

106. Today, the potential of supply-chain financing to meet smallholders’ investment needs is attracting growing attention. In this framework, not only traders and input suppliers but also other actors in agricultural supply chains can become enablers of smallholder investment, based on a variety of contractual arrangements. So far, this is typically more prevalent in supply chains for high value products. However, depending on the nature of the contractual arrangement, other products (e.g. oilseeds, cereals) may also be involved. Of course, being embedded in supply chain arrangements, this approach to financing smallholders’ investment carries the risks attached to these arrangements, in which smallholders often have more limited bargaining power than other actors.

107. Poor access to human and intellectual capital. A third type of capital that is critical for smallholders’ investment in agriculture is human capital – and, different from, but related, intellectual capital. In this regard, critical bottlenecks and constraints are found particularly in two areas. The first area is agricultural R&D and the second is agricultural education and training. On both fronts, of particular importance is greater investment in capital formation at the local level in rural areas – through locally-based or linked R&D and education.

108. The human and intellectual capital of smallholders is partly a function of how well agricultural R&D systems operate, how sensitive they are to their needs, and how well disseminated and affordable their results. Globally, agricultural R&D systems remain inadequately sensitive to the needs of smallholders particularly in rainfed agriculture and in ill-favoured areas. Further, more focus on the role of agriculture in nutrition is needed, through research on crop varieties and techniques to maximize the nutritional content of foods.

109. The second area where key bottlenecks are found concerns human capital. Smallholders need robust and well-resourced education systems, including the integration of agricultural knowledge in primary and secondary education and specialized higher education. They need better quality curricula, well suited to confront the challenges that farmers face today. They also need educational opportunities equally accessible to poor farmers and to women farmers. Finally, they need greater recognition and utilization of their own local knowledge in agricultural innovation and in formal educational systems, as this knowledge is often of critical importance for locally suitable farming practices and culturally appropriate food production.

110. The role of farmers’ organizations in enhancing smallholder investment. Rural producers’ organizations, here referred to for simplicity as farmers’ organizations (including organizations of livestock producers, artisanal fishers, and so forth), are key actors for strengthening smallholders’ capacity to invest effectively in agriculture – and in sustainable food production in particular. Depending on their form, mandate, and capacity, such organizations can take on a range of functions that may result in increasing the incentives faced by smallholders, reduce the costs and risks they face, improve their access to information, and facilitate their access to capital. In addition, organizations can provide a setting for the pooling of farmers’ assets, which enables them to achieve economies of scale in, for instance, processing, mobilizing additional financial or intellectual capital, and finding corporate partners for investment. In modern markets, farmers’ organizations can facilitate economies of scale in marketing,

14 Vice versa, for instance, Torero )2011( argues that improving opportunities for trade in land can strengthen incentives for farmers’ investments. See M. Torero. “A framework for linking small farmers to markets”. Paper presented at the IFAD Conference on new directions for smallholder agriculture, 24-25 January 2011, Rome15 E.g. IFAD 2010.

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both directly and in the context of value chain arrangements involving other private and public actors. Finally, strong organizations can play a critical role in protecting the interests of smallholders vis-à-vis other investors as well as in improving government agricultural policies.

Smallholder-sensitive corporate investment in agriculture

111. Recent corporate investment in agricultural markets. Since the turn of the millennium, corporate investment in agricultural supply chains appears to have grown in a number of developing countries, particularly in downstream segments of food chains. In many cases, corporate investment in these segments of the chains remains significantly larger than in agricultural production. Depending on context, however, corporate investors face a varying mix of incentives and risks to invest in different segments of the chains. These partly have to do with the comparative advantages of small vs. large farms in different settings. Also important is the nature of local policies and institutions and how they provide incentives or disincentives for corporate investors to engage in production as opposed to in upstream or downstream activities. The degree to which small farmers are organized and able to negotiate their interests is also a key factor.

112. The economic, social, and environmental impact of large-scale corporate investment in agriculture has been a source of much debate globally and also within CFS. Issues related to land-based investment have been addressed in discussions on the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, and they have also been recently addressed in the report of the High Level Panel of Experts on Land Tenure and International Investment in Agriculture. Part of the on-going discussion within the CFS on the FAO, IFAD, UNCTAD, and World Bank Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment also touch upon these issues. This paper does not duplicate this discussion, particularly as concerns land-based investment. Rather, its focus is on specifying the conditions that need to prevail to make corporate investment sensitive to smallholders so that smallholders as investors can benefit from this development.

113. What smallholder-sensitive investment entails. Making corporate investment smallholder-sensitive is partly about ensuring that it does not undermine the asset base and rights of smallholders nor their incentives to invest. More broadly, it entails ensuring that investment enhances the capacity of smallholder agriculture to contribute to food security and nutrition, reduce poverty, and achieve positive environmental goals. Consideration of these issues needs to be an integral part of what is understood as “responsible” investment in agriculture.

114. A key starting point is the realization that in many cases what prevents smallholders from being more effective investors is the result of policy and public investment choices, which need to be redressed to allow for fair competition and to reduce conflict with corporate investment.16 As well as direct support to smallholder agriculture, harnessing corporate investment to strengthen smallholders’ own investment can be critical in many areas where a significant proportion of agricultural holdings are small, have good potential for increasing productivity and commercialization but have bottlenecks that corporate investors could help address.

115. There is a growing literature on the mutual benefits that can result from business arrangements involving corporate investors in agriculture and agri-food chains and smallholders and wage workers. Byerlee recently summed up these benefits in terms of complementarity of assets, whereby smallholders or communities can contribute land, labour, and local knowledge, while corporate investors can contribute capital, access to markets and technology, and specialized knowledge.17 Others stress the importance of facilitated access to technical and financial assets and inputs and market-related information that smallholders can achieve through participation in vertically integrated supply chains. For instance, supply chain finance (including insurance services) is an area of particular interest in relation to smallholder-sensitive investment. Some authors have questioned the scope for such “win-win” outcomes between corporate investors and smallholders unless issues of power symmetry are addressed.18

116. Depending on the nature of contractual arrangements between the two sets of actors, the assets that corporate

16 K. Deininger. “The farm size debate” and M. Rosenzweig “Barriers to farm profitability in India: Mechanization, scale, and credit markets”. Papers presented at conference on Agriculture for Development Revisited, University of California at Berkeley, 1-2 October 2010.17 S. Byerlee, “Extent and role of corporate investments in agriculture.” Presentation made at FAO SOFA 2012 expert consultation. Rome, 7-8 April 201118 O. De Schutter )2011(, “How not to think of land grabbing: three critiques of large-scale investments in farmland.» Journal of Peasant Studies, 38:249-279.

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investors contribute can enable smallholders to put their assets to more effective investment. Or, the assets of local communities can be put to productive investment by corporate investors, or both. The creation of employment opportunities for smallholders can in some cases lead to gains for the latter even if their own investment as producers decreases as a result of their involvement in corporate farming schemes19. In both cases, the outcome can be “smallholder-sensitive” investment if the rights, interests, and potential of smallholder investors to contribute to achieving the goals of food security and nutrition, environmental sustainability, and reduced poverty are respected and duly considered.

117. Different models for smallholder-sensitive corporate investment. There are a variety of business arrangements through which smallholder investment can be supported within corporate investment, depending on environmental, market, and institutional conditions and on the type of product at issue – though most non-land based corporate investments concentrate on labour-intensive crops. This diversity of models is also one of the findings of the on-going process of pilot-testing and development of the Principles for Responsible Agricultural Investment.

118. One source20 lays out six types of such business arrangements: contract farming, management contracts, tenant farming and sharecropping, joint ventures, farmer-owned business and upstream/downstream business links. These may be used in various combinations, and have different characteristics in terms of how value is shared between the two groups of investors. Different models are better suited to different institutional and environmental contexts, asset base, and type of commodity produced. Different models may deliver greater benefits for smallholders in different circumstances, and the extent to which they do so largely depends on contractual details. These are in turn shaped by the incentives facing both groups of investors, the risks and transaction costs they face, and their respective bargaining power21 (primarily a function of smallholder organization, security of rights over natural resources, and equal access to information).

The need for enabling public policies and investment

119. Boosting smallholder investment requires addressing the bottlenecks it faces in relation to incentives, risks, asset base, and information. Sound public policies as well as public investment are needed to achieve this. As more corporate investment gets underway, public policies and investment are also critical to promote synergies with smallholder agriculture to achieve food security and nutrition, poverty reduction, and positive environmental outcomes.

120. The importance of policies and governance. Enhanced private investment in any sector require a “good business environment,” peace and stability, the rule of law, good governance, clear property rights and enforceable contracts. These factors are not in place in many developing countries. For instance, corruption is a widespread problem making the costs of starting and managing a business (including a small farm) comparatively higher in many developing countries than in developed economies22. Instability of property rights is also a major risk factor (notably for smallholders) in many countries, and so is socio-political instability.

121. For agriculture, to these factors must be added an economic and agricultural policy framework that is not biased against agriculture and that yields favourable terms of trade and stable markets for agricultural producers – including in particular smallholders. To strengthen positive incentives to investment, it is also important to have policies in place that ensure that price signals adequately reflect market fundamentals, and that these signals are adequately transmitted to farmers. Policies promoting greater awareness of the nutritional and economic value of locally produced crops, or sensitizing consumers to the environmental footprint of the production of certain food items, can also have impact in affecting investors’ incentives. Policies are also needed to protect the rights of smallholders (women and men), where competition between investors occurs. This may include competition over natural resources but also over markets or in processes defining R&D and technology development agendas. Policies should also protect the rights of wage workers in agriculture (particularly women), and to ensure that they can make decent wages and work in safe environments.

122. Public investment in key public goods and services. Investment in public goods and services is also critical to

19 Ibid.20 Vermeulen, S. and L. Cotula )2010(. Making the most of agricultural investment: A survey of business models that provide opportunities for smallholders. Rome and London: FAO and IIED21 IFAD 201022 IFC. Doing business 2011. Making a difference for entrepreneurs. Washington, DC, 2011.

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provide incentives for enhanced investment, reduce risks, and improve the accuracy of investors’ information. In light of the challenges confronting agriculture, of particular importance today are public investment in agricultural R&D and technology (including locally-generated R&D and technology), natural resource conservation and restoration, agricultural education and training, data gathering and analysis on issues relevant to smallholder investment decisions.

123. There is solid evidence of substantial returns on public investment particularly in agricultural R&D, and also for public investment in marginal areas, both in terms of reducing poverty and in boosting agricultural growth (based on evidence from China, India, and Uganda).23 In China and Thailand, public investment in agricultural R&D, infrastructure and education, have had both high marginal returns and a significant impact on poverty. Sustained high returns on public investment, particularly in R&D and roads, have also been found in India well beyond the early years of the Green Revolution.24 Investment in public infrastructure also has a major role to play in facilitating private investment. This includes in particular transportation, energy, irrigation, and ICT infrastructure and related services. In turn, investment in infrastructure is critical for adaptation to, and mitigation of, climate change, and for creating better functioning markets.

124. The challenges for improved public policies and investment. The political economy of policy processes in many developing countries poses a challenging environment for smallholder agriculture, which typically represents a fragmented sector, with little capacity for organization and lobbying. As demonstrated in many government responses to the price hikes of the second half of the 2000s, policymakers often privilege the concerns of urban consumers over those of agricultural producers when it comes to prices and agricultural trade flows. The consequences in terms of discouraging investment in agriculture can be severe.

125. Besides political economy considerations, another challenge concerns the evidence base for agricultural policy making processes. For instance, the implications for smallholder producers of global price volatility are insufficiently understood in many countries, due to the complexity of transmission mechanisms. The impact of new environmental and climate-related phenomena on smallholder agriculture in different contexts is also insufficiently studied. The way gender roles in agriculture are changing as a result of market and environmental transformations is also an area where the evidence base for policy concerning agriculture is often weak.

126. A third challenge is policymaking across different arenas and institutions that need to be involved to shape a conducive environment for effective smallholder investment in agriculture. This includes ministries such as agriculture, environmental agencies, ministries of finance, planning, education, infrastructure, and so forth. As government policy has to aim at achieving a broad and complex set of goals - such as food security and nutrition and environmental restoration - policy decisions in all these areas need to be coordinated and send the same signals to investors.

127. The critical role of farmers’ organizations. Critical to the effective design, implementation, and assessment of policies (but also of major public investment) is the participation of smallholder organizations. Also important is participation of agricultural workers’ unions, where these exist, particularly when it comes to policies affecting corporate investment. At least since the 1990s, organizations of smallholder and family farmers have become more active in policy processes at various levels in many parts of the world, while in others they have a longer history. However, this is an area in which much progress is required. Women’s participation in farmers organizations engaging in policy processes also remains below what is required to ensure that women farmers’ investment needs are well reflected in policies and public investment.

128. Depending on the institutional set up of each country and on how policy processes and public investment decisions are taken, different forms of organization and engagement may have greater impact. Generally speaking, legislation affecting the ability of smallholders to organize, and the existence of institutionalized platforms for engagement of their organizations with other stakeholders and with government, are important preconditions. Good governance is also essential to ensure that policy decisions are taken in an accountable manner, and that their implementation, monitoring, and assessment of impact is transparent.

23 Fan, S., L. Zhang and X. Zhang. 2004. “Reforms, investment and poverty in rural China.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 52 )2(; Fan, S., P. Hazell and T. Haque. 2000. “Targeting public investments by agro-ecological zone to achieve growth and poverty alleviation goals in rural India.” Food Policy 25 )4(; Fan, S. and X. Zhang. 2008. “ Public expenditure, growth and poverty reduction in rural Uganda.” African Development Review 20)3(.24 S. Fan and N. Rao. “Public investment, growth and rural poverty.” in S. Fan )ed.(. Public expenditures, growth and poverty: Lessons from Developing Countries. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008.

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129. The public sector as catalyst/partner in smallholder-sensitive corporate investment. Experience with promoting win-win business arrangements in agricultural value chains shows the importance of intermediaries in bringing together smallholders and corporate investors. Intermediaries may be civil society organizations, specialized technical service providers, donors, but also government actors. According to the findings of the Regoverning Markets initiative, a facilitating and catalytic public sector is essential for the development of inclusive business models in modern agricultural markets, alongside a “receptive business sector” and organized farmers25. This is not simply about a public sector that guarantees an enabling business environment or provides key public goods. It is about a public sector that can also intervene as a third party catalyst to kick-start inclusive business initiatives, with a commitment to phasing out its role over time.

130. There is a certain overlap between business arrangements and initiatives in which the public sector plays a catalytic role, and public-private investment in agriculture. However, public-private investment initiatives also have some specificities. For instance, public-private investment can cover areas in which public investment are needed (e.g. concerning infrastructure), but where the public sector lacks the financial, technical, or human capacity to undertake the investment on its own, or to ensure their maintenance after assets are developed (again, as in the case of infrastructure). Public-private partnerships are also particularly appropriate where there is need to harness the capacity of the private sector to generate capital to provide a mix of public and private goods. Today, public-private initiatives to ensure smallholder-sensitive investment are particularly needed in agricultural R&D and innovation for increased productivity, environmental conservation, and climate change mitigation. They are also needed in the development of financial products to address new risks in agriculture.

131. Public-private investment modalities, notably with the involvement of civil society, are often particularly appropriate to drive investment on a sufficient scale to affect the market and institutional environment for agriculture. Some promising initiatives in this regard have been undertaken such as the New Vision for Agriculture led by the World Economic Forum.26 Such initiatives show that there are complementary roles for public and private actors to play in supporting agriculture to enable large scale impact towards food security and nutrition as well as other goals. The critical obstacle often appears to be the absence of a catalyst and of a common plan providing shared incentives and reducing everybody’s risks. Understanding how similar initiatives can facilitate effective smallholder investment also points to an important policy agenda.

POLICY IMPLICATIONS

132. The above analysis has a number of key policy implications:1. The importance of stepping up support to smallholder agriculture in public investment, services, and policies

affecting agriculture and food value chains in developing countries 2. The need to ensure that decision-making processes about policies and public investment allow for recognition

of the role and interests of smallholders as investors3. The need to build up the evidence base on determinants and constraints to smallholder investment in

agriculture4. The need to improve the evidence base for policy concerning determinants and constraints to smallholder-

sensitive corporate investment in agriculture and in related markets (notably agri-food and biofuel markets)5. The need to promote evidence-based policy development on how to foster investment in agriculture that are

conducive to meeting the multiple goals of increased agricultural production, environmental conservation and resilience, and enhanced nutrition.

25 Vorley, B. and F. Proctor, Eds. )2008(. Inclusive Business in Agrifood Markets: Evidence and Action. A report based on proceedings of an international conference held in Beijing, March 5–6, 2008. London: IIED26 World Economic Forum. Realizing a new vision for agriculture. A roadmap for stakeholders. Geneva, 2010.

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Regional Perspective

Increasing food security through smallholder-sensitive investment in agriculture

Matters to be brought to the attention of the CFS Regional Multi-stakeholder Workshop for the Near East:

Recognizing:

The dire need for investment in agriculture at all levels to improve food security in the Near East Region;

The challenges posed by the scarce and fragile resources, a rapidly growing population and high dependency on food imports;

The limited availability of information investment in agriculture in the region, particularly at local level and on smallholder agriculture to assess extent and impact of investments, both for local and international investments;

The low levels of public investment in agriculture and a low but growing share of international investments to agriculture in the Region;

The need to carefully design and implement investments to seek sustainable solutions for both investors and the countries involved, while at the same time ensuring interests of affected local communities and smallholders.

The following are recommended for consideration of the Regional Workshop:

i. The establishment of a permanent Regional Investment Forum for Food Security to serve as a mechanism for information exchange and capacity development, including sharing of best practices which contribute to food security and sustainable development addressing concerns of all stakeholders.

ii. A careful assessment of international codes of conduct and other voluntary guidelines for investment and their applicability for corporate investments to ensure broad- based development and food security, reflecting the regional priorities.

Matters to be brought to the attention of the CFS Regional Multi-stakeholder Workshop for the Near East

BACKGROUND

Increased public and private investment in agriculture is key to alleviating food insecurity and poverty in many parts of the world, and the Near East region is no exception. Agriculture represents the backbone of the economy in many countries in the region, with strong linkages to other sectors, and contributes over 10% of GDP in many of the countries in the region. Public investments in agriculture in most countries of the region do not reflect the importance of agriculture in the economies of the region, both in terms of value added, and most importantly as the sector in which a large portion of the population of the region is employed. International investments in agriculture represent about 1-2% of total Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in most countries of the region, but have been increasing in the past few years.

There is little Information on agricultural investments in the region, in terms of data on existing and past investments, best practices and impacts, particularly on smallholders. This makes it difficult to assess the contribution of investments to food security and develop policies to ensure that agricultural investments are contributing to long term food security and are building resilience to market shocks.

As a result of the 2007-2008 food crisis, an increasing amount of private and public funds are being directed toward agriculture in the Near East region, coming from many parts of the world, but primarily from the region itself. This surge in investments is primarily fuelled by the high food prices, and for some of the wealthy countries in the region,

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investing in food production abroad is seen as one way to address the increasing uncertainty in world markets, given the high levels of food import dependency within the region.

Investment in food production across borders is not new to the region. The 1970s had also witnessed large capital flows from oil exporting countries in the region to other countries. These investments however, have not resulted in expected improvements in food security and economic growth, particularly for the poor countries in the region, such as Sudan. Rapid rates of urbanization and past economic growth based on extravagant use of natural resources have created challenges and food security problems for several countries in the region, which are expected to continue in the future.

CHALLENGES TO FOOD SECURITY IN THE NEAR EAST REGION

There are wide resource and income differences across countries in the region, but countries face similar challenges to agriculture and food security. GDP per capita ranges from over $85,000 in Qatar to just around $2,000 in Mauritania. Food insecurity varies sharply in the region but overall the percent of undernourished population does not exceed 5-7% in most countries of the region, except for Mauritania and Yemen where the proportion of undernourished exceeds 25%27. For most of the Near East countries, the overwhelming concern is to secure adequate and stable supplies of food at the national level, making food security a concern for both rich and poor countries of the region.

The three major challenges in the region are: (i) limited water availability (ii) high population growth, an increasingly young population, and rapid urbanization and (iii) heavy dependence on food imports.

Water scarcity is the most critical development problem in the region and the single most important factor in limiting agricultural growth. Water availability in the region has been declining steadily since the late 1950s. Out of the 20 countries in the region, only four countries are classified as “water abundant” (availability of water is higher than 1700 m3/inhabitant/year) and twelve of the 20 countries are characterized as having acute water scarcity28. These figures, compared with a global average of 5000 m³ per inhabitant per year, show the severity of the water scarcity problem in the region. The extent of water scarcity is even more evident when we look at the 30 year history of water usage in the region. The region as a whole has 70% less availability of renewable water per person in 2003-2007 than in the period 1958-62. It is important to note that the wealthiest countries are also those with the lowest water availability per capita, namely, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar (in 2007 they only had 2.4 and 6.5% of the water available per person in 1958-61, respectively).

Population is expected to almost double by 2050 with 67% living in urban areas. The population of the region grew 3.4 times from 1960 to 2005, widening the food demand/food availability gap and creating other problems such as a very large young population with an insufficient number of available jobs, as employment growth lags behind. New income generating opportunities are essential to absorb the growing number of unemployed youth (ages 15-24) which was around 27 percent for males and 33 percent for females in 2005 the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. With an average percent of unemployed youth at 26%, MENA represented the highest rate among all regions of the world.

Over the past ten years, the region experienced rapid urbanization which is expected to continue in the near future. Out of a population of about 300 million, 170 million reside in urban areas. Most of these people will be displaced workers, pastoralists and farmers from rural areas. The poor in urban areas are particularly vulnerable in terms of food security, not having the option of producing their own food. Feeding an urban population creates additional demands on the food system. This is an issue that needs to be addressed in terms of the food security impacts of investments in agriculture and food sectors, both in terms of incomes earned and jobs created through these investments, as well their impacts on migration to urban areas.

In the last 30-40 years, food imports in the region have risen much more than the world and developing country averages; from over 100 times in UAE to around 20 times in Yemen. Food import quantities in eleven countries (which include Sudan) have risen much over the developing country average of 5.4 for the same years. Egypt has continued to be the largest food importer in the region and the world over the period 1960 to 2005. Food import dependency is a continuing issue in the region which has worsened in the past 25 years with the sharp increase in food imports in all countries between 1980 and 2005.

Nature of investment in the region is affected by these above mentioned challenges, which make the design and implementation of investments much more complex. The type and quality of investments and target populations need 27 These averages do not include countries in protracted conflict )Iraq, Palestine and Somalia( for which data is unavailable.28 According to definitions/classifications of the UNEP.

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to be identified carefully. For example, water and land rights become important where these resources are scarce, and where resources are abundant, such as the case with a rising young labour force, employment of this group may be a priority for the investments. Rapid urbanization and the increase in population will require investments in improving the food chains, and addressing food waste.

Assessment of investment in agriculture in the Near East region is constrained by available data. Investment is generally measured as the incremental change in capital stock from one period to the other. The value of agricultural capital stock and its yearly change is a proxy estimate of investment which is the only source of information that can provide a glimpse on agricultural investments. Data on capital stock is compiled by FAO and comprises livestock, land improvements29, machinery and structures.

Capital intensity and agricultural productivity in agriculture remains modest and shows a wide range of differences across the countries. Measured as capital stock per agricultural worker, capital intensity ranged from $84,000 in Libya to $2,654 in Mauritania in 2005-2007, with an overall average of $11,610 for the region. The diversity in capital stock per worker is also reflected in low agricultural productivity per worker30 over time, Productivity remains modest in most countries, despite past investments in agriculture; and average agriculture productivity per worker in the region lags much behind Latin America and Caribbean and developed country averages.

In sharp contrast with the period between the 1970s and 1980s, public expenditures on agriculture for the region have been very low in the past ten years, particularly in relation to the contribution of agriculture to GDP. The share of agricultural GDP is about 12% on average for the Near East region, while the share of agriculture expenditure of total expenditure does not exceed 5% on average. In response to the applied structural programmes and austerity measures since the early 1980s, governments of the region have been adopting measures to balance their budgets and reduce public expenditure. In many countries this has led to reduced investment in agriculture and rural areas.

Salient features of international investments in agriculture the region are:

In most countries international investment in agriculture has been low, averaging less than 1% of total FDI, but has started to grow sharply since 2006 especially in resource rich countries such as Sudan.

Intra-regional FDI constitutes the bulk of FDI in agriculture

Within countries, most international investments in agriculture are concentrated in particular regions and sectors, and are relatively more capital and resource intensive.

Most of the investments are driven by private sector initiatives although the states have a heavy presence in terms of support and facilitation. In contrast to the recent investments in agriculture, agricultural investments in the 1970s and 1980s were driven by public sector funds and devoted to a few large scale projects. Today, various entities and modalities are shaping the investment landscape. New specialized investment entities are formed to facilitate regional investments, many companies are directly (or through mergers) investing in agriculture and food sectors, and sovereign states/funds are investing in agriculture directly. In addition, investment support to private sector (buy-back guarantees, logistics, insurance etc.) is provided by governments (e.g. $800 million by Saudi Arabia through the King Abdallah Initiative to support agricultural investments abroad).

External Assistance to Agriculture (EAA), which is a composite of Official Development Assistance (ODA) and non-concessional assistance to the Near East countries remained negligible and has declined significantly since the early 1990s. Most of this reduction came from the drop in bilateral donor assistance. However, it is worth noting that the development assistance to Iraq and Egypt has increased over the same time period. With the recent massive pledges made by donor countries following the “Arab Spring” to assist countries in the transition process, we may expect a sharp increase in ODA flows to the region in the near future.

Most large-scale public and private investments to agriculture are capital intensive and use advanced technologies. There is a lack of impact assessments of the various forms of investments on smallholders and on overall food systems.

INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE IN THE NEAR EAST: POLICY OPTIONS

29 Land improvements include: Land clearing, flood protection, drainage, land grading, physical, chemical and organic aids and amendments and reclamation leaching.

30 Calculated as agricultural GDP/number of agricultural workers.

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The institutional and policy framework is crucial in determining the allocation of investments and their linkages to national food security concerns. Given the urgent need for investment in agriculture, most countries have focused primarily on improving the institutional and policy environment for attracting investments.

The recent influx of investment in agriculture has prompted the establishment of new policies. Especially for resource-seeking investments, such as the new land acquisitions, a variety of policies such as differentiated leasing rates, and other policies governing land use have come into play. Customized strategies, targeting specific sectors or groups may be useful.

Policies relating to land acquisitions differ significantly across countries. Where land is abundant, lease rates are low, and where land is scarce, land purchase by foreigners is prohibited. Resource seeking investments and market seeking investments may require different approaches and policies. International codes of conduct and other voluntary guidelines may help countries design policies to address the specific needs of local communities and smallholders. A careful assessment of these guidelines may be needed to adopt them to local conditions and specific investments.

Small scale production, use of technology or creation of other income generating opportunities should be priority for the countries. In order to ensure sustainability and longer term viability of investments, direct and indirect impacts need to be carefully analyzed to develop policies that enhance the indirect impacts such as income generation, domestic linkages, transfer of know-how and other spillover effects.

Policies related to international investments, both for investing and host countries are generally weak, and often do not have a well-defined framework to effectively address food security concerns. While not all international investments can be expected to have direct impacts on food security, they are bound to change existing food systems or introduce new ones. Given the economic, demographic and ecological characteristics of the region, along with varying degrees of productivity in agriculture, some policy approaches which could help in developing favourable investment opportunities could include:

Proper valuation of investment projects/opportunities that take into account resource use, social and economic impacts, including impacts on smallholders that go beyond evaluating just economic costs and benefits.

A better understanding of the types of investments needed to deliver win-win outcomes for all involved, in terms of scale, type of activity and impact on food security. Attention should be given to investments which result in sustainable and more resilient food systems. Making these types of investments profitable for the investors take a priority in the policies to provide a favourable investment climate.

Establishment of a well functioning regulatory framework to improve not only the investment climate and business operations but to safeguard local people. This means establishing protection for local food systems, including livestock and property rights.

Developing policies to facilitate community oriented efforts by foreign businesses, creating mutually beneficial opportunities, through improvements in labour laws, encouraging institutions to train labour force in needed fields, provision of incentives for social investment, other support mechanisms and improved transparency

Improving infrastructure (for production, transport, storage, communication, etc.) which could be partially implemented through BOT practices31. In agriculture resource rich countries in particular, lack of adequate infrastructure is a major obstacle to realize the potential of agriculture.

Exploring alternative investment modalities that are particularly geared toward improved food security. These may include contract farming or include local private sector, as well as community investments which may enhance the quality and sustainability of investments.

A regional focus on food security may be needed to better formulate and harmonize cooperation policies and tap into opportunities, given the diverse national and household food security concerns and resource availabilities. The potential capacity for staple food production has its limits, but income generating opportunities are ample and a mix of investments geared at food processing, food service, and other sectors linked to agriculture could also provide alternative income opportunities for rural people, as well as increased employment opportunities in urban areas. Within this context, regional initiatives could be very promising in promoting food security in the longer term, such as

31 BOT: where private investors are allowed to build infrastructural entities such as roads and transportation and communication systems operate them for their benefit for given numbers of years and them transferring them to the public sector.

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the Arab League Program for Food Security.

Within this context, the establishment of a Near East Forum for Investment in Food Security was recommended by the 30th FAO Regional Conference for the Near East to promote investments that support broad-based and inclusive food security in the region. The Near East Regional Forum for Investment in Food Security will:

Generate information on best practices and analysis of return and impact on past investments on household and national food security, as well as natural resources.

Assist in the design and implementation of the types of investments that promote broad-based food security

Build capacity to develop policies to fairly address concerns of the various stakeholders, including, smallholders, the local communities, governments and investors.

Serve as a forum for debating initiatives on investment in agriculture in the region.

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Annex VI Gender, Food Security and Nutrition Background Documents

Global Perspective

COMMITTEE ON WORLD FOOD SECURITYThirty-seventh Session

Rome, 17-22 October 2011Item V

POLICY ROUNDTABLE GENDER, FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION

Table of Contents

Paragraphs

VII. CHALLENGES 1 - 8

VIII. KEY ISSUES 9 - 48

E. WOMEN’S ROLES IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

AND INCOME GENERATION 9 - 12

F. CONSTRAINTS TO WOMEN’S AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION

AND INCOME GENERATION 13 - 24

G. WHY FOCUS ON WOMEN TO IMPROVE FOOD SECURITY

AND NUTRITION? 25 - 35

H. CONSTRAINTS TO WOMEN’S DOMESTIC AND REPRODUCTIVE

ROLES 36 - 48

IX. POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 49 - 70

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Matters to be brought to the attention of CFS

The Committee:

i. Calls upon Member States, international organizations, and other stakeholders, to ensure that women have meaningful participation in all decision making processes related to achieving women’s rights to food and nutrition, health, education and water and legislation regarded to equal access to resources

ii. Urges Member States to develop a policy and legal framework to ensure women’s and men’s equal access to productive resources including land ownership and inheritance, access to financial services, agricultural technology and information, business registration and operation, and employment opportunities

iii. Urges Member States to ensure that agriculture investment plans take into consideration the specific needs of both women and men

iv. Urges Member States to incorporate recognition of women’s human rights, including food and nutrition, into constitutions/state legislation as per agreed human right conventions and other international agreements

v. Calls upon Member States, international organizations, and other stakeholders, to include improvement of women’s, adolescent girl’s and children’s nutritional status as an explicit goal and expected outcome of agriculture, food and nutritional security-related programmes, emergency responses, strategies and policies

vi. Calls upon Member States to support the adoption and implementation of maternity protection legislation and related measures that allow women to perform their caregiver role and therefore provide for the nutritional needs of their children and protect their own health, whilst protecting their employment security

vii. Urges Member States, international organizations, and other stakeholders to identify and support strategies, policies and actions to further strengthen gender-sensitive food security and nutrition, including:

a. Statistics should be sex disaggregated, such as numbers of extension workers, farmers in cooperatives etc.

b. Gender analysis and nutrition impact assessments should be conducted to inform food and nutrition policy, programme and project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation, including appropriate gender targets and funding

c. Agricultural investment plans, policies and programmes should be designed so that women and men have equal access to programme services and operations, being cognizant of women’s commitments to the domestic and reproductive economy

d. Smallholder female farmers should be prioritized in agricultural programming to level the playing field and foster equity.

viii. Will ensure that gender is included in the monitoring mechanisms of current and future Voluntary Guidelines, including the Right to Food, Responsible Management of Land, Fisheries and Forests and similar initiatives that will be discussed or endorsed by the CFS

ix. Requests the Bureau, in consultation with the Advisory Group and Joint Secretariat, to take the appropriate steps to standardize the official terminology that the Committee should use such as “Food Security and Nutrition” or “Food and Nutrition Security”.

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CHALLENGES

Food Security – when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy and active life

133. Food security is essentially built on three foundational pillars – food availability through production or markets, food access through market access and income, and food utilization. The “at all times” element of the definition adds in the concept of stability for all pillars. Women play a vital role across all three pillars. They produce food for their households, they work in agriculture and other activities and use their earnings to buy food, health care, and resources for children, and they use food and other complementary resources to generate nutrition security. Women’s ability to produce food, earn income, and generate nutrition security is conditioned on prevailing social constructs and norms governing their ability to access the necessary resources and services.

134. Nutrition outcomes have often been neglected in discussions of food security. Whilst nutrition is a specific focus of the third pillar (food utilization) like gender, some aspects of nutrition cut across all three pillars. Hidden hunger is one manifestation of a failure across all pillars of food security. Individuals may look well nourished, and consume sufficient calories, but are deficient in key micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, iodine etc. This is hidden hunger which leads to poor immune function and increased morbidity, poor growth and intellectual development, and ultimately a lifetime of lowered potential. Discussions of food production often focus on yield increases, and increased supplies, but neglect discussion of the composition of those increased supplies. Is the focus on staple grains or does it include a focus on livestock, aquaculture, fruits and vegetables? These higher quality foods contain valuable minerals and other micronutrients, critical to nutrition security.

135. Women, in most societies, have the prime role in translating available food into nutrition security, particularly for young children. Their ability to do this is conditioned on complementary inputs such as access to health care, water, energy, their own human capital, the environment they live in including sanitation and the competing demands on their time. Individuals may live in poor health environments, with poor hygiene and sanitation, which results in frequent ill health and compromised nutritional outcomes despite sufficient food. Infants and very young children may have mothers who are so time constrained, particularly at peak times in the agricultural calendar, they are unable to feed a child an appropriate diversified diet as often as necessary due to the small stomachs of very young children and high nutrient needs.

136. Evidence shows that while food availability is necessary for nutrition security, it is not sufficient. For any given level of food availability child underweight rates can vary from as low as 2-10% to as high as 40-70% (World Bank 2006). In many parts of the world overweight mothers coexist in households with underweight children. In Mauritania 40% of mothers are obese whereas 30% of their children are underweight.

137. While poverty can limit nutritional improvements, evidence indicates we do not have to wait for poverty reduction to achieve some nutritional improvement. Children in poorer households headed by women can have better nutritional outcomes than children in male headed counterparts (Kennedy and Peters 1992).

138. Women’s own nutritional status also has a direct impact on the children’s nutritional status, their learning capacity and their productivity later in life. Raising women’s nutritional status not only benefits them but is a powerful way to improve the human capital of the next generation, thereby sustainably increasing food security and nutrition.

139. This reveals the importance of focusing directly on women’s role in food, health and care in households as these play a critical role in determining child nutrition outcomes. The heart of the gender challenge in food security and nutrition is the intra-household inequities in labour allocation, resource access, ownership, and control in the household economy, which is intimately linked to the market economy. While men have their key focus on the market economy, women are constantly juggling multiple roles sustaining the household and reproductive economy, providing community services, and engaging, where possible, with the market economy. The market economy depends on the household economy but most national accounts completely fail to recognise the household economy and, as such, public policy often neglects it and the key role played by women. While much

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policy is gender blind, it is not gender neutral in its impact due to the differing roles, resources, mobility and constraint sets facing men and women. Absent gender analysis, policy can inadvertently have a negative impact on food security and nutrition by further compromising women’s roles in the different spheres.

140. Ensuring food security and nutrition at the household and global level, requires investing in nutrition sensitive agriculture, protecting women’s rights and improving their social and nutritional status. Long-term investments in the role of women as full and equal citizens—through better nutrition, education, economic, social, and political empowerment—will be the only way to deliver sustainable improvements in food security and nutrition.

KEY ISSUES

Women’s roles in agricultural production and income generation

141. Women are key players in the farming sector, and hence actively engaged in the market economy, as shown in Table 1. In Africa more than 50% of women work in agriculture, and more than 44% in East Asia and the Pacific region. In the Middle East and North Africa a higher percentage of women work in agriculture than men.

Region Agriculture Self Employment

% of adults

Agriculture Wage Earner

% of adults

Total in Agriculture

% adultsMale Female Male Female Male Female

Sub Saharan Africa 56.6 53.5 4.0 1.4 60.6 54.9

South Asia 33.1 12.7 21.8 11.4 54.9 24.1

East Asia/Pacific 46.8 38.4 9.4 5.7 56.2 44.1

Middle East and N. Africa 24.6 38.6 9.4 1.0 34 39.6

Europe and Central Asia 8.5 6.9 10.1 5.4 18.6 12.3

Latin America, Caribbean 38.4 22.8 20.9 2.3 59.3 25.1

Extract WDR 2008 Table 9.2

142. Women’s role in food production within agriculture is even greater. In many societies women supply most of the labour to food crops, and often control use or sale of their food produce. Food grains, grown predominantly for commercial sale, while dependent on women’s labour, generally have sales controlled by men.

143. Women’s ability to maximize their incomes from farming, and other activities is crucial to food security and nutrition. Considerable evidence indicates that increasing household income is only part of the story. Who brings the additional money into the household is vital in terms of how it is spent. In the Côte d’Ivoire significantly more is spent on food and education and less on alcohol and cigarettes when a high share of household cash income accrues to women. The nutrition and health improvements for children that a US$10 increase in women’s income would require a US$110 increase in male income (Hoddinott and Haddad 1995). There are many other examples of the differential impacts of women’s income on child nutritional status, child survival and education. (Haddad et al 1997)

144. This evidence is the foundation for many of the successful conditional cash transfer programmes in safety net and social protection systems. The conditionality of the safety net transfer is often in an area in the women’s domain within the household, and the distribution point linked to it is used as a means to deliver the transfer to women. Examples include attending growth monitoring and promotion sessions at local health clinics, or school attendance by children. These programmes recognize that not only is increasing household income important but that when in the hands of women it will be spent differently magnifying the effects on human development. Increasing the share of income under women’s control or their asset holdings can also empower women more broadly within households, increasing their influence on other spheres of decision-making, including farming and labor choices, expenditure decisions, and other factors related to food security and nutrition. For example, strengthening land ownership by women in Nepal is linked with better health outcomes for children (Allendorf 2007).

Constraints to women’s agricultural production and income generation

145. Inequalities in ownership, access to and control of physical, financial, natural, social and human livelihood

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capitals negatively affect women’s food production.

146. Land is less likely to be owned by women, and usually use rights, mediated through a male relative, are prevalent. Studies cited in Deere and Doss 2006 indicate that women represent just 5% of registered landholders in Kenya, 15.5% in Nicaragua, 22.4 % in the Mexican ejidos and 10% of households in Ghana. Men are not only the registered owners of land in 23% of households but, on average they own almost 3 times the amount of land that women do. The following figure shows that women are less than 20% of the landholders in all the developing regions.

147. Insecurity of tenure results in lower investment and potential environmental degradation as well as compromising future production potential. In Ghana the primary investment in land is fallowing. However fallowing land is a delicate balance, with longer fallows potentially leading to loss of land when tenure is insecure but shorter fallows leading to lower yields. Goldstein and Udry (2005) demonstrate that those with less political capital in a village have less tenure security and as a result leave their land fallow for shorter periods. Within households, profits per hectare of a maize-cassava intercrop from similar plots vary according to individual and length of fallow. Women have less political capital, lower tenure security and sacrifice profits per hectare with shorter fallows.

148. Studies such as these, indicating yield differences of 20% - 30% between male and female farmers, have led some to suggest than men are better farmers. However, as in this case, when the studies are unpacked differences in yields were due to differences in input levels – principally labour and fertilizer. If households in Burkina Faso reallocated their total household inputs in an optimal way across male and female managed plots of land, overall farm output could increase 10-20% (Udry et al 1995). Although most of these studies pertain to sub-Saharan Africa, similar input gaps are documented for all regions in SOFA 2010-11.

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Share of male and female landholders in main developing regions

Source Figure 8 SOFA 2011

149. Agriculture technology dissemination, usually through extension services, is one prime policy lever to increase agricultural productivity. But both innovation and adoption of new technology depend on many things, including focus on the right issues, the availability of required assets to implement the technology, the perceived benefits, the method of dissemination, and gender roles. Women’s lower levels of education mean that they are far less likely to be in decision-making and management positions in agricultural research and higher agricultural education. In Sub-Saharan Africa only 14% of management positions were held by women, compared to 24% women in these fields (SOFA 2010-2011, Box 6). Therefore women’s voice in agriculture, and their knowledge, is missing in policy going forward and constrains innovation in the value chain.

150. Men’s crops are produced with a commercial orientation and are often sold almost immediately as harvested. Women tend to store their crops for home use or process their crops, adding value through grinding, processing and other activities. Yet little attention is given to improving technology in these areas limiting women’s ability to add value efficiently, and increasing their time burdens.

151. Even farm tools that are predominantly used in operations dominated by women, e.g. weeding or post-harvesting, are often not gender-specific. Technologies are not gender neutral: women tend to be of lower weight and height compared with men and may not have equal muscular strength. An example of women specific technology is the long-handle hoe introduced in several African countries, which eased women’s burden of work as compared to traditional short-handle hoes. The fact that these hoes were resisted in some countries highlights the challenges facing technology developers32. Greater involvement of women in agricultural research and higher education could also enhance the development of female-friendly technology.

152. The lack of technology and poor equipment impedes small farm businesses owned by women. In the Lao People’s Democratic Republic only 5% of women owned small businesses had electrical or motorized equipment compared to 48% of male owned small business (UNESCAP).

153. Access to inputs, such as improved seeds and fertilisers, and services such as finance, extension, is problematic for women even when they have access to land. Extension services are critical given they are often the pathway to other inputs and services. Service provision often fails to recognize women’s constraints, whether they be mobility or time, or are tailored more to home economics skills than agricultural production resulting in women having even less access than men to extension services. This failure to reach women can also be costly where women are using agricultural chemicals, including pesticides, without appropriate training, compromising their own health and potentially that of their children.

32 See «The potential for improving production tools and implements used by women farmers in Africa.» IFAD, FAO, FARMESA, 1998, Rome, Italy.

Latin American and Caribbean

Sub-Saharan Africa

South Asia and South East Asia

North Africa and West Asia

Oceania

0 % 1 0 % 2 0 % 3 0 % 4 0 % 5 0 % 6 0 % 7 0 % 8 0 % 9 0 % 1 0 0 %

F e m a l e M a l e

Percentage

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Table 2 Employment in selected high-value agro-industries

Country Commodity Year of survey Number of employees in the agro-industry Share of Female Employees

Cameroon Banana 2003 10,000 ..

Côte d›lvoire Banana and pineapple 2002 35,000 ..

Kenya Flowers 2002 40,000 – 70,000 75%

Senegal French beansCherry tomatoes

20052006

12,0003,000

90%60%

Uganda Flowers 1998 3,300 75%

Zambia VegetablesFlowers

2002/32002/3

7,5002,500

65%35%

South Africa Deciduous fruit 1994 283,000 53%

Mexico Vegetables 1990s 950,000 90%

Colombia Flowers mid-90s 75,000 60-80%

Chile Fruits 1990s 300,000 ca 46%

Dominican Republic Fruits, vegetables, flowers, plants 1989-90 16,955 ca 41%

Sources taken from: Maertens, M. and Swinnen, J.F.M. 2009. Are modern supply chains bearers of gender inequality? Paper presented at the FAO-IFAD-ILO workshop on “Gender and rural employment: differentiated pathways out of poverty”, 31 March-2 April

154. These constraints to women’s full participation in the agricultural value chain, prejudices their engagement in them and their access to opportunities to earn higher incomes. Evidence shows that women supply much of the labour under contract farming and outgrower arrangements (see Table 2), but female farmers are largely excluded from signing contracts themselves because they lack secure control over land, family labour and other resources required to guarantee delivery of a reliable flow of produce. While women may dominate many of the export oriented horticulture sectors, growing beans, peas, flowers, and other produce, picking and packing, they are far less able to penetrate the management grades in these sectors. Although not employed on equal terms, the jobs often provide better opportunities for women than exist within the confines of traditional agriculture. In Senegal, the growth of modern horticulture supply chains have been associated with direct beneficial effects for rural women in terms of income generation and reduced gender inequality (Maertens and Swinnen, 2009).

155. Transportation issues constrain women’s income earning opportunities, through sale of their agriculture and other production. Cash crops, such as cocoa, coffee and tea are often collected at the farm gate, whereas food crops need to be transported by the grower to local markets. In Africa this is commonly done by women headloading. Studies have found that women transport 26 metric ton kilometers per year compared to less than 7 for men. This leads some to argue that women account for two thirds of rural transport in sub Saharan Africa (Barwell 1996).

156. Levelling the playing field in agriculture, hence improving women’s income, would significantly improve food security and nutrition. Closing the input gap on the agricultural land held by women would, assuming a gender yield gap of 20-30%, lead to an increase in agricultural output in the developing countries for which data are available by an average of 2.5 to 4%. Assuming the input and yield gaps are representative of other developing countries, this would imply global gains of a similar magnitude33. Assuming the increased production was consumed domestically then closing a yield gap of 20-30% would reduce the number of undernourished people, in the 34 countries for which data are available, by 12-17%. An estimated 925 million people in the world were undernourished in 2010, so gains of this magnitude could mean 100 to 150 million fewer people living in

33 For details see «The State of Food and Agriculture. Women in Agriculture: Closing the gender gap for development.» FAO, 2010-11.

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hunger34. For countries where hunger is more common, particularly those where women are more likely to be hungry, and women play a major role in the agricultural sector, the proportional declines could be even greater.

Why focus on women to improve food security and nutrition?

157. Women’s roles in agriculture and the production of food are critical in increasing available quality food, but their roles in the domestic and reproductive economy35 are even more important when it comes to translating that available food into food security and nutrition.

158. Women’s level of empowerment is at the heart of their effectiveness both in the household and market economies, and critical to nutritional outcomes. One study of 39 countries, found that women’s status is a key factor in child nutritional status because more empowered women have better nutritional status themselves, are better cared for, and provide better care for their children (Smith et al 2003). South Asia has some of the highest rankings in the 2010 Global Hunger Index, despite the far higher levels of GNI in most parts of South Asia than sub Saharan Africa. In South Asia the low nutritional status, education, and social status of women is put forward as the explanation (von Grebmer et al 2009). According to Smith et al (2003), equalizing women and men’s status in South Asia and Sub Saharan Africa would reduce the numbers of malnourished children by 13.4 and 1.7 million respectively.

159. Intimate partner violence, which can be seen as the antithesis of female empowerment, within households has also been shown to have impacts on women’s and children’s nutritional status. Research in Bangladesh showed that domestic abuse, particularly verbal abuse has a negative impact on women’s nutritional status and on improvements over time. Women’s acceptance of domestic violence also had negative impacts on the magnitude of child stunting and underweight levels (World Bank 2010).

160. Conflict and civil unrest further exacerbate violence, gender inequality and disempowerment, and poor food and nutrition outcomes. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Global Hunger Index deteriorated by 50% between 1990 and 2009, largely due to higher levels of undernourishment, which stand at 76%. A recent study estimated that 4 women were raped every 5 minutes in the country (Peterman et al 2011). Chad is ranked fifth and second respectively in a ranking of countries for the 2009 Global Hunger Index and the 2008 Global Gender Gap respectively. Primary school enrollment is 50% for girls but 72% for boys and literacy is 13% for women compared to 41% for men. This is indicative of lower levels of relative empowerment for women.

161. Women’s lack of relative empowerment is reflected across multiple dimensions in the food security and nutrition nexus, influencing who sacrifices food in the event of shocks and how food, including specific types of food, are allocated in the household.

162. Women are generally the first to sacrifice their food consumption, or their diet quality, when shocks hit, protecting the food consumption of the rest of their families. But this sacrifice can come at very high costs, aside from the direct impact on their own health. Reduced energy intake and compromised dietary diversity during pregnancy and lactation compromises the nutritional conditions, growth and well being of the next generation. Of the 77 countries categorized by FAO as low-income food-deficit countries, data on maternal BMI is available for 54, and in 17% more than 20% of women of reproductive age found to be excessively thin (Chapter 3, UNSCN 2010).

163. But while much hunger is visible, much is hidden. The lack of an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals from a poorly diversified diet is costly to an economy and costly to its peoples, especially women. Iron deficiency is the commonest nutritional disorder in the world and affects over one billion people, particularly women in their reproductive years and preschool children in tropical and sub-tropical zones. It also has a serious impact on school children, especially adolescent girls. Untreated it leads to diminished learning ability, reduced work capacity, increased susceptibility to infection and greater risk of death associated with pregnancy and childbirth. In Sierra Leone iron deficiency among women agricultural workers is estimated to have cost the economy $100 million over five years (Darnton-Hill and others 2005). Yet the solutions are extremely good investments. Iodine supplementation for women has a benefit cost ratio ranging from 15 – 520, iron supplementation for pregnant women from 6-15, and iron fortification per capita 176 – 200 (World Bank 2006). Focusing attention on adolescent girls with regard to anaemia, combined with reducing teenage pregnancy would go far in breaking the inter-generational cycle of growth failure.

34 Data for the number of undernourished is from «The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2010. Addressing food insecurity in protracted crises.» FAO, 2010.35 The domestic and reproductive economies include child bearing, care giving, cleaning, food preparation, cooking, laundry etc.

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164. Women’s own nutritional status is critical to the first 1000 days of a child’s life – that period from conception to 2 years of age when the blueprint for a child’s life is established. Small adult women are more likely to have low-birth-weight babies, who in turn experience growth failure during childhood. Among 54 low- to middle-income countries, maternal stature was inversely associated with offspring mortality, underweight, and stunting in infancy and childhood (Özaltin et al). Girls born with a low birth weight are more likely to become small adult women, and face an increased risk of mortality as a result of pregnancy.

165. The prevailing social constructs for women, and work in the market and home economies have profound influence on the first two years of a child’s life. The nutritional needs of children during this period are more intense than at any other time. Six months of exclusive breast-feeding is critical to both child nutritional outcomes and immune protection. Appropriate, frequent complementary feeding for the following 18 months completes the blueprint that determines a child’s future life potential. Competing demands on women’s time, resource constraints, including lack of knowledge, often compromise women’s ability to meet the critical demands in this period.

166. In Bangladesh exclusive breastfeeding is not yet widely accepted as the best food for children under 6 months of age. As a consequence boys, who are preferred in intra-household food allocations, are more likely to receive other foods in addition to breast milk prior to 6 months, while a girl tends to fail to get adequate complementary food even after 6 months. This results in the infant mortality rate of boys being higher than girls in the first year. The actual switch point is around 8 months, when a girl can no longer survive on breast milk alone. Thus from this point forward the mortality rate of girls increases such that the mortality rate of girls from 1-4 years is higher than that of boys. In aggregate, however, child mortality rates now show no gender differentials.

167. Failing to understand and address the intra-household food distribution patterns can lead to unanticipated policy results. In Ghana, women working on a public works programme expended more energy than they recouped inside the family and so their body mass index suffered. In Bangladesh, a comparison of four public work programmes largely targeted to women - one paying in cash, one in rice, one a combination of rice and cash, and one paying in atta fortified flour - revealed that only the one paying in atta flour improved women’s nutritional status. This was due to the level of transfer being beyond household normal consumption levels, and that atta flour is not a preferred food and was consumed by women (Ahmed et al 2009).

Constraints to women’s domestic and reproductive roles

168. The previous section focused on women’s special roles in generating food security and nutrition for their families, but they face a significant challenge – access to complementary resources such as health care and time poverty. Time is perhaps the most important factor for women, especially in the first 1000 days of a child’s life, yet studies routinely show that women spend far more hours working when all their roles are combined – market, domestic, reproductive - than men. Time poverty is driven by the competing demands of market work and their need for complementary resources to translate food availability into good nutritional outcomes.

169. Women’s access to health care is one essential need in the pursuit of nutrition security for themselves and their children. Gender inequalities pose significant barriers to women’s and girl’s access to, and use of, healthcare services. Inequalities in access to healthcare services and outcomes are a result of the socio-cultural, religious, economic, political and geographical vulnerabilities that women and children face. Yet, women’s reproductive role gives them a greater need for healthcare than men. Antenatal care is particularly important because many women have nutritional deficien cies when they begin their pregnancy that can be addressed and controlled.

170. Indigenous groups who are often poorer, lack education, experience restrictive cultural practises, face racial discrimination and live in remote areas. Several Latin American ethnic groups – Mayan, Aymara, Quechua, Guarani – hold specific cultural beliefs about childbirth, which influence women’s ability to use health services. Similarly, in India, some ethnic groups have poorer access to and use of family planning, and poorer maternal health and nutrition, compared to non-indigenous women.

171. Technically poor quality care or care that is disrespectful of women due to their perceived social status deters women and children from seeking care. Conversely, women and their families are encouraged to use health services when the quality of care is improved and assured. In Peru childbirth in healthcare facilities increased by 77% from 1999 to 2007 among indigenous women. This was a result of a programme that encouraged staff at facilities to

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support certain culturally appropriate and safe practices and to speak the local language.

172. Time poverty can be crippling to women’s agricultural production and income generating activities given time poverty is a year round phenomenon, generally driven by their domestic and reproductive activities. But agriculture, particularly rainfed agriculture, has high seasonal labor peaks which are difficult for women to meet without sacrificing their domestic and reproductive roles, potentially compromising both their own and their children’s nutritional status. In Africa which has largely rainfed systems, 50% - 70% of the labour is required within a four-month period. Comparable figures for Asia, which has far higher levels of irrigation, are 40% – 50% (Delgado and Ranade 1987).

173. Water, sanitation, energy, and other forms of basic infrastructure services, including transport for the household are critical complementary inputs and largely provided by women and girls.

174. Poor water and sanitation result in a high incidence of diarrheal disease, a significant inhibitor of good nutritional status in children. A 2006 UNICEF report revealed that 88% of the deaths of children under 5 years of age from diarrheal disease were caused by unsafe water and sanitation resulting in about 4,000 deaths per day.

175. Domestic fuel sources are essential in that 95% of staple foods have to be cooked to be converted into human energy, and some for relatively lengthy periods. In the poorest households it is women and girls who are largely responsible for supplying energy through the collection of firewood, or the preparation of dung briquettes. In Uganda, if woodlots were within 30 minutes of the homestead and if the water source were within 400 meters, households would save more than 900 hours each year, with the benefits going primarily to women and girls. This is close to 0.5 person-years of work (Barwell 1996). In internal displacement and refugee camp situations, this fetching of firewood and water can expose women to violence.

176. Additionally the indoor air pollution resulting from cooking with these fuels accounts for 3% of the global burden of disease, disproportionately affecting women and girls due to their role in cooking, and also young children because of their greater susceptibility to respiratory infections. This creates a negative cycle for nutrition with repeated infections diminishing nutritional security.

177. Women’s education is one of the most significant factors in reducing child malnutrition. One study showed, using time series data from 63 countries, that women’s education contributed 43% of the reduction in child malnutrition over time compared to just 26% for improvements in food availability (Smith and Haddad 2000).

178. While much progress has been made on education since 1950, with convergence in levels of male and female schooling, progress has not been even. In Sub Saharan Africa more boys gained access to secondary and tertiary education than girls between 1999 and 2008 worsening the gender disparities. In South Asia there are 95 girls in primary school for every 100 boys. Evidence of cumulative bias in education is shown in Pakistan where a girl aged 5-9 years is 14% less likely to be in school than a boy of the same age, but by the age of 10-14 years she is 24% less likely to be in school than a boy (WDR outline 2012 forthcoming).

179. In Nepal, when a school is more than a four mile walk from the road boys’ enrolment is 56% and girls’ enrolment is 31%. When the school is only a 30 minute walk from the road, boys’ enrolment increases to 67% and girls to 51% (Shyam 2007). Failure to have separate latrines, or facilities that respect cultural differences between girls and boys can also result in lower attendance by girls.It is no coincidence that the highest rates of child malnutrition are found in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

180. All of these constraints in the agriculture market economy, the domestic and reproductive economies compromise women’s roles in generating food security and nutrition for themselves and their families. The high workloads not only compromise women’s own health and nutritional status, threaten pregnancy outcomes for both themselves and their babies, limit their time in childcare particularly in the critical first 2 years of their children’s lives, but lead to lifelong economic costs for them, their children, and ultimately for the national economy.

POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

181. Women are key to translating a vibrant agricultural sector into both food security and nutrition. Improving women’s nutritional status is a powerful way to improve the health, longevity, mental and physical capacity and productivity of women as well as improving food security and nutrition of the next generation. Recognizing this,

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the UNSCN Sixth Report on the World Nutrition Situation calls for a renewed effort to invest in maternal nutrition in a sustainable and holistic manner. It is the pathway to improved nutritional status and human development for the next generation, and is economically vital. Malnutrition can cost individuals 10% of their lifetime earnings and nations 2% to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the worst-affected countries (Alderman 2005). Therefore even macroeconomic policies have to be cognizant of gender issues to ensure they produce the desired result.

182. Global economic trends, trade policies, bioenergy production and climate change can affect local food and commodity prices and, in turn, can induce rural households to reorient their livelihood strategies. This reorientation can require mobility, often limited for women. It can result in changes in the intra-household division of labour and associated earnings. Policies that favour crops sold by men for cash may nevertheless increase female labour burdens. The increased labour input to male controlled crops may reduce the available labour for female controlled crops and associated earnings. Gender analysis is important to ensure that macro polices do not shift the intra-household labour allocation pattern in such a way that male income increases at the expense of women’s, damaging food security and nutrition at the household level. A number of actions will minimize the effects of policy shifts and livelihood reorientation, and render them less likely to damage food security and nutrition. These actions will also relax the constraints that women face on a day to day basis, foster improvements in women’s nutritional status, and improve productivity in all three roles – market, domestic, and reproductive.

183. The first key factor in market productivity, particularly in agriculture, is levelling the playing field so that laws and policies guarantee equal rights for men and women to own and control assets such as land, and to receive services such as health, education, extension and credit. Women need to be recognized as farmers in their own right as opposed to the daughters, wives or partners of farmers. Government action should ensure that legislation does not discriminate against women in areas such as inheritance, wages, property ownership, divorce and contracting. A first stage is auditing all existing laws for discrimination.

184. Many land titling programmes in the past reinforced men’s land rights but over the last decade many African countries have adopted new land laws to strengthen women’s land rights, recognize customary tenure when appropriate, and make non conventional forms of evidence on land rights admissible. Between 2003-2005 Ethiopia issued certificates to about 6 million households (18 million plots), which documented inheritable land use rights, while still restricting market transfers. More than 80 percent of respondents indicated that certification improved women’s situations (World Bank, FAO, IFAD 2008).

185. Levelling the playing field with regard to secure access to land is a first step to enabling women to move beyond subsistence production and into higher value and market oriented production, an important element of successful agriculture for development. Cassava, for example, is widely grown by women and traditionally viewed as a subsistence food crop. In Ghana, the Sustainable Uptake of Cassava as an Industrial Commodity Project established systems linking farmers, especially women, to new markets for cassava products, such as flour, baking products, and plywood adhesives.

186. However, as women enter more commercial levels of production it is important that they have access to rural finance services, both to access working capital and to save their earnings, through their own accounts which do not require counter signatures of husbands or fathers.

187. Include the improvement of women’s, adolescent girls’ and children’s nutritional status among the main goals and expected outcomes of agriculture, food and nutrition security related programmes, strategies and policies. A good example of this type of programme is the introduction of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes (OFSP) in Mozambique, where white sweet potatoes were normally grown by women. OFSP contain higher levels of pro-vitamin A carotenoids and when introduced with nutrition education lead to reductions in vitamin A deficiency. This programme was comprehensive in introducing new products - a small bread bun that replaced part of the wheat flour with sweet potato flour meant a young child’s nutritional needs were met. It also introduced marketing standards regarding tuber size and quality so that some tubers would be retained by the household and consumed. It was also careful to ensure that control of income from the sales did not switch to men as the crop became more commercial. Prevalence of low serum retinol of Vitamin A dropped from 60% in intervention children to 38% as a result of the introduction of orange flesh sweet potatoes, whereas in control children the level remained at 60% despite the availability of vitamin A capsules (Low et al 2007).

188. Focusing on high value small scale agriculture – fruits, vegetables, livestock and fisheries, can also be a win-win intervention in this regard, provided it engages women. Fruit, vegetable, livestock and aquaculture interventions generate higher incomes than staple grains, contain higher nutritional value, and when educational behaviour

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designed to empower women is included they are more likely to improve nutritional status (World Bank 2007a). A CARE Bangladesh programme showed that when women were included in the programme the household was more likely to continue with aquaculture after CARE’s withdrawal and that the household economy and nutrition improved (Module 13, IAP2 World Bank, FAO, IFAD 2008).

189. The production of horticultural crops on a more commercial basis also increases the returns on land by about 10-fold compared to returns for cereal crops (World Bank 2007b). It generates considerable employment in the field—horticultural crops require about twice the labour input per hectare of cereal crops—and generates more off-farm jobs in processing, packaging, and marketing. Women hold many of these new jobs (Module 12 TN 1World Bank, FAO and IFAD 2008). This not only increases local supplies of nutritious food but also female incomes which have an associated spending pattern on food and children. However, legislation and strategies should be in place to ensure equality and protection of male and female workers.

190. Develop strategies aimed at increasing the number of women, representative of diverse social contexts, and their positioning at decision-making and policy influencing levels in the agriculture sector. Women have traditionally been excluded from many avenues of governance, whether in local user groups, producer organizations, local councils or national government. Women need to be engaged at far more senior levels than is generally the case—in scientific research, in ministries of agriculture and in local government.

191. Governments will need to not only advocate but also to legislate and demonstrate gender mainstreaming in national and local governance. Internal reforms, including affirmative action for women, are required to increase female representation in ministries of agriculture and in local government. Such reforms should include action plans that set time-bound goals and mechanisms that ensure accountability. Training for women needs to provide them with the required skills, particularly in countries where female education levels are low, and to ensure that they are fully conversant with their roles and accountabilities. In India, the panchayati raj (village councils) reserve seats for women and for members of scheduled castes and tribes. Studies have shown that reserving seats for women increases investment in the type of infrastructure that is relevant to women and that village councils are more effective when gender-sensitivity training is provided to both male and female councillors.

192. To begin the shift in social norms, governments need to model good practices to the private sector and civil society. They should ensure that public-private contracts for service delivery such as agricultural extension have benchmarks and targets with respect to women’s access to service and project participation, with penalty clauses for non-achievement. Decentralization of resource management to user groups, such as user associations to manage water or communities to manage forests, should mandate participation of women. Not only should targets be set, but also reporting should be transparent to enable civil society to monitor target achievement and call for corrective action if progress is not made. For example, the Karnataka Watershed Development Project in India, designed to improve the productivity of the watershed, involved women from the beginning providing training programmes and explicitly including them in farmer groups. The project improved agricultural yield, crop diversity (from 4 to 9 varieties of crops) and household income went up by USD 373 in the community. More than 70% of women said the project improved their lives.

193. Producer groups or cooperatives for women are important elements that allow women to aggregate their harvests, negotiate better prices, introduce value added processing, and potentially provide better access to transportation for their produce.

194. Given women’s lower levels of schooling, governments need to keep an eye on the future. Ensuring a pipeline of well-qualified female candidates for senior positions in public and private agriculture organizations will require increased emphasis on female education, including incentives such as nutrition sensitive school feeding, take home rations and/or cash transfers for the education of girls and scholarships for vocational and university training in agriculture sciences and policy. This is one element in ensuring that women’s voices and their interests are better reflected in local, national, regional and global policy makin

195. Invest in strengthening basic infrastructure for essential public services and rural institutions, and make these gender-sensitive. This will provide girls with better access schooling and liberate women from time-intensive tasks, and will enable them to look for more rewarding and productive work. For example, in rural Mali provision of diesel-powered multifunctional platforms that supplied not only electricity for lighting but also motive power for labour-intensive work such as agroprocessing (milling and dehusking) and pumping water resulted in considerable time saving, fostered the development of processed products, and increased women’s daily earnings by $0.47 (Module 9 World Bank, FAO and IFAD 2008). Where fuel efficient stoves, and fuels other than biomass are available, women

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save 2 – 3 hours a day. Where mechanical energy is available to draw water, till and transport crops, girls schooling can increase one or two grades (UNDP 2001).

196. Building the human capital of women and girls through scaling up direct nutrition interventions, targeting educational efforts, and building their vocational skills thereby broadening women’s choices, and strengthening their influence within their households and communities. A series of well-tested nutrition-specific interventions can protect the nutrition of vulnerable individuals and communities and benefit millions of people if associated with nutrition-sensitive development policies in food security, agriculture, social protection, health and education. These interventions include:

e) Empowering women so they can pursue optimal nutrition during pregnancy and after children are born, including antenatal supplements, breast feeding, appropriate complementary feeding from age six months and food related hygiene

f) Enabling adequate intake of vitamins and minerals among those most in need, particularly pregnant and lactating women, through diverse diets, fortified food and supplements

g) Ensuring that those who are undernourished have access and benefit from the food and nutrition they need for growth and good health, through special attention to local communities at risk, nutrition management of infection and therapeutic feeding of individuals who present under nutrition.

197. Special care will be needed to ensure that hard-to-reach populations can access the interventions that are being offered.

198. Investment in infant and child nutrition between conception and two years of age can avert the deaths of 1 million children per year, mitigate against disease and reduce the current and future burden on health care systems, increase school attendance and educational attainment, and improve economic prosperity and the ability of all citizens to reach their full potential. In economic terms, the benefit cost ratios of these investments are estimated to be 15.8 to 110. Investing in nutrition also enhances the resilience of societies in the face of price volatility and other shocks: well-nourished children are less damaged by shocks and bounce back more rapidly than those who are under-nourished. Investing in girls’ schooling delays marriage and first pregnancy which leads to better future pregnancies and child nutrition outcomes.

199. These interventions need to be complemented by investment in gender sensitive social protection that ensure that women and children have access to social services and income in times of crisis. A study in Zimbabwe looked at the impact of the civil war in the late 1970s and exposure to drought in 1982 -84. It found that the shocks impacted on preschooler height for age. However, this impact in pre-school has a long lasting impact – had the nutritional status of these children been protected, such that it was equivalent to that of the median child in a developed country then they would have grown 4.6 cm taller, completed 0.7 additional grades of school. This translates into a conservative estimate of 7% -12% loss in lifetime earnings (Alderman et al 2003).

200. The collection of sex-disaggregated data in food security and agriculture information systems is critical, and provides the foundation for gender-focused data analysis and for the better understanding of gender related constrains and more gender-aware policy decisions. This gender analysis needs to take into consideration different gender constraints inside households, communities and nations. It should include nutritional impact assessments in food security and agricultural programming, at the early planning stages, to assure they are “gender sensitive”, help improve nutrition, and mitigate potential adverse effects. Interventions that aim to remove the gender gap in agriculture and food security and nutrition need to be appropriately bundled and sequenced, and take account of their broader social contexts, including men, in the process. In the absence of such analysis, policies that may appear gender neutral will continue to have unanticipated impacts.

201. In summary, any agricultural and food security policy related to natural resources, technology, infrastructure or markets will affect men and women differently because they play different roles and experience different constraints and opportunities in the sector. Policies require an understanding of the gender dimensions at stake and the inclusion of a gender lens, which responds to the national context. Because some agricultural, food and nutritional policies and gender issues are location-specific, these may best be addressed through location-specific assessments and tailored policies and programmes. Interventions may have gender impacts that are difficult to predict so policies and programmes should include the collection of baseline data and rigorous monitoring and evaluation. Practitioners should be prepared to reformulate their activities in response to unforeseen developments. Making women’s voices heard at all levels in decision-making is crucial in this regard.

202. In short, to effectively combat food security and malnutrition, will require focus on three main areas: the empowerment of women, the improvement of women’s nutritional status and the eradication of the gender gap in agriculture.

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ReferencesAlderman Harold, John Hoddinott, and Bill Kinsey 2003 Long-Term Consequences of Early Childhood Malnutrition. Discussion paper 168. IFPRI

K. Allendorf, 2007, Do women’s land rights promote empowerment and child health in Nepal. World Development, Volume 35, Issue 11, pages 1975-1988.

Barwell Ian. 1996. “Rural Transport in Developing Countries.” In Engendering Development, Policy Research Report.Washington, DC:World Bank.

Blackden, Mark, and Chitra Bhanu. 1999. “Gender, Growth and Poverty Reduction,” 1998 SPA Status Report on Poverty in sub-Saharan Africa, World Bank Technical Paper 428,World Bank,Washington, DC.

Darnton-Hill, Ian, PatrickWebb, PhilipW. J. Harvey, Joseph M. Hunt, Nita Dalmiya, Mickey Chopra, Madeleine J. Ball, Martin W. Bloem, and Bruno de Benoist. 2005.“Micronutrient Deficiencies and Gender: Social and Economic Costs.” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 81 (5): 1198S–1205S.

Deere, Carmen D., and Cheryl Doss. 2006. “Gender and the Distribution of Wealth in Developing Countries.” UNUWIDER (World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University), Research Paper No. 2006/115, UNU-WIDER, Helsinki.

Delgado, Christopher L., and Chandrashekhar G. Ranade. 1987. “Technological Change and Agricultural Labor Use.” In Accelerating Food Production in Sub-Saharan Africa, ed. John W. Mellor, Christopher L. Delgado, and Malcolm Blackie, 118–35. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

FAO. 2011. The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-11, Women in agriculture: Closing the gender gap for development. Rome

Goldstein,Markus, and Christopher Udry. 2005. “The Profits of Power: Land Rights and Agricultural Investment in Ghana.” Economic Growth Center Discussion Paper No. 929, Yale University, New Haven, CT.

Grebmer Klaus von, Bella Nestorova, Agnes Quisumbing, Rebecca Fertziger, Heidi Fritschel, Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Yisehac Yohannes 2009. Global Hunger Index The Challenge of Hunger: Focus on Financial Crisis and Gender Inequality. IFPRI, Welthungerhilfe, Concern Wordlwide.

Haddad Lawrence J. John Hoddinott, and Harold Alderman. 1997. Intrahousehold Resource Allocation in Developing Countries: Models, Methods, and Policy . Washington DC: Johns Hopkins University press.

Higgins, P.A. and Alderman, H., 1997. Labor and women’s nutrition. A study of energy expenditure, fertility, and nutritional status in Ghana. Journal of Huma Resources 32 (3) pp 577-595.

Hoddinott, John, and Lawrence Haddad. 1995. �Does Female Income Share Influence Household Expenditures? Evidence from Côte D�Ivoire.� Oxford Bulletin of Economic and Statistics 57 (1): 77�96.

Low Jan W., Mary Arimond, Nadia Osman, Benedito Cunguara, Filipe Zano, and David Tschirley 2002 A Food-Based Approach Introducing Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potatoes Increased Vitamin A

Intake and Serum Retinol Concentrations in Young Children in Mozambique. The Journal of Nutrition 137(5): 1320

Kennedy, Eileen, and Pauline Peters. 1992.“Household Food Security and Child Nutrition: The Interaction of Income and Gender of Household Head.”World Development 20 (8): 1077–85.

Özaltin Emre, Kenneth Hill, S. V. Subramanian 2010. Association of Maternal Stature With Offspring Mortality, Underweight, and Stunting in Low- to Middle-Income Countries. Journal of the American Medical Association. 303(15):1507-1516

Shyam, K. C. 2007. “Rural Accessibility and Gender Differences in School Enrollment in Nepal.” Paper presented at the World Bank Roundtable on Mainstreaming Gender in Transport, Washington, DC, June 20 cited in World Bank, FAO, IFAD 2008.

Smith Lisa, U. Ramakrishnan, A. Ndiaye, Lawrence. Haddad, and Reynaldo. Martorell. 2003. The importance of women’s

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status for child nutrition in developing countries. Research Report 131. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Udry Chris., John Hoddinott, Harold Alderman and Lawrence J. Haddad (1995). “Gender Differentials in Farm Productivity: Implications for Household Efficiency and Agricultural Policy.” Food Policy, 20(5).

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for the Pacific (UNESCAP), “Women in Small Business in Indochina: Issues and Key Approaches,” Women in Development Discussion Paper 4, http://unescap.org/esid/GAD/Publication/DiscussionPapers/04/series4.pdf.

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World Bank. 2007. World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development. Washington, DC: World Bank.

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The Regional Perspective

Gender, Food Security and Nutrition

Matters to be brought to the attention of the CFS Regional Multi-stakeholder Workshop for the Near East:

Recognizing:

• That women hold the key to achieving food security and nutrition in the Region

• The important role women play in agriculture, food production, food preparation and processing and their latent potential in other economic sectors

• The key role women have in family nutrition and in improving food security and nutrition at the household level

• The challenges faced by women in accessing productive resources, health care, and decent work

• Their low participation in decision-making processes, and economic dependence on male members of the family.

The following are recommended for the consideration of the Regional Workshop:

• Shift from a food security paradigm to a gender-sensitive food and nutrition security approach

• Make labour markets more hospitable for women

• Boost the access of women to productive assets

• Promote women’s access to power and to decision-making processes.

Background

Over the past 20 years, food security and nutrition indicators in the Near East region such as the percentage of poor people, Daily Energy Supply, and the percentage of the undernourished have continued to compare favorably with the rest of the world. Although women and men of the Region have contributed to this, the contribution of women has been persistently overlooked.

Women contribute to food security and nutrition not only through the substantial amount of labour they provide on farms to produce food but also through their involvement in productive economic activities that bring in income to the family from agricultural and non-agricultural jobs. They also contribute through the many different tasks expected of rural and urban women at the household level that go unaccounted for in a society where roles are still very much divided along the gender lines. In the Near East, women are almost exclusively responsible for household tasks, health and child care, feeding the family, and access to clean water and sanitation. All of these are key contributors to food security and nutrition.

Despite these contributions women in rural and urban areas of the Near East face many challenges and inequalities that prevent them from reaching their full potential as food producers and as income earners. This seriously undermines efforts to achieve equitable and sustainable food security and nutrition in the region.

Challenges Facing Women in the Near East

Agriculture, being one of the biggest employers of both women and men in the region, has been witnessing rapid changes in the last few years characterized by the “feminization” of the labour force in many countries due to the migration of men in pursuit of better job opportunities. According to the latest available statistics, the female share of the agricultural labour force in the Middle East and North Africa has greatly increased, from 34% during the period 1990-1995 to almost 45% in 2011, while men’s contribution has considerably decreased from 66% to 55% during the same period.

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Although highly active in the agricultural sector, rural women in the region work in less favorable conditions than men:

They work heavily as unpaid family labor in crop and livestock production, as well as in post-harvest activities. Studies show that in Morocco, women account for 53.2 percent of unpaid agricultural labor; in Egypt, 50.7 percent; in Lebanon 40.7 percent; in Sudan, 34.7 percent; in Iraq, 30.7 percent, and in Mauritania, 28 percent.

Whether employed as wage laborers or work for the family, rural women are responsible for the more labor-intensive, time-consuming tasks associated with crop and livestock production. Such work includes using hands or simple tools, in addition to carrying produce on their backs.

Women are also responsible for many post-harvest activities that require time and perseverance.

Their work also includes fetching water in difficult conditions especially in mountainous areas like in Algeria, Yemen, and Morocco. A study in Somalia showed that, in the dry season, depending on the village location, women spent up to eight hours daily collecting water for household use. With climate change and environmental degradation installing in the region, women will be spending more time and travelling longer distances to find potable water.

Rural women in the Region work in more precarious conditions than men. Temporary casual workers are mostly women performing the majority of operations and tasks, and permanent workers are men employed for irrigation, mechanized work, as farm guards or managers. Women get more seasonal contracts; work for more hours than men (given the activities that accumulate such as housework and taking care of kids which are not considered as economic activities, but remain essential for households’ livelihoods and wellbeing), and get lower wages than men.

Rural women therefore constitute a vulnerable group whose employment does not meet the conditions of decent work.

There is also a clear division of labor along gender lines in the Near East dictated by social norms. Men are more likely to be involved in cash crop production and mechanized crops and operations which are less constraining, less time consuming and better paid. Women tend to be more involved in food crop production, which is more labor-intensive and requires little or no mechanization. Women also perform home-based work for milk, wool and other postharvest processing activities for their own consumption and for the market. As family labour, men and women share many activities, but women are entirely responsible for home gardens, and for rearing household livestock.

Rural women in the region are heavily engaged in livestock production. With the exception of herding and marketing, they are active in all other tasks related to feeding and rearing of animals. Keeping livestock is very important for the household food and nutrition security as a source of animal protein (meat, milk, cheese or other dairy products, all of which women are responsible for processing and cooking) and as a source of disposable income when the need arises (through the sale of animals or their by-products). Women in the Near East are actively engaged in selling the milk and dairy products they produce and the cash income obtained from such activities is normally quite high. Women also obtain cash income from their activities in small-scale home-based poultry enterprises. In this domain, women have the sole responsibility for the work involved, the selling of chickens and eggs and the decision on how to spend the income.

Women in the Near East grow secondary food crops like herbs and spices on small plots and marginal lands near the farm, or intercropped with cash crops and gather food from wild plants which they use at home or sell. This activity not only contributes to the preservation of biodiversity but also to the diversification of the household diet as these crops contribute to the household’s protein, energy, micronutrient and mineral requirements.

Rural and urban women in the Near East also contribute to household food security by the time-consuming activities they perform in food processing. Food processing not only contributes to food security by reducing food losses but also permits greater diet diversity throughout the year and provides important sources of energy and micronutrients to the family.

Access to Productive Resources

Access to Land: Women in the Near East rarely own land, and when they do, the land is often controlled or managed by male members of the family. In Jordan, women own 28.6 percent of the land, while in the United Arab Emirates and Oman; they own 4.9 and 0.4 percent, respectively. Surveys in Egypt, Morocco and Lebanon show that women own 24,

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14.3 and 1 percent of landholdings. In addition, female landholdings tend to be much smaller than male landholdings. In Morocco and Oman, on average, men’s landholdings are two and three times the size of women’s, respectively.

Access to credit: Without the ability to exercise their right to landownership, women lack collateral and are thus denied the benefit of policies and institutions designed to alleviate gender inequality and increase their contribution to food security, such as access to credit and other means of empowerment (e.g. new technology and more land).

Access to technology: Rural women in the Near East Region perform their work in agriculture with very little access to labor-saving equipment and technology mainly due to their lack of cash income or credit to purchase technology, high percentage of illiteracy, and their lack of contact with extension services and cooperatives. This in turn limits their capacity to improve agricultural yields and increase the economic returns.

Human Development and Gender

The human development indicators of the region show that positive transformations in the education and health have taken place in the Near East. However, there are still inequalities in human development among countries, within each country and for specific demographic groups, most importantly for youth and women which have direct impact on food and nutrition security.

Access to Education: Women in all countries of the Region except Yemen have made gains in access to education, literacy, university enrollment, and the variety of subjects open to them to study. In terms of the gender gap in school enrollment and average years of schooling, the Near East countries compare favorably with the rest of the world. The enrollment rates at primary and secondary levels for women and men are similar while women have an edge at the tertiary level. However, among women agricultural workers, illiteracy rates are still very high in many countries of the region.

Education is one of the most critical areas of empowerment for women. It enhances women’s contributions to household food and nutrition security by enabling women to have better employment in urban areas, and better access to and use of information, technology, and extension services in rural areas and hence to engage in agricultural work more efficiently. It also increases the possibilities of women to make use of credit facilities for starting small businesses. An educated woman is also more likely to provide better health care and nutrition to her family, and to encourage her children to pursue education; all of which have positive impacts on household food and nutrition security.

Access to Employment: Despite the rise in education of women in the Near East relative to their male counterparts and women in other countries, their participation in the labor force, at 26 percent, is the lowest in the world. In comparison, men’s participation rate in the labor market in the region is 74 percent, and that of women in middle income countries is 61. Significant variation are however noted between countries with the lowest rates (7% of the labor force) being found in Saudi Arabia and other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Such low participation rates of women in the labor force underscore the failure of governments to put in place job-creating policies capable of absorbing the rising numbers of educated women and men especially the youth in the region. A review of the nature of job opportunities in most of the countries in the region in the last decade shows that most of the jobs were in the informal sector and did not require high qualifications and hence were not suitable for the majority of the educated women.

Like education, employment is an important component of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Evidence from other regions indicates that greater employment opportunities for women can lead to greater bargaining power within the family, which can positively affect the distribution of household resources in the direction of health and education of children and improve the food and nutrition security at the household level.

Access to Health Care: Countries in the region show great disparities in access to health care especially for women. In some countries like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates or Jordan, the ratio of physicians per population is over 200:100 000; this number is drastically lower, for example, in Yemen (22:100 000), Sudan (16:100 000), Djibouti (13:100 000) and Somalia (4:100 000). Disparities also exist within countries among wealth quintiles as access to, and utilization of health care services is determined not only by availability of services, but also by the affordability of services.

Because of socio-cultural norms, women in the Region tend to ignore symptoms of illness and delay medical treatment. Women´s health is often neglected or subordinated to the family´s health and this may result in the worsening of medical conditions. On the other hand, restrictions placed on female mobility in some countries and a lack of female health care workers also result in negative health outcomes for women. Thus, freedom of movement, financial power and social status are all important determinants in accessing health care.

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Making health services accessible to the least disadvantaged population especially in rural areas, tackling the absence of qualified staff and operational equipment, dealing with the low social and economic status of girls and women and investing in preventive health through early diagnosis, sensitization and care will inevitably improve health conditions and enhance human development and consequently food and nutrition security in the region.

In terms of maternal mortality, the region is progressing slower than it should be, mostly due to differentials among countries and sub-regions. For example the group of Gulf countries has made significant progress, while the least developed group has not made any noticeable progress to achieve the Millennium Development Goal calling for the reduction of maternal mortality rate by three quarters between 1990 and 2015.

Even though the median age at marriage for both men and women is rising in the Near East and more women are staying single longer or not marrying at all, early marriage is still common in some countries like Mauritania, Palestine, Sudan and Yemen where nearly half of the girls younger than 18 are married. Teenage pregnancies and childbirth at a young age have injurious effects on the health of young mothers, cause problems throughout a woman’s childbearing years, and make a special contribution to the double burden of malnutrition. In addition, teenage pregnancies can have serious health implications for infants in terms of low birth weight and the associated health and development burdens in child- and adulthood.

Gender and Nutrition

The nutrition transition through which the Near East is passing where under-nutrition coexists with obesity and increasing rates of diet related chronic diseases are affecting the quality of life of many women and young girls.

The rapid changes in lifestyle and dietary habits and urbanization that took place at a fast pace have led to an increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the region, particularly among women. The reported general prevalence rates of obesity in the Gulf countries in adults range from 13.05–37% in men, and 16–49.15% in women. However obesity is not only prevalent in affluent societies, it is also present in middle income and low-income countries and among the poor in all countries. Obesity among women increases the complications of pregnancy and delivery; it also increases maternal mortality and morbidity.

Hidden hunger and micronutrient deficiencies among women and young girls are also an issue of concern in the region. Available data show that Iron deficiency and its associated anemia problems are widespread among women, especially of child-bearing age. It is estimated that more than one third of the population is anemic in the region, with Oman and the Syrian Arab Republic registering 40 and 41 percent prevalence rates, respectively, among women of childbearing age. Anemia directly affects labour productivity and studies show that 1 standard deviation change in hemoglobin is associated with 3.6% reduction in work output. Another emerging nutritional issue among women in the region is Vitamin D deficiency. Recent research points to the fact that severe forms of hypovitaminosis D have been particularly reported among veiled women who lack exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor for osteoporosis, which puts women at increased risk of fractures.

Concomitantly with the increase in obesity and overweight, countries in the region show high prevalence of stunting among children under the age of five not only in the low income countries but also in countries with middle-to-high incomes (20% in Saudi Arabia, 18% in Morocco, 17% in United Arab Emirates, and 25% in Egypt). Among the 36 countries in the world with childhood stunting rates over 20%, four countries (Egypt, Iraq, Sudan, and Yemen) are in the Near East Region. Childhood stunting is most severe though in Yemen (53%). Stunted children become stunted adults who are 2 to 6 percent less productive than adults of normal stature. It is estimated that a 1 percent decrease in adult stature is associated with a 1.4 percent decrease in productivity. Thus, a lifetime of economic loss results from a failure to prevent stunting in early childhood and accompanying deficits in adult stature.

Despite the traditional social fabric in the region and the low participation of women in the labor force, the region is witnessing a decline in breastfeeding practices. The rate of “exclusive breastfeeding” at 28 percent in the region makes it lag behind sub-Saharan Africa, where the rates are 30-39 percent and puts it at 10 percentage points below the average for developing countries. The link between optimal infant and feeding practices for the growth, development and protection of children are well documented and are reinforced with the evidence linking infant feeding practices to chronic diseases development later on in life.

Decision Making

In the Region, women�s decision-making power may be limited and male family members often have the primary say

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in matters related to finances, freedom of movement, children´s education, health care-seeking behavior and the use of family planning methods; all of which affect the household food and nutrition security.

In rural areas, despite the fact that in many countries males are migrating away from agriculture, leaving the most difficult agricultural activities in women’s hands, women’s management of households and natural resources remain limited mainly due to the impacts of prevailing patriarchal system. Male members of the family decide on the agricultural practices to be pursued and control financial matters such as credit and loans, marketing and the allocation of income and savings and land selling and rental transactions. Women are more likely to have a greater say in domains in which they provide a significant portion of the work required, such as in livestock, poultry and home garden food production.

Some evidence suggests that certain types of decisions are made jointly between men and women, and that women predominate in issues relating to family matters such as marriage, education, divorce, child care, nutrition and household food purchases.

Policy Options

Experience has shown that resources in the hands of women often have a greater nutritional benefit to households than the same resources controlled by men. Women are more likely than men to spend a given income on food, health care and education. Thus, resources for women represent resources for food and nutrition security. Therefore to enable women in the Near East to contribute more effectively to improving the food and nutrition security at the household and national levels, policy makers are called upon to:

• Shift from a food security paradigm to a gender-sensitive food and nutrition security approach. The increase in the prevalence of hidden hunger among women and the prevalence of stunting among children in all countries of the region during periods of economic growth and abundance of energy supplies points to the necessity of including nutrition objectives in policies focusing in particular on women and children. Interventions must address nutrition in young life, especially during the critical 1000 day window of the life of a child, as well as adult life including care for women, respect for their rights and elimination of child marriage and teenage pregnancies;

• Put in place policies that make labor markets more hospitable for women for increasing their participation in the labor force and raising their income unleashing thus the dormant potential women have to become active participants in the economic cycle. Focus in particular on building national capacity for analysis and elaboration of integrated policies, in order to create a climate more favorable to business, investment and the creation of jobs, especially for young women, and to improving the provision of services;

• Plan public policies to boost access of women to productive assets. Reducing gender disparities by enhancing the human and physical resources commanded by women leads to growth in agricultural productivity, greater income and better food and nutrition security for all. Take in particular active measures to:

Enforce the implementation of laws and regulations related to control over resources and properties, particularly in rural areas, and to equality in wage allocation;

Scale up efforts to enhance access of women to credit and financial facilities;

Increase investment for training and capacity development and for developing “targeted technologies” which would contribute to reducing working hours for women farmers and provide them with means to increase their incomes.

Promote women representation and access to power and to decision-making processes.

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د. رفع الوعي بشأن حقوق المرأة والدفاع عنها على الصعيد اإلقليمي، والقطري، والمحلي، من أجل تعزيز تفعيل األطر القانونية القائمة مثل حقوق المرأة في ملكية األراضي.

ه. تعزيز القدرات لجمع البيانات المصنفة على أساس الجنس، وضمان توحيد المنهجيات من أجل جمع بيانات للمقارنة. قابلة

و. تعزيز حصول المرأة على الموارد االئتمانية والمالية، ال سيما وأنها كثيرا ما تفتقر إلى الضمانات في اإلقليم.

ز. إنشاء مرصد إقليمي للمساواة بين الجنسين، واألمن الغذائي والتغذية للتركيز على األهداف الرئيسية التالية:

ح. توثيق مساهمة المرأة في األمن الغذائي والتغذية.

الغذائي على تمكين المرأة، والصحة، والتغذية. المتعلقة باألمن تأثير السياسات والتدخالت ط. مراقبة

جراءات لتعزيز مساهمة المرأة في األمن الغذائي والتغذية. ك. تعبئة الموارد المالية لتنفيذ تدخالت واإ

المعلومات، والمعارف، والتكنولوجيات تبادل المتعددين من أجل تعزيز عملية الشأن إنشاء شبكة إلصحاب ل. الجنسين والتغذية. بين المساواة التي تعزز

إبتكارية لمعالجة مسألة تمكين الجنسين والتغذية، والعمل بشراكة مع الحكومة الوطنية م. تعزيز إستخدام آليات إمكانية توسيع نطاق مبادرات مماثلة. إلستكشاف

الدقيقة المغذيات الغذائي وذلك بإضافة الغذائية لإلنتاج البحث في مسألة إستخدام األسمدة لتحسين الجودة ن. إلى التربة، واستهداف المرأة بصفتها المنتج الرئيسي لمحاصيل معينة وذلك للقيام بإختبار تجريبي على إستخدام

األسمدة الغنية بالمغذيات الدقيقة. وباإلضافة إلى ذلك، ينبغي البحث عن سبل لتعزيز إدارة مخلفات األسمدة.

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بين المساواة مراعاة مع الريفية، والمؤسسات الضرورية العامة الخدمات لتوفير األساسية التحتية البنية تعزيز المباشرة، التغذية تدخالت زيادة مسألة أيضا نوقشت وقد والفتيات. النساء من البشرية الثروة وبناء الجنسين، توسع التي المهنية المهارات وبناء التعليمية، الجهود واستهداف الفرد، حياة من يوم 1000 أول في السيما اإلختيارات الممكنة للمرأة وتعزز نفوذها داخل نطاق أسرتها ومجتمعها. وتعد البيانات المصنفة حسب الجنس في بالمسائل الخاصة البيانات لتحليل أساس لتوفير األهمية شديد أمرا الزراعية والمعلومات الغذائي األمن أنظمة الجنسانية وتحسين فهم المعوقات ذات الصلة بقضية الجنسانية واتخاذ المزيد من القرارات الخاصة بسياسة مراعاة شئون الجنسين. ومن أجل المكافحة الفعالة النعدام األمن الغذائي وسوء التغذية، هناك حاجة للتركيز على تمكين

التغذوية، والقضاء على الفجوة بين الجنسين في الزراعة. المرأة، وتحسين حالتها 46- وخالل انعقاد هذه المائدة المستديرة بشأن السياسات، ركز العرض التقديمي الثاني على التحديات الرئيسية

التي تواجه المرأة في الشرق األدنى فيما يتعلق بدورها في اإلنتاج الزراعي، واألمن الغذائي والتغذوي لألسرة. 47- تعمل معظم النساء في الشرق األدنى بكثافة في الزراعة كعمل أسري غير مدفوع األجر، ويقل وصولهن إلى للوقت، وكذلك أكثر استهالكا تتعلق بمحاصيل أكثر مشقة، ومهام بأعمال النساء تقوم الالئق. وكثيرا ما العمل والقروض، كالتربة، المنتجة للموارد المرأة وصول ويعتبر الحصاد. بعد ما وأنشطة الحيواني، اإلنتاج أعمال العالم بالرغم من للغاية، كما يعد معدل الحصول على وظيفة هو األدنى على مستوى والتكنولوجيا أمرا محدودا ارتفاع نسبة التعليم نسبيا مقارنة بنظرائها من الرجال. وتتسع الفوارق في الوصول إلى الرعاية الصحية بين بلدان الشرق األدنى وداخل حدود البلدان، إال أن حرية الحركة المحدودة، والقدرة المالية المحدودة، والعادات اإلجتماعية وفيات تقليل معدالت في التقدم تحقيق يتباطأ لذلك، ونتيجة بوجه عام. الخدمات هذه إلى المرأة تعوق وصول األمهات عما يجب أن يكون عليه. عالوة على ذلك، تتحمل المرأة عبئ سوء التغذية الذي ينعكس على اإلنتشار الواسع لألنيميا بين النساء البالغات سن الحمل، وكذا نقص فيتامين )د(، وتأثير الزواج المبكر على صحة وتغذية األثرياء. وبين شرائح سكانها تقريبا، اإلقليم بلدان السمنة في جميع انتشار الصغار وأطفالهن، وكذلك األمهات بين التقزم انتشار نسبة ارتفاع من ذلك عن ينتج بما أطفالهن، بين التغذية سوء عبئ أيضا النساء وتتحمل

الدخل. ومرتفعة ومتوسطة، منخفضة، البلدان القول من قليل ولهن محدودة، تقريبا األدنى الشرق إقليم بلدان جميع في النساء بين القرار اتخاذ سلطة -48الرعاية الصحية، واستخدام للحصول على الحركة، وتعليم األطفال، والسعي المالية، وحرية إن وجد في األمور

وسائل تنظيم األسرة، حيث تؤثر جميعها على األمن الغذائي والتغذوي لألسرة. اإلنتاج في للمرأة الهام الدور على الضوء تسليط تم التقديمية، العروض أعقبت التي المناقشات خالل -49الزراعي، وتوليد الدخل، واألمن الغذائي، والتغذية، مع ذكر أمثلة من أجزاء مختلفة من اإلقليم، بما في ذلك تجربة المختلفة واإلجتماعية والمالية، المادية، للمعوقات توضيحات قدمت وقد بالسودان. الحكومية غير حواء منظمة في المرأة مساواة لضمان وقانونية سياسية عمل أطر إلعداد دعوه وانبثقت األدوار، هذه على سلبا تؤثر التي

العمل. الزراعية، والمعلومات، وفرص المالية، والتكنولوجيا المنتجة، والخدمات الموارد إلى الوصول أهمية على التركيز مع بكثافة، والتغذية الغذائي األمن بمسألة يتعلق فيما الجنسانية تحدي نوقش وقد -50تم والتغذوية. وقد المرأة، وتحسين حالتها اإلجتماعية التغذية، وحماية حقوق تراعي التي الزراعة اإلستثمار في اإلقتصادي، واإلجتماعي، والسياسي التغذية، والتمكين اإلتفاق على ضرورة اإلستثمار طويل األجل في تحسين

للمرأة، من أجل التحسن المستدام لألمن الغذائي والتغذية.

الجلسة في لمناقشتها التالية الرئيسية التوصيات للسياسات، المستديرة المائدة نهاية في المشاركون إقترح .51العالمي: الغذائي للجنة األمن السابعة والثالثين الدورة العامة وتقديمها إلى

أ. تعزيز بناء القدرات في تنفيذ تدخالت تراعي المساواة بين الجنسين، من خالل صياغة خطوط توجيهية قطرية من جانب المؤسسات القطرية مثل وزارة الزراعة؛

ب. توسيع نطاق مشاركة أصحاب الشأن المتعددين لتعزيز إستدامة التدخالت التي تراعي المساوة بين الجنسين والتغذية.

ج. ضمان أن السياسات والتدخالت التي تعزز المساواة بين الجنسين قابلة للتكيف مع الثقافة اإلقليمية.

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مناقشتها على نحو منطقي. وفي بعض البلدان قوانين ال تشجع اإلستثمار. ويمكن معالجة هذه القضايا من خالل المسؤولة. الزراعية إقليمية لإلستثمارات اإلتفاق على مدونة سلوك

الماضي، وماذا الذي تم إجراءه بشأن ما حدث في التحليل السياسية في إعتبارها التوصيات ينبغي أن تأخذ د. كانت حاالت النجاح والفشل، واألثار التي تركتها. وينبغي تقييم اإلستثمارات السابقة في قطاع الزراعة عن مدى نجاحها بما في ذلك تأثيرها على النظام البيئي، وأصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة، وملكية األراضي. ومع ذلك، فبينما تعتبر التجارب الماضية ذات أهمية، ستكون األسعار في السنوات المقبلة أكثر إرتفاعا وتقلبا وبالتالي، ينبغي أن

يأخذ التعاون اإلقليمي ذلك في اإلعتبار. وسوف تشجع شبكة إقليمية عن السياسات المستدامة هذا االستثمار.

الممارسات وتسهيل الشأن بأفضل لتعريف أصحاب المتاحة عن اإلستثمار ومشاركتها البيانات ينبغي تحليل ه. اإلقليمي. اإلستثمار

و. يمكن زيادة اإلنتاج وفرص السوق من خالل التشجيع على تجميع القطع الصغيرة من األرض.

ز. ال ينبغي أن تفرض مشروطية الجهات المانحة ونفوذها السياسي نوع المحاصيل المزروعة. ولكن ينبغي تطبيق قواعد ولوائح السوق بشفافية كاملة وواضحة.

تنمية أهمية إلى باإلضافة ومستقرة. مستدامة المزارعين تستهدف صغار التي المشروعات تكون أن ينبغي ح. والشباب. المرأة تشجيع مشاركة وينبغي والتعليم. والتكنولوجيا، والصحة، البشرية، القدرات

السياسات الحضرية في اإلقليم عند صياغة المناطق الشباب وسكان ينبغي أن يؤخذ في اإلعتبار تزايد عدد ط. التي تدعم المزارعين من أصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة.

ى. ينبغي أن يكون لالستثمار في زراعة الحيازات الصغيرة رؤية طويلة األجل وينبغي أال تهدد اإلستثمارات واسعة الصغيرة. االستثمارات فاعلية النطاق

ك. ينبغي تقييم اإلعتماد الكبير على الواردات الغذائية.

ل. تؤثر األسعار المتقلبة لألسمدة بشكل حاد على اإلنتاجية. لذا ينبغي تأمين إمدادات األسمدة خالل موسم النمو.

مائدة مستديرة عن السياسات: المساواة بين الجنسين، واألمن الغذائي، والتغذيةكما والتغذية، الغذائي، واألمن الجنسين، بين للمساواة العالمية األبعاد األول على التقديمي العرض 44- ركز ألقى الضوء على دور المرأة الحيوي عبر جميع الدعائم الثالثة لألمن الغذائي. ويتأثر دور المرأة في إنتاج غذاء اإلجتماعية والقواعد بالقيود التغذية، وتحسين الغذاء لتأمين األجر مدفوع العمل من دخلها واستخدام ألسرتها، السائدة، التي تحكم قدرتها على الوصول لإلنتاج الالزم، وموارد السوق، والخدمات. ويؤثر ضعف الوصول إلى لة، مثل الرعاية الصحية، وضيق الوقت لدى المرأة على وجه الخصوص، على دورها الرئيسي في الموارد المكمضمان األمن الغذائي والتغذوي ألسرتها. ويعد تحسين الحالة التغذوية للمرأة أمرا شديد األهمية لتحسين صحتها، نتاجيتها، باإلضافة إلى كونه طريقا لتحسين الحالة التغذوية لألسرة بأكملها، وتحسين وقدرتها العقلية والجسدية، واإ

القادم. للجيل البشرية التنمية 45- جرت مناقشة توصيات متنوعة مثل الحاجة إلى سياسات الكتساب الوعي بشأن القضايا الجنسانية، ولضمان مساواة تضمن وسياسات قوانين إلى الحاجة المناقشات عكست وقد المطلوبة. النتائج السياسات هذه تنتج أن التربة، والقروض، واإلرشاد الزراعي، والمعلومات، وغيرها. منتجة مثل حقوق الرجل والمرأة للوصول إلى موارد ومن بين األهداف الرئيسية، والنتائج المتوقعة للزراعة، والبرامج، والسياسات، واإلستراتيجيات ذات الصلة باألمن وشملت واألطفال. والمراهقات، للمرأة، التغذوية الحالة تحسين إدراج أهمية على التركيز تم والتغذوي، الغذائي التوصيات األخرى التي نوقشت إعداد استراتيجيات تهدف إلى زيادة عدد النساء من مختلف البيئات المشاركات في صنع القرار وفي المناصب الفعالة في مجال السياسات بالقطاع الزراعي. وقد أوصي باإلستثمار في مجال

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التشاركية لضمان تنمية ذات قاعدة عريضة، واألمن الغذائي الذي يعكس األولويات اإلقليمية.

في اإلستثمار مع تجربته العمل عن حلقة إلى )IDB( للتنمية اإلسالمي البنك أوجز منفصلة، مداخلة في .41األمن الغذائي، وذكر أن الزراعة هي العمود الفقري القتصادات معظم البلدان األعضاء في البنك اإلسالمي للتنمية اإلستثمار. نخفاض واإ اإلنتاج، تكاليف رتفاع واإ الطبيعية، الموارد وتدهور اإلنتاجية، بإنخفاض تتصف انها إال ويتمثل الهدف اإلستراتيجي للبنك في زيادة اإلنتاجية الزراعية لضمان اإلكتفاء الذاتي من الغذاء. وقد تم معالجة نتاج األغذية، وتعزيز التنمية المستدامة للمجتمعات ذلك من خالل تعزيز التجارة البينية واإلستثمار في الزراعة واإجدة إعالن على العمل حلقة إطالع وتم المحلية. القدرات وبناء ممكنة بيئات خلق من خالل والمهمشة الريفية واإلسهام العالمية، الغذائية األزمات من المتضررين األعضاء البلدان لدعم الهادف للتنمية اإلسالمي للبنك البنك مشاركة وتعزيز نموا، األقل األعضاء للبلدان األجل والطويلة المتوسطة العاجلة اإلحتياجات تحقيق في

اإلسالمي للتنمية في إنتاج األغذية، وتطوير القطاع الزراعي بشكل عام.

تقديم وتم األغذية، وقطاع الزراعة في باإلستثمار المتعلقة القضايا من كبيرة مجموعة المشاركون ناقش .42التوصيات. وتمت مناقشة فرص اإلستثمار لتعزيز األمن الغذائي نتيجة للتنوع في اإلقليم. كما تمت مناقشة مشاكل سياسات ذلك صياغة في بما المشاكل هذه لحل الالزمة اإلجراءات المحتملة، فضال عن البلدان في اإلستثمار ليس لهم بالنسبة العمل وأهمية الخارجيين، المستثمرين سلوك أيضا المناقشة وتناولت لإلستثمار. ومستقرة مرنة شراك أصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة، إن وجدو، فقط لجني الربح ولكن إيضا لإلضافة إلى تنمية المجتمعات المحلية واإالبلدان بين الموقعة االتفاقيات لمضمون النقاش استفاد كما مباشرة. عمالة بصفتهم فقط وليس شركاء بصفتهم حلقة في للقطاع القوي والحضور الواسعة الخبرة من الخارجيين، والمستثمرين لإلستثمار القابلية ذات األعضاء أيضا، الخاص القطاع مبادرات لدعم التشاركي اإلستثمار أهمية على المناقشة أكدت الصدد، هذا وفي العمل. لتشمل السلعية السلسلة أيضا عبر كل اإلنتاج فحسب، ولكن ليس في الصغيرة، الحيازات ذلك أصحاب بما في الريفية في للتنمية النوبارية المشاركون بشكل جيد تجربة مشروع تلقى المستفيدة. وقد البلدان إلى والنقل التخزين مصر، الستخدام خرائط صالحية التربة لتوجيه اإلستخدام الفعال للتربة، وحفز ذلك المناقشات بشأن الدعم الفني الذي ينبغي تقديمه إلى البلدان التي لديها قابلية لإلستثمار من أجل إعداد خرائط عن اإلستثمار وصالحية التربة نوقش على نطاق واسع، الفعال. وقد المحليين والخارجين من أجل اإلستثمار المستثمرين إلى التوجية تقدم التي مسألة وضع مدونة سلوك إقليمية لإلستثمار الزراعي المسؤول التي يمكن أن تتضمن جميع أصحاب الشأن بما في ذلك القطاع الخاص والهيئات التجارية، والتي تعد أمرا هاما للحفاظ على الحكومة الوطنية والمستثمرين الخارجيين،

الطبيعية. للموارد والمستدام الرشيد اإلستخدام ولضمان

في لمناقشتها التالية الرئيسية التوصيات للسياسات المستديرة المائدة اجتماع نهاية في المشاركون إقترح .43العالمي: الغذائي للجنة األمن السابعة والثالثين الدورة إلى العامة وتقديمها الجلسة

على الحصول إلى ويحتاجون الزراعة. لقطاع الفقري العمود الصغيرة الحيازات أصحاب المزراعون يعتبر أ. أفضل نشر اإلرشادية الخدمات تؤمن أن وينبغي بأوضاعهم. صلة وذات ومفيدة، التوقيت، حسنة معلومات فسوف المناسب، الوقت وفي مالئم دعم على المزراعون حصل ذا واإ الزراعي. اإلنتاج مجال في الممارسات

يتمكنون من إنتاج كمية أكبر من الغذاء وبنوعية أفضل.

تكنولوجيا على الحصول ذلك ويتطلب اإلقليم. في المياه ندرة اإلعتبار في المياه إستخدام يأخذ أن يجب ب. في فرد كل يقدر بحيث إقتصادية قيمة للمياه يكون أن وينبغي المياه. على وتحافظ المزراعون تفيد ومهارات

قيمتها. الزراعي اإلنتاج سلسلة

موارد أخرى بلدان لدى تتوفر فيما طبيعية بموارد منها البعض يتمتع إذ اإلقليم، بلدان في الوضع يختلف ج. البلدان من قضايا داخلية ينبغي لإلستثمار. وتتطلب إستثمارات القطاع الخاص بيئة مستقرة . كما تعاني بعض

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المستهلكة محليا في معظم بلدان العالم النامي، بإستثماراتهم التي تعد اإلستثمار األولي في الزراعة. ويعد تعزيز هذا اإلستثمار أمر شديد األهمية لتحسين األمن الغذائي والتغذية، وتوفير سبل العيش الكريم للفقراء في الريف.

36. كما تم التركيز على الفجوات الواسعة بين االستثمار واإلحتياجات في معظم البلدان النامية، وعواقبها المتمثلة في النمو غير الكافي في اإلنتاج الزراعي مقارنة بزيادة الطلب. وتعد الدالئل العالمية بشأن إنعكاس اإلتجاه إلى اقتصادها على القائم النامية البلدان في معظم أقل وضوحا الزراعة العامة على الموارد من المزيد إنفاق جانب ثم األخيرة. ومن والمالية االقتصادية لألزمات نظرا القصير المدى كثيرا على الوضع تحسن يتوقع الزراعة. وال تكون الزيادة في إستثمارات القطاع الخاص، بما في ذلك اإلستثمارات الخاصة بأصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة، أمرا بشأن بها الموثوق المعلومات نقص مثل الرئيسية المعوقات معالجة االستثمارات هذه تعزيز ويتطلب ضروريا. أسعار السوق وطلبات السوق بالنسبة ألصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة، وحقوق الحيازة المؤقتة على الموارد الطبيعية،

ومحدودية الحصول على رأس المال والخدمات، وصعوبة الوصول إلى رأس المال البشري والفكري.

الحيازات أصحاب يراعي إستثمارا وجعلها التشاركية، اإلستثمارات بتزايد المتعلقة القضية مناقشة تم وقد .37الغذائي والتغذية، للمساهمة في تحقيق األمن النظر في تعزيز قدرة أصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة الصغيرة. كما تم اإلستثمار تعزيز يتطلب آخر، جانب ومن المرجوه. األهداف تحقيق مكانية واإ ومصالحهم، حقوقهم، عن فضال وسليمة واضحة سياسات صياغة من تمكن بيئة وجود الخصوص، وجه على التشاركية واإلستثمارات الخاص، والحوكمة الرشيدة. وهذه العوامل ال تتوفر في العديد من البلدان النامية، مما يؤثر سلبا على االستثمارات التشاركية.

38. قدم العرض التقديمي الثاني استعراضا للتحديات وخيارات السياسات لإلستثمار في مجال األمن الغذائي في الرغم من أهميتها، بلدان اإلقليم. وعلى العديد من اقتصاد للزراعة في الكبيرة الشرق األدنى، وأكد على األهمية ال تزال كال من اإلستثمارات العامة والدولية في قطاع الزراعة منخفضة. وقد دعمت الزيادة المسجلة لالستثمارات األجنبية المباشره )FDI( في السنوات األخيرة بإرتفاع أسعار المواد الغذائية، وحاجة بعض البلدان الغنية، معظمهم ونقص العالمية. األسواق في الشك حالة من للحماية كوسيلة الغذاء إنتاج في لإلستثمار اإلقليم، داخل من السياسات صياغة أو آثاره تقييم خاص بشكل الصعب من يجعل باإلقليم الزراعي اإلستثمار حول المعلومات

الزراعية والريفية. الغذائي، والتنمية لتعزيز مساهمته في تحقيق األمن الالزمة

منه واإلستفادة الغذائي واألمن الزراعة في اإلستثمار لتعزيز الالزمة السياسية الخيارات بشأن موجز قدم .39سوف التي والفرص االستثمارية، للمشروعات السليم التقييم ذكرت التي األساليب بعض وشملت فعال. بشكل لتحسين فعال تنظيمي إطار إنشاء ويمثل البيئية. النظم اآلثار على أيضا لتشمل التكلفة الفائدة، وتحليل تتجاوز مناخ اإلستثمار، واألعمال التجارية، وحماية السكان المحليين عامال هاما. ومن بين اإلجراءات األخرى التي يمكن الشركات طريق عن المجتمع نحو الموجهه الجهود لتسهيل سياسات صياغة االستثمار مناخ لتحسين إتخاذها األمن تحسين نحو الموجهة تلك السيما بديلة، إستثمار طرق ستكشاف واإ األساسية، البنية وتحسين األجنبية،

الغذائي.

أفضل بشكل وتنسيقها التعاون سياسات لصياغة الغذائي األمن على اإلقليمي التركيز إلى حاجة هناك .40ولإلستفادة من الفرص المتاحة، في ظل تنوع شواغل األمن الغذائي على المستوى القطري واألسري وتوفر الموارد. وفي هذا السياق، تم اإلشارة إلى توصية المؤتمر اإلقليمي الثالثين للشرق األدنى إلنشاء المنتدى اإلقليمي الدائم لإلستثمار في األمن الغذائي لتشجيع اإلستثمارات التي تدعم قاعدة عريضة وشاملة لألمن الغذائي في اإلقليم، وأن تكون بمثابة آلية لتبادل المعلومات وتنمية القدرات، بما في ذلك تشارك أفضل الممارسات التي تساهم في تحقيق األمن الغذائي والتنمية المستدامة الموجهة إلهتمامات جميع أصحاب الشأن. وهناك حاجة أيضا إلجراء تقييم دقيق لمدونات قواعد السلوك الدولية والخطوط التوجيهية الطوعية األخرى لإلستثمار، وقابليتها للتطبيق في اإلستثمارات

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ضافة إلى حوافز األسعار، اإلستثمار في التكنولوجيات الجديدة لتعزيز خامسا: التعامل مع المياه كثروة وطنية، واإكفاءة إدارة المياه.

في الصحيحة المعلومات على القرار صناع حصول لضمان الالزمة واآلليات المعلومات إدارة تعزيز سادسا: المناسب. الوقت

التكنولوجيات على الحصول فرص لتوسيع الحكومية، وخاصة تنظيمها، عادة واإ البحوث نظم إستثمار سابعا: الجديدة، واآلليات، إلخ. وفي هذا السياق، ينبغي رفع كفاءة إنتاج الغذاء للحد من اإلعتماد على الواردات على

مستدام. نحو

الحد من اآلثار السلبية إلرتفاع أسعار األغذية وتقل أسعار المواد الغذائية.

أوال: معالجة نقص المغذيات الدقيقة في اإلقليم، من خالل إنتاج األغذية المخصبة والمقواه. اإلستفادة من تجارب الدول مثل مصر التي قدمت خبرتها الواسعة في إنتاج الدقيق المخصب بفيتامين )أ( والملح المدعم باليود.

ثانيا: ترشيد نظم دعم الغذاء عن طريق تطوير األساليب اإلستهدافية.

اإلقليمي، المستوى الغذائية وتكاليفها على المختلفة لإلحتياطات البرامج الغاية من فهم أفضل عن ثالثا: تطوير والقطري، واألسري.

شراك الشباب بشكل أكثر فعالية في القوة العاملة. رابعا: إستكشاف سبل لتعزيز القدرات واإ

خامسا: تنفيذ شبكات أمان من خالل إستهداف أفضل للسكان األكثر تضررا من تقلب أسعار الغذاء.

سادسا: إقامة أطر تأمين زراعي لحماية أصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة من التقلب في أسعار الغذاء.

سابعا: إستكشاف السبل الممكنة للحد من تلف الغذاء في اإلقليم.

الشاملة القضايا ج.

أوال: إنشاء آلية ألصحاب الشأن المتعددين من أجل تشجيع التعاون اإلقليمي في مجال األمن الغذائي والتغذية. الهياكل على تستند أن ينبغي التي اآللية هذه إلنشاء سبل عن االقليميين الشأن أصحاب يبحث أن وينبغي

القائمة.

الحوار بين جميع أصحاب القطري من خالل توسيع بينها على الصعيد السياسات والتنسيق ثانيا: تعزيز إتساق دارات الخدمات، إلخ.(. الشأن المعنيين باألمن الغذائي والتغذية )مثل الوزراء ،واإ

ثالثا: تعزيز التعاون اإلقليمي بهدف تخصيص اإلنتاج الغذائي استنادا إلى المزايا النسبية، وتعزيز التجارة البين إقليمية.

االستهالك. أنماط لتغيير للمستهلكين النصح إسداء رابعا:

الحيازات أصحا يراعي الذي اإلستثمار خالل من الغذائي األمن زيادة السياسات: عن مستديرة مائدة إجتماع الصغيرة في قطاع الزراعة

35. ركز العرض التقديمي األول عن السياسات في هذا االجتماع على اإلستثمار الذي يراعي أصحاب الحيازات الحيازات ألصحاب المراعية التشاركية اإلستثمارات تحسين وكيفية دعمه، وكيفية الزراعة، قطاع في الصغيرة البيئة والمرونة، وتعزيز الزراعي، والمحافظة على اإلنتاج المتمثلة في زيادة المتعددة لتحقيق األهداف الصغيرة، التغذية. وأقر العرض التقديمي بأهمية دور أصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة في إنتاج الجزء األكبر من المواد الغذائية

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سياق األمن الغذائي القطري التي أصبحت ضرورية نتيجة لزيادة الطلب وتناقص العرض على األراضي والموارد الموارد هذه استخدام حقوق على وغيرهم والمجتمعات، الناس، حصول كيفية لتحسين حاجة وهناك الطبيعية. والسيطرة عليها. وتم إطالع المشاركين على دور الخطوط التوجيهية، والجدول الزمني، وعملية إعدادهم والتصديق

عليهم من قبل لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي.

31. تم إنشاء نظام المعلومات المتعلقة باألسواق الزراعية )AMIS( لمعالجة فجوة المعلومات السوقية العالمية العديد من الخدمات، وعدم كفاية قدرات الروابط بين مقدمي بيانات رسمية بسبب ضعف الناتجة عن عدم توافر وتشمل السياسات. بين التنسيق عملية وكذا السوق معلومات توفير وضعف المطلوبة، البيانات لجمع البلدان المعلومات األساسية التي يقدمها النظام تطوير ونشر مواد إعالمية عالية الجودة وحسنة التوقيت وتحليلها، وتطوير لبناء البلدان المساعدة إلى الـ )AMIS( تقديم الهامة لنظام النواحي األخرى منهجيات ومؤشرات مناسبة. وتشمل الغذائية للمواد العالمية باألسعار تنبيهات صدار واإ الغذائية، المواد سوق توقعات معلومات جمع بشأن القدرات التنبيهات، المصدرة والمستوردة عند إصدار الرئيسية بالدول الخاصة السياسية الحاجة، وتنسيق اإلستجابات عند

والعمل بشكل وثيق مع لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي.

)FAPDA( »32. تم تطوير آليات تحليل القرارات المتعلقة بسياسات األغذية والزراعة التابعة لمنظمة »الفاوالعالمي المستويين الغذائي على األمن لتحقيق البلدان األعضاء بسياسات المتعلقة القرارات تناسق للمساهمة في

والقطري.

المترتبة والتداعيات الغذائية المواد أسعار بإرتفاع المتعلقة القضايا من ومناقشة عدد بطرح المشاركون قام .33عليها وقدموا توصيات لمعالجة هذه القضايا. وقد أدت الدوافع الموضوعية المتعلقة بسوق السلع الزراعية والسيما تقلبات األسعار المحاطة بالشكوك. وتم تسليط الضوء على الكلي، وزيادة التأثير الحد من المخزونات إلى زيادة الرئيسية األسباب من كونها الطاقة عن فضال اآلفات، ومبيدات األسمدة وخاصة المدخالت، أسعار ارتفاع إلرتفاع تكاليف اإلنتاج. وناقش المندوبون إمكانية استخدام البدائل اآلمنة ومصادر الطاقة المتجددة غير التقليدية لتغييرات مناخية، فضال اإلقليم الزراعي وتعرض اإلنتاج المناخ على تغير أثر مناقشة تم الزراعي. كما لإلنتاج عن إمكانيات إعادة النظر في أنماط اإلنتاج الزراعي للتأقلم مع هذه التغييرات. وتم التأكيد على ضرورة التعاون الشرق بلدان معظم في الزراعية األراضي في للتوسع المحدودة اإلمكانات من الرغم وعلى والدولي. اإلقليمي األدنى، تزداد عملية تحويل األراضي الزراعية إلى مساكن بشكل مستمر نتيجة للضغط السكاني المتصاعد. وتمت المشاركون عن مخاوفهم بشأن الزراعي. كما أعرب اإلنتاج بين إقليمي والتكامل البين التعاون إمكانيات مناقشة حماية المستهلك، وأهمية صياغة وتفعيل القوانين واللوائح، وكذلك وضع آليات للتسويق ربما من خالل التعاونيات،

والمستهلكين. للمنتجين أسعار عادلة الوسطاء وضمان لخفض هوامش

34. واقترح المشاركون في نهاية اجتماع المائدة المستديرة عن السياسات التوصيات الرئيسية التالية لعرضها على العالمي: الغذائي للجنة األمن السابعة والثالثين الدورة إلى العامة وتقديمها الجلسة

الحد من تقلبات أسعار المواد الغذائية واإلستفادة من إرتفاعهاأ.

أوال: البحث عن أساليب مبتكرة لتبادل التجارب القطرية، وتشارك المعارف، ونقل التكنولوجيا )مثل استخدام الهواتف الخلوية(، وبخاصة في مجاالت إدارة المياه واألراضي. ورفع طلب إلى منظمة األغذية والزراعة لتنظيم حلقة عمل

حول هذا الموضوع.

استفادتهم من منتجاتهم وضمان الصغيرة وتسويق الحيازات إنتاج أصحاب لدعم التعاونية األنظمة تعزيز ثانيا: األسعار المرتفعة لألغذية ) بدال من الوسطاء فقط(.

ثالثا: تحسين كفاءة إدارة سلسلة اإلمداد للحد من إتساع الفجوة بين أسعار المنتجين والمستهلكين.

رابعا: تعزيز اإلدارة المستدامة للموارد الطبيعية من خالل: تنفيذ اإلتفاقيات البيئية الدولية مثل إتفاقية مكافحة التصحر، وحماية التنوع البيولوجي، وتعزيز استخدام الطاقات المتجددة للحد من اإلعتماد على النفط وغيرها من مصادر الطاقة التقليدية.

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الغذائي؛ لألمن الموجهة للتهديدات والفعالة السريعة لإلستجابة الدولي والمجتمع

الغذائي؛• صياغة إستراتيجيات قومية شاملة بشأن األمن

إتخاذ تدابير للحد من تلف الطعام وفواقد ما بعد الحصاد.•

26. وللتخفيف من اآلثار السلبية لتقلبات األسعار، ركز العرض على الحاجة إلى صياغة إستراتيجيات الحماية وتجنب الغذاء على اإلنفاق لزيادة التصدي على الفقراء قدرة لتحسين اإلجتماعي، األمان وشبكات اإلجتماعية

بيع األصول ذات األهمية للمعيشة. وشمل ذلك:

تطوير آليات إدارة المخاطر لتمكين صغار المنتجين من حماية أنفسهم من تقلب األسعار والمخاطر المتعلقة •بالطقس؛

تقديم الدعم الدولي من خالل التمويل التعويضي لمساعدة البلدان على تجنب اآلثار السلبية على النمو نتيجة •للتغيرات الحادة في أسعار السلع ومن خالل التسهيالت األخرى التي من شأنها تمكين البالد من تمويل وارداتها

الحاجة؛ عند الغذائية

الغذائية وتقلبها؛• الغذائية في أوقات إرتفاع أسعار المواد تسهيالت للحصول على المعونة

آليات التغطية مثل استخدام أسواق مستقبلية لضمان الحصول على واردات غذائية في الموعد المناسب بأسعار •أكثر استقرارا، مما يؤدي إلى توفير حماية ضد تقلبات أسعار الغذاء.

27. تناول العرض التقديمي الثاني األبعاد اإلقليمية بشأن إرتفاع أسعار المواد الغذائية وتقلبها. ويتعرض الشرق المالية القدرة للغالل، لصدمات األسعار، كما تعرقل للغذاء وأكبر مستورد األدنى بشكل كبير، كمستورد صافي المحدودة للعديد من بلدان اإلقليم قدراتها على سداد قيمة واردات الغذاء، وتوفير شبكات األمان. وقد عدد العرض التقديمي اإلجراءات السياسية بشأن معالجة آثار إرتفاع أسعار المواد الغذائية، كما أكد العرض على تركيز تلك اإلجراءات على التوفير العاجل للمواد الغذائية وبدرجة أقل على المدى البعيد. وفيما يتعلق باإلمدادات، إستجاب صغار المنتجين بشكل إيجابي إلرتفاع أسعار المواد الغذائية ولكن مكاسبهم إنخفضت بسبب العديد من العراقيل

بالسياسات. والمتعلقة الهيكلية

28. تستند اإلجراءات الالزمة بشأن تقلب أسعار المواد الغذائية في اإلقليم على ثالث ركائز:

صالح دعوم أ. التقليل من أثر الصدمات الناجمة عن أسعار المواد الغذائية من خالل تعزيز شبكات األمان، واإالمواد الغذائية لضمان حسن إستهداف السكان المعرضين للضرر، وتزويد عامة الشعب بإمكانية الحصول على

التعليم؛ تنظيم األسرة، وتشجيع خدمات

البحث في اإلستثمار زيادة الزراعية من خالل اإلنتاجية تحسين المحلية عن طريق الغذائية الموارد تعزيز ب. والتطوير، ومن خالل تعزيز التعاون اإلقليمي في مجال التجارة واإلستثمار؛

وتقييم والقطري، اإلقليمي الصعيدين على الغذائية المعلومات نظم تطوير خالل من السوق تقلبات إدارة ج. ستخدام آليات تغطية المخاطر المالية ذات الصلة، وبناء القدرات البشرية إمكانية اإلحتفاظ باحتياطات غذائية، واإ

وتنفيذها. السياسات وتنسيقها أجل تحسين صياغة من

29. قدمت ثالثة عروض تقديمية داعمة إضافية في هذه الجلسة إلطالع حلقة العمل على:

30. الخطوط التوجيهية الطوعية بشأن الحوكمة المسؤولة لملكية األراضي ومصايد األسماك والغابات في

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العملية فترات السكن، خالل مثل أخرى، الزراعية ألغراض لألراضي الغير مراقب بالتحويل االهتمام إيالء ز. اإلنتقالية؛

على المالي والعبء السوق تشوهات من للحد إليها حاجة في الذين أولئك الدعم اعتمادات إستهداف ح. النظام على المواد هذه سيادة تغلب لتجنب الغالل محاصيل دعم بعملية اإلهتمام إيالء وينبغي الحكومات.

الغذائي مما قد يؤدي إلى سوء التغذية؛

ط. مراقبة سلسلة اإلنتاج الزراعي بأكملها للتأكد من أن ارتفاع األسعار يعود بالفائدة على المزارعين إضافة إلى التجار؛

ك. توفير االحتياطيات الغذائية لحاالت الطوارئ والمخزونات لدعم السكان النازحين بسبب عدم االستقرار؛

ل. نشر ثقافة التغذية على نطاق واسع؛

تكون أن وينبغي الشأن أصحاب لجميع شاملة الغذائي األمن تحقيق أجل من الشراكات تكون أن ينبغي م. فعالة؛ المؤسسات

ن. تعزيز التجارة اإلقليمية عن طريق الحد من الحواجز؛

س. رصد اآلفات واألمراض العابرة للحدود، وغيرها من التهديدات التي تواجهه سالمة الغذاء ومكافحتها؛

ع. ينبغي أن يكون تحقيق السالم في اإلقليم األولوية األولى.

مائدة مستديرة عن السياسات: تقل أسعار الغذاءحول الدائم العالمي القلق السياسات، عن المستديرة المائدة اجتماع في األول التقديمي العرض أوضح .24وبالرغم األسعار. هذه الرتفاع الرئيسية الدوافع واستعرض وتقلبها، الغذائية المواد ألسعار المتواصل اإلرتفاع مما أرضا، يملكون ال والذين بالذات الحضر لفقراء بالنسبة األقوى كانت أنها إال بأثارها، الواسع الشعور من األسعار، تقلب الناتجة عن الشكوك زيادة أيضا أثرت وقد الغذائي. األمن ويهدد الفقر في شراك الوقوع يعزز الزراعي، القطاع في اإلنتاجية نمو معدل زيادة في التحدي ويتمثل الغذائي. اإلنتاج لزيادة اإلستثمار على الغذائية وتقلبها على المواد السلبية بشأن إرتفاع أسعار القدرة على مواجهة الصدمات، وتخفيف اآلثار وتحسين

. المستهلكين25. كما استعرض العرض التقديمي مجموعة من الخيارات بشأن السياسات للحد من تقلبات أسعار المواد الغذائية أسعار تقلبات األساسية حول المعلومات وثيقة العالمي، كما ورد في الصعيد السلبية على آثارها والتخفيف من األغذية، الخاصة باجتماع المائدة المستديرة عن السياسات، للدورة السابعة والثالثون للجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي الصدمات ومواجهة الزراعية اإلنتاجية نمو معدل لتعزيز اإلستثمارات زيادة وتعد أ(. رقم الرابع الملحق )انظر

أمرا جوهريا لمعالجة تقلب أسعار الغذاء. وتشمل أيضا اإلجراءات الالزمة لزيادة إنتاج الغذاء وتوافره ما يلي:

التكنولوجيا،• الزراعية ونقل البحوث إلى الدعم تقديم لتقليل مخاطر األسعار واإلسهام في صياغة هذه األسعار،• تنظيم أسواق السلع الزراعية المستقبلية المحلية؛• لتحقيق اإلستقرار في األسعار الغذاء احتياطيات إستخدام تتسم • قواعد على قائم األطراف متعدد تجاري نظام قواعد وترسيخ الدولية، السوق مع النامية البلدان إدماج

والعدالة؛ والمساءلة بالشفافية الحكومة • وتأهب السياسات، بين التنسيق لتعزيز )AMIS( الزراعية باألسواق المتعلقة المعلومات نظام دعم

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على األراضي الزراعية، واإلعتماد على واردات المواد الغذائية، والموقف السلبي للدولة إزاء الزراعة. وقد أثرت العملية إالنتقالية الراهنة سلبا على األمن الغذائي واإلرتفاع المؤقت لنسبة الفقر حتى اآلن نتيجة للتباطؤ في النمو االقتصادي )٪1.2 - ٪2.0(، وفي اإلنتاج الزراعي. وكان التراجع الحاد في قطاع السياحة وروابطها الهيكلية والوظيفية التي تصل إلى ما يقرب من 27 قطاعا فضال عن إضطرابات العالقات الصناعية واإلضرابات المتكررة سببا للقلق. كما تسببت أيضا عودة العمال المصريين من ليبيا، نتيجة لعملية التحول اإلجتماعي والسياسي هناك،

في حرمان اإلقتصاد المصري من التحويالت المالية.

الحرية أجل من المشروعة الشعب لتطلعات إنعكاسا تونس في السياسي اإلجتماعي اإلنتقال عملية تمثل .21اإلنتقالية الحكومة عملت وقد إجتماعيا. المهمشين واألقاليم السكان مراعاة مع للثروة العادل والتوزيع والكرامة العدالة، قيم إلى إستنادا 2012-2016 من للفترة واإلجتماعية اإلقتصادية للتنمية إستراتيجية تحديد على فورا لتشجيع األعمال بيئة والمالية، وحسن اإلقتصادية القطاعات في الثقة ذلك أعاد وقد الرشيد. والحكم والشفافية، اإلستثمار والمبادرات الخاصة. وباإلضافة إلى ذلك، تم إطالق برنامج طارئ لخلق فرص عمل، وتعزيز التنمية وتعزيز الغذائي، األمن توطيد الزراعي بالقطاع األولويات تحديد إعادة وتشمل الخاص. واإلستثمار اإلقليمية

المتسارعة. التنمية اإلقليمية الريفية، فضال عن بالمناطق الشباب القطاع في تشجيع عمالة مساهمة هذا فبينما يهدد ارتفاع الغذائي، بمداخلة بشأن اإلجراءات اإلقليمية لمعالجة قضية األمن 22. قامت منظمة “الفاو” أسعار المواد الغذائية وتقلبها الماليين من المستهلكين، اإل أنها توفر أيضا فرصا للمنتجين لزيادة اإلنتاج، خاصة وأن الغالت منخفضة كما هو الحال في الشرق األدنى. وسوف يؤدي ذلك إلى زيادة توافر األغذية، وتعزيز القدرة على مواجهة الصدمات. وتشمل جهود منظمة الفاو في هذا االتجاه تحديث إطار العمل الشامل )UCFA(، فضال عن إتخاذ إجراءات على الصعيدين اإلقليمي والقطري. ويتناول إطار العمل الشامل الهدف اإلنمائي األول لأللفية الذي يتمثل في “القضاء على الفقر المدقع والجوع” من خالل تلبية اإلحتياجات العاجلة للفئات الضعيفة، ودعم والتغذوي الغذائي األمن تحقيق في والمساهمة الطويل، المدى على المرونة وبناء والمساءلة، المعلومات نظم العالمي. وشملت اإلجراءات التي تتخذها منظمة الفاو على الصعيد اإلقليمي للشرق األدنى إنشاء الشبكة االقليمية الغذائي، لألمن اإلقليمي والبرنامج ،)NENARNAP( أفريقيا وشمال األدنى الشرق فى الزراعية للسياسات نشاء واإ لألزمات، واإلستجابة الغذائية النظم حوكمة لتعزيز مبكر إنذار ووحدة اإلقليمي، الغذائي األمن وتحليل

آليات إلدارة المعلومات الالزمة لصنع القرار.إلى وتقديمها العام االجتماع في لمناقشتها التالية الرئيسية التوصيات الجلسة نهاية في المشاركون إقترح .23

العالمي: الغذائي للجنة األمن السابعة والثالثين الدورة كل في قضايا ثالثة إلى اثنين من وتتناول العام خالل مرتين تجتمع اإلقليمي الغذائي لألمن لجنة تشكيل أ.

إجتماع؛ب. أن هناك حاجة ملحة على المستوى القطري لتنسيق الجهود ووضع آليات تشمل السياسات الشاملة لمعالجة

اإلنتقالية؛ بالعملية المتعلقة التطورات والتغذية، ورصد الغذائي األمن قضايا ج. إنشاء شبكة إقليمية للسياسات تمكن واضعي السياسات من تشارك المعلومات، والممارسات السليمة، والدروس

فاعليتها؛ والجديدة لضمان القائمة للسياسات الدقيق الفحص ينبغي اإلنتقالية، الفترات المستفادة. وفي الفعال التوقيت، بشأن اإلنتاج الزراعي وأبعاد السوق، ونشرها إلتاحة الرصد الدقيقة حسنة المعلومات د. تحليل لألمن الغذائي والتغذية على الصعيدين القطري واإلقليمي. واآلليات موجودة ولكنها تحتاج إلى القدرة على تنفيذها.المرأة توظيف على خاص بشكل التركيز مع والحضرية، الريفية المناطق من كل في عمل فرص خلق ه.

والشباب؛و. زيادة اإلستثمار في مجال التكثيف المستدام للزراعة، وخفض فواقد الغذاء، وتحسين جودة األغذية وسالمتها، ال وحيثما األسعار. تقلب وراء الكامنة األسباب ومعالجة والتغذية، الغذائي األمن لتحسين جوهرية أمور وهي

توجد، فهناك حاجة إلى االستثمار في البرامج اإلقليمية والقطرية لتحقيق األمن الغذائي؛

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السياسات(؛ الشأن )فجوة تنسيق المتزامنة لمجموعة كبيرة من أصحاب الجهود وتوجيه د( بناء على طلب البلدان و/أو األقاليم تيسير إتاحة الدعم و/أو المشورة في تطوير، وتنفيذ، ورصد وتقييم خطط

الرصد/المحاسبة(؛ )فجوة واإلقليمية القطرية العمل

ورؤساء المشاركين، الغذائية، لألنظمة اإلقليمي اإلقتصادي الخبير أبو ضاهر، يوسف محمد السيد/ قدم .16الجلسات، وسلط الضوء على الدافع وراء حلقة العمل، وأهدافها، والنتائج المتوقعة. وذكر أن حلقة العمل سوف التي اإلجراءات تخاذ واإ السياسات اإلقليم في صياغة لبلدان الدعم لتقديم الطريق تمهيد النهاية على في تساعد

من شأنها تعزيز األمن الغذائي والتغذية.

والتوصيات والمناقشات التقديمية العروض بشأن موجز الغذائي األمن على انعكاساتها - األدنى الشرق في والسياسية اإلجتماعية اإلنتقالية العملية السياق: تحديد

والتغذية

اإلقليم، في والسياسية اإلجتماعية اإلنتقالية العملية بإيجاز الجلسة هذه في األول التقديمي العرض تناول .17الديموغرافي في اإلقليم وأسبابها الرئيسية والعواقب المحتملة بالنسبة لألمن الغذائي. وقد إستمرت عملية اإلنتقال في عام 30٪ إرتفع من الذي العمراني التوسع الرغم من الغذائي على لألمن تحديا تمثل الوقت، وهي لبعض 1960 إلى ٪57 في عام 2010. وقد فشل االقتصاد في تلبية طلب الحصول على وظائف، حيث يسجل اإلقليم أدنى معدالت العمالة في العالم )%47 اإلجمالي، و21% للنساء، و%34 للشباب( ومعدالت مرتفعة جدا من فإن ،)% 4( للفقر معدل أدنى األدنى سجل الشرق أن الرغم من الريفية. وعلى المناطق في البطالة ال سيما المعدل يتزايد أكثر من أي إقليم أخر، و يؤثر على جميع المناطق الحضرية والريفية، بل وأكثر من ذلك بالنسبة الفقراء، بين وخاصة الغذائي، األمن إنعدام تفاقم وقد أرضا. يملكون ال الذين الريف وسكان الحضر لسكان بسبب إرتفاع أسعار المواد الغذائية. وال تمثل هذه الظاهرة مظهرا من مظاهر القوى الخارجية فحسب ألن اإلقليم مستورد صافي للغذاء، ولكنها أيضا أحد مشكالت حوكمة السوق حيث إرتفاع أسعار المنتجات الغذائية المحلية خالل األسعار إرتفعت المثال، سبيل على مصر، ففي الواردات. أسعار عن بكثير أعلى البلدان بعض في الفترة بين 2008-2004 بنسبة %66 بالنسبة للغالل، التي يتم إستيراد معظمها، بينما ارتفعت أسعار المنتجات الغذائية المحلية بنسبة ٪70 للحوم واألسماك، و ٪82 لمنتجات األلبان، و ٪102 للخضر، و ٪139 للفاكهة.

أيضا اإلنتقالية »الثورة« تسببت والكرامة، الحرية أجل من للسكان المشروعة التطلعات إلى باإلضافة .18اإلنتاجية ذلك ركود نتج عن اإلنتاجية. وقد القطاعات بإقصاء وتهميش الخاص السائد السياسي االقتصاد عن أو الصناعي، القطاع ركود أدى وقد الطبيعية. الموارد وتدهور المزارعين، لمعظم الدخل نخفاض واإ الزراعية، حتى عملية تقليص النشاط الصناعي، وسيطرة قطاع الخدمات، والوظائف غير المنتجة لغالبية السكان إلى تفاقم الوضع. وقد شكلت ثمار النمو اإلقتصادي فائدة فقط بالنسبة لألقلية التي كفلت قوتها السياسية واالقتصادية من

المحسوبية. خالل

ما توليد شأنها من التي اإلنتاجية األنشطة بتطوير تتعلق تحديات اإلنتقالية المرحلة في االقتصاد يواجه .19يقرب من 30 إلى 60 مليون فرصة عمل خالل العقدين المقبلين، وتنويع االقتصاد الريفي، وتعزيز تنمية المدن

والصغيرة. المهمشة

وتم حصر الالحقة. التقديمية العروض موضوع هي االنتقالية العملية وتونس خالل مصر تجارب كانت .20التحديات التي تواجه األمن الغذائي وتقييمها في العرض التقديمي الخاص بالتجربة المصرية. وقد انعكس ارتفاع أسعار المواد الغذائية العالمية على ارتفاع أسعار المواد الغذائية بنسبة ٪33 خالل العام الماضي، مما أدى إلى زيادة الفقر حيث يتم إنفاق ما يصل إلى ٪54 من إيرادات األسر في مصر على الغذاء. وتأثر األمن الغذائي القطري بدرجة أكثر جراء القيود المفروضة على الصادرات نظرا ألن مصر هي أكبر مستورد للقمح في العالم. العمراني والزحف السكاني، والضغط الموارد، تدهور الغذائي األمن على تؤثر التي الداخلية العوامل وتشمل

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لدى الزراعية التنمية اقتصاديات شعبة ومدير العالمي الغذائي األمن لجنة أمين ستاموليس، كوستاس والسيد/ منظمة »الفاو«. ويمكن االطالع على النص الكامل للكلمة االفتتاحية والخطابات اإلفتتاحية في الملحق الثالث.األغذية لمنظمة األدنى للشرق اإلقليمى المكتب بين بالتعاون العتيبي السيد/ أقر االفتتاحية، كلمته وفي .12الدورة لتوصية إستجابة العمل حلقة تنظيم في العالمي الغذائي األمن ولجنة )الفاو( المتحدة لألمم والزراعة األدنى الشرق لدول اإلقليمية األولويات إلطار متثاال واإ )NERC( األدنى للشرق إالقليمى للمؤتمر الثالثين )RPF( الذي أقره المؤتمر إالقليمى المذكور )NERC( في دورته الثالثين. ويعطي اإلطار المشار إليه األولوية القصوى لألمن الغذائي في اإلقليم. وأكد السيد/ العتيبي أيضا على التوقيت المناسب لحلقة العمل في ظل عملية اإلنتقال االجتماعي والسياسي الشديدة األهمية التي يمر بها اإلقليم. كما لفت االنتباه إلى اآلثار السلبية القصيرة األجل المحتملة للعملية اإلنتقالية والسيما على الفقراء. كما ألقي السيد/ العتيبي الضوء على دور المكتب اإلقليمى للشرق األدنى لمنظمة الفاو في مساعدة بلدان الشرق األدنى على إتخاذ اإلجراءات الالزمة على المدى الطويل الخيارات اآلراء حول وتبادل ومناظرة مناقشة إلى العمل حلقة ودعى والتغذية. المستدام الغذائي األمن لتحقيق

القرار. للحكومات وصناع للتنفيذ قابلة تحليالت سليمة وواقعية، وتوصيات وتقديم اإلستراتيجية، “الفاو” لمنظمة تقدير حكومته بالمشاركين وأعرب عن اإلفتتاحي المصري في خطابه الزراعة 13. رحب وزير وسلط الغذائي. واألمن الزراعية التنمية لتعزيز مصر في المتضافرة الجهود لدعمهم المتحدة األمم ومنظومة التنمية استراتيجية صياغة ذلك في بما األخيرة اآلونة في إطالقها تم التي الهامة البرامج بعض على الضوء وأشار الغذائي. واألمن الزراعة سياسات لصياغة اإلستشاري المجلس نشاء واإ ،2030 عام المستدامة الزراعية الوزير إلى العبء الثقيل لبرنامج الدعم على الميزانية القطرية من حيث اإلجمالي السنوي بالنسبة للسلع الغذائية جنيه. مليار 18 تبلغ التي الزراعي لإلنتاج المدعمة والقروض مصري، جنيه مليار 21 يبلغ الذي األساسية األجل قصير تمويل إلى حاجة في مصر أن الفقر، خط تحت يعيشون الذين السكان عدد في الزيادة وتعني الغذائي األمن وتحسين الشباب، لتوظيف برامج طالق واإ الضعيفة، للفئات اإلجتماعي الضمان شبكات لتوسيع

والتغذية وخاصة بالنسبة لألمهات واألطفال .14. قام السيد مايكل ميتشنر، متحدثا نيابة عن رئيس لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي، بإلقاء الضوء على السمات البارزة إلصالح لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي، والتحديات والفرص التي يقدمها هذا اإلصالح في سياق المبادرات اإلقليمية والروابط اإلقليمية األخرى. وذكر أن لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي التي أجريت عليها إصالحات أصبحت والقطرية، واإلقليمية العالمية المستويات على الشأن أصحاب جميع من بمساهمات تسمح هيكلية ذات حاليا كما أنها تعمل جنبا إلى جنب مع الحكومات وبالتعاون مع المنظمات غير الحكومية ومنظمات المجتمع المدني والقطاع الخاص. وتكمن رؤيتها في أن تكون منبرا دوليا وفيما بين الحكومات لجميع أصحاب الشأن للعمل معا الغذائي إلى أن جزءا كبيرا من إصالح لجنة األمن للجميع. كما أشار الغذائي والتغذية من أجل ضمان األمن

هو تحقيق مزيد من المشاركة من جانب اإلقليم والبلدان.15. ركز السيد/ كوستاس ستاموليس، أمين لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي، على جدول أعمال اللجنة كأداة لتعزيز على وتقلباتها الغذاء أسعار إرتفاع مؤخرا فرضها التي التحديات أن إلى وأشار الغذائي. األمن إتساق حوكمة األمن الغذائي وغير ذلك من إستجابات السياسة العالمية، واإلقليمية، والقطرية غير المنسقة تؤكد الحاجة إلى هذا اإلتساق بشكل أكثر وضوحا من أي وقت مضى. وسلط الضوء على جدول أعمال لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي العالمي عن المستوى التنسيق على المنشود من خالل تعزيز تحقق اإلتساق تم إصالحها وكيف يمكن أن التي

طريق:األخرى والجهات اإلقليمية، والمنظمات الحكومات، بين التعاوني العمل لتعزيز والتنسيق للنقاش منبر توفير أ(

صاحبة الشأن )فجوة التنسيق(؛ب( تعزيز تشارك المعارف بين جميع أصحاب الشأن باللجنة وضمان مناقشتها ونشرها )فجوة المعارف(؛

ج( تشجيع قدر أكبر من التقارب والتنسيق بين السياسات، بما في ذلك من خالل صياغة إستراتيجيات وخطوط الخبرة من المستفادة والدروس الممارسات، أفضل إلى باإلستناد والتغذية الغذائي األمن بشأن طوعية توجيهية المحلية، واإلسهامات التي تم الحصول عليها على الصعيدين القطري واإلقليمي، ومشورة الخبراء، وآراء مختلف

أصحاب الشأن، ومن خالل وضع إطار إستراتيجي عالمي لألمن الغذائي والتغذية بهدف النهوض بالتنسيق

102

بالعراق خالل عام 2012؛ العمل والتوصيات الخاصة العالمي بإعداد تقرير حول حلقة الغذائي قامت منظمة “الفاو” وأمانة لجنة األمن

الفترة في المنعقدة العالمي الغذائي األمن للجنة والثالثين السابعة للدورة العامة الجلسة إلى لتقديمها بالسياسات بين 17 - 22 أكتوبر 2011.

التنظيمية البنية املشاركون

7. ضمت حلقة العمل 86 مشاركا من 13 بلدا عضوا )الجزائر، مصر، إيران، األردن، لبنان، المغرب، األراضي الفلسطينية المحتلة، عمان، المملكة العربية السعودية، السودان، سوريا، تونس، اليمن(، فضال عن وكاالت األمم المشتركة األمانة من كجزء الزراعية للتنمية الدولي والصندوق العالمي، األغذية برنامج ذلك في بما المتحدة، ومنظمات الخاص، والقطاع المزارعين، وروابط الحكومية، غير والمنظمات العالمي، الغذائي األمن للجنة الدول من كل مثل وقد اإلقليمية. والمنظمات األخرى، التمويل ومؤسسات المانحة، والجهات المدني، المجتمع الزراعة واآلخر من وزارة أخرى ذات المسؤولين، أحدهما من وزارة اثنين من كبار الثالثة عشر ما ال يقل عن

1 قائمة المشاركين(. صلة. )انظر ملحق

التقدميية والعروض املعلومات وثائق

زراعة في واالستثمار األغذية، أسعار تقلب بشأن السياسات عن المستديرة الموائد باجتماعات يتعلق 8. فيما األساسية على المعلومات وثائق تقديم تم والتغذية، الغذائي واألمن الجنسين، بين والمساواة الصغيرة، الحيازات إعدادها تم التي األساسية المعلومات وثيقة نفس هي العالمية الوثيقة وكانت واإلقليمي. العالمي الصعيدين وتم العالمي. الغذائي األمن للجنة والثالثين السابعة الدورة في السياسات عن المستديرة الموائد الجتماعات إعداد الوثائق اإلقليمية خصيصا لهذه الحلقة. وقد تضمنت كل وثيقة معلومات أساسية عن التحديات، والقضايا أدرجت وقد العالمي. الغذائي األمن لجنة اهتمام أجل المعروضة من والمسائل السياسية، والتداعيات الرئيسية،

الرابع والخامس والسادس. المالحق العالمية واإلقليمية في بالمعلومات األساسية الخاصة الوثائق الجلسة في تقديمية عروض ثالث تقديم وتم األساسية. المعلومات وثائق إلى التقديمية العروض استندت .9المنظور واحدة قدمت وقد والتغذية. الغذائي األمن على والسياسية االجتماعية اإلنتقالية العملية بآثار الخاصة الخطوط عن المشاركين معلومات تحديث وتم ومصر. تونس تجارب على اآلخرين العرضين وركز اإلقليمي، التوجيهية التي أعدتها منظمة الفاو، واآلليات، والبرامج، وتقنيات الدعم ذات الصلة بالموضوع الذي تم مناقشته،

وذلك في نهاية كل دورة.

املناقشة صيغة

استخدام تم الالحقة، بالجلسات يتعلق وفيما إفتتاحية. أعقبها خطابات افتتاحية بكلمة العمل افتتحت حلقة .10أسلوب المائد المستديرة من أجل تسهيل المناقشات. وتكونت كل جلسة من رئيس الجلسة، والمقرر، والمشاركين. الشأن أصحاب من واسعة طائفة المشاركون ومثل لهم. الممثلين المقررين بإختيار األعضاء الدول قامت وقد مثل الحكومات، والمنظمات الدولية، والمنظمات الشعبية ومنظمات المجتمع المدني، والقطاع الخاص. وقد افتتح رئيس قام مفتوحة مناقشة ذلك وأعقب التقديمية، عروضهم لتقديم المشاركين دعوة طريق عن الجلسة الرئيس المتعلقة التوصيات المقرر لصياغة الجلسة بشكل وثيق مع الجلسة، كما عمل رئيس بإيجازها في ختام الجلسة السابعة الدورة إلى التوصيات هذه وقدمت الختامية. الجلسة في المشاركين على عرضت التي بالسياسات

العالمي. الغذائي األمن للجنة والثالثين

العمل لحلقة اإلقليمي المنظور 11. ألقى الكلمة االفتتاحية السيد/ سعد العتيبي، المدير العام المساعد لمنظمة »الفاو« والممثل إالقليمى للشرق ستصالح األراضي بجمهورية األدنى. وأعقب ذلك خطابات إفتتاحية من قبل السيد/ صالح يوسف، وزير الزراعة واإاللجنة، هذه رئيس نيابة عن العالمي الغذائي األمن لجنة مكتب ميتشينر، عضو مايك والسيد/ العربية، مصر

103

مقدمةالمياه . 1 نقص بلدانه من العديد من وتعاني العالم، في األكثر جفافا األقاليم بين األدنى واحدا من الشرق يعد

وتدهور في نوعية التربة حيث يؤثر كليهما على إنتاج األغذية. وتسود الزراعة التقليدية كما أن األحداث المناخية بتفشي المقرون السكاني النمو زيادة أدى وقد المستدامة. التنمية تحقيق أجل المبذولة من الجهود بشدة تقوض الفقر إلى زيادة معدل البطالة في المناطق الريفية والحضرية على حد سواء، مما أدى إلى تفاقم حالة انعدام األمن الغذائي ونقص التغذية. كما أدت اإلضطرابات المدنية والتوترات اإلجتماعية التي تمثل جزءا من عملية اإلنتقال

اإلجتماعي والسياسي، إلى تهديد التنمية الزراعية واألمن الغذائي في العديد من البلدان.األدنى . 2 الشرق في والتغذية الغذائي األمن في المتعددين الشأن ألصحاب اإلقليمية العمل حلقة تنظيم تم

التي )NERC( األدنى للشرق اإلقليمى الفاو منظمة لمؤتمر الثالثين الدورة من المرفوعة للتوصية إستجابة إنعقدت في الخرطوم- السودان في ديسمبر 2010. وقد أوصى بأن يقوم المكتب اإلقليمى للشرق األدنى لمنظمة وكاالت مع بالتعاون ،)CFS( العالمي الغذائي األمن ولجنة )FAO/RNE( المتحدة لألمم والزراعة األغذية األمن للجنة والثالثين السابعة الدورة انعقاد قبل مشتركة عمل حلقة بعقد الصـلة، ذات األخرى المتحدة األمم الغذائي العالمي )17 - 22 أكتوبر 2011( من أجل تعزيز الروابط والتوصل إلى توافق مشترك بشأن قضايا األمن

اإلقليمية. الغذائي شملت الموضوعات التي تمت مناقشتها في الموائد المستديرة بشأن السياسات، تقلب أسعار الغذاء، واإلستثمار . 3

الموضوعات هذه عكست وقد والتغذية. الغذائي واألمن الجنسين، بين والمساواة الصغيرة، الحيازات زراعة في العالمي، الغذائي األمن للجنة والثالثين السابعة الدورة في السياسات بشأن المستديرة المائدة إجتماعات الثالثة اإلنتقال عملية أثر حول آخر مستديرة مائدة إجتماع عقد وتم المنطقة. في األهمية شديدة موضوعات وهي

اإلجتماعي والسياسي الحالي في بعض البلدان على األمن الغذائي والتغذية.

األهدافالعمل:. 4 المحددة لحلقة شملت األهداف

إشراك مجموعة كبيرة من أصحاب الشأن المعنيين باألمن الغذائي والتغذية في منطقة الشرق األدنى في حوار •األمن تعزيز شأنها من التي السياسات بشأن محددة توصيات أسفرت عن رئيسية أربعة موضوعات بناء حول

الغذائي والتغذية في اإلقليم؛ البلدان • خاللها من تتمكن والتغذية، الغذائي لألمن فعالية أكثر إقليمية حوكمة آلية إنشاء في المساهمة

والمشاركون اآلخرون من تقديم مدخالت عن السياسات إلى لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي من خالل عملية تشاورية المتعددين. الشأن مع أصحاب

النتائج المشاركة: للبلدان 5.بالنسبة

الغذائي والتغذية المترتبة من عملية اإلنتقال اإلجتماعي واالقتصادي على األمن التداعيات المشاركون ناقش في المنطقة وتحديد السياسات التي تتناول التحديات التي تواجه األمن الغذائي والتغذية؛

مناقشة خالل من العالمي الغذائي األمن للجنة والثالثين السابعة الدورة أعمال جدول على الضوء تسليط الممارسات؛ الرأي عن أفضل الرئيسية وتبادل بالثالث موضوعات المتعلقة السياسة للخيارات المشاركين

اإلتفاق على اإلجراءات الموصى بها على الصعيد اإلقليمي من أجل تنفيذ سياسات متطورة، وتعزيز التقاربالمشترك. والعمل والتماسك السياسات، بين

6. بالنسبة لمنطقة الشرق األدنى، ولجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي، وشركاء التنمية: ،العالمي الغذائي األمن لجنة المحتملة مع الروابط األدنى الشرق المتعددين في منطقة الشأن تحديد أصحاب

ويتفقون على الخطوات المقبلة الالزمة إلنعقاد الدورة الحادية والثالثون للمؤتمر االقليمى للشرق األدنى في بغداد

جدول المحتويات

103مقدمة ...................................................................................................................................

103األهداف ................................................................................................................................103النتائج المتوقعة .......................................................................................................................103البنية التنظيمية ........................................................................................................................102المنظور اإلقليمي لحلقة العمل ......................................................................................................100موجز بشأن العروض التقديمية والمناقشات والتوصيات ......................................................................الغذائي انعكاساتها على األمن - الشرق األدنى اإلنتقالية اإلجتماعية والسياسية في العملية السياق: تحديد

............................................................................................................................. 100والتغذية 98مائدة مستديرة عن السياسات: تقلب أسعار الغذاء ............................................................................

مائدة مستديرة عن السياسات: زيادة األمن الغذائي من خالل اإلستثمار الذي يراعي أصحاب الحيازات الصغيرة 95في قطاع الزراعة ..................................................................................................................92مائدة مستديرة عن السياسات: المساواة بين الجنسين، واألمن الغذائي، والتغذية ........................................14المالحق ................................................................................................................................

)جميع املالحق باللغة اإلجنليزية(14الملحق األول: قائمة المشاركين ............................................................................................ 22الملحق الثاني: جدول األعمال والجدول الزمني لحلقة العمل .......................................................... 24الملحق الثالث الكلمة االفتتاحية والخطابات اإلفتتاحية ..................................................................

24د.سعد العتيبي، المدير العام المساعد لمنظمة ”الفاو“ والممثل إالقليمى للشرق األدنى .................................25معالي وزير الزراعة وإستصالح األراضي بجمهورية مصر العربية صالح يوسف .................................28السيد/ مايكل ميتشنر، متحدثا نيابة عن رئيس لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي ...............................................

السيد/ كوستاس ستاموليس، أمين لجنة األمن الغذائي العالمي ومدير شعبة اقتصاديات التنمية الزراعية لدى 31منظمة ”الفاو“ ......................................................................................................................35الملحق الرابع وثائق المعلومات األساسية عن تقلب أسعار الغذاء ............................................................35المنظور العالمي ...................................................................................................................35المنظور اإلقليمي ...................................................................................................................

الملحق الخامس وثائق المعلومات األساسية عن زيادة األمن الغذائي من خالل اإلستثمار الذي يراعي أصحاب 53الحيازات الصغيرة في قطاع الزراعة .............................................................................................53المنظور العالمي ...................................................................................................................53المنظور اإلقليمي ...................................................................................................................69الملحق السادس وثائق المعلومات األساسية عن المساواة بين الجنسين، واألمن الغذائي، والتغذية .....................69المنظور العالمي ...................................................................................................................84المنظور اإلقليمي ...................................................................................................................

حلقة عمل إقليمية ألصحاب الشأن المتعددينفي األمن الغذائي والتغذية في الشرق األدنى

3-4 أكتوبر 2011، القاهرة، مصر

المكتب اإلقليمى للشرق األدنى لمنظمة األغذية والزراعة لألمم المتحدة )الفاو(

القاهرة، مصر