Agriculture

“The Best Way to Break the Back of Poverty is Through Agriculture”

Feb 9th, 2012 5:19 PM UTC
By Tom Wallace

Yesterday I attended a packed event in the United Kingdom Houses of Parliament to hear His Excellency John Kufuor, Former President of Ghana and 2011 World Food Prize Laureate, speak on the progress his country has made on extreme poverty and hunger.

His Excellency John Kufuor won the World Food Prize in 2011 for his international and domestic leadership on promoting the value of agriculture in reducing poverty. Ghana is now recognised as the first developing country to reach the First Millennium Development Goal:  Halve Extreme Hunger and Poverty.

His Excellency explained to the crowd how this remarkable progress was no accident.   He recognised the role of Ghanaian debt cancellation, prioritising agriculture, putting in place clear and comprehensive plans of action and receiving donor support from the US Millennium Challenge Corporation in allowing Ghana to achieve this.  However it was the economic reforms, a national school nutrition programme strengthened and substantially increased public investment in agriculture that took place under his stewardship that resulted in the greatest benefit. It was this public investment in agriculture that was a major factor behind the halving of hunger and poverty and the increase in Ghana’s gross domestic product, which quadrupled from £2.6 billion in 2000 to £11 billion.

However the former president was keen to stress to the crowd that investment alone did not bring about this change but Ghana’s comprehensive “joined up” agriculture plan.  His Excellently told the crowd how providing farmers with education and farming tools isn’t enough without access to markets, and how diversification may not be possible without access to credit and micro finance.  The Ghanaian plan considered all of these things in a holistic way, but ensured agriculture was the priority.

This agriculture prioritisation is crucial.  Two-thirds of Africa, and in particular the poorest Africans, rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, and therefore, His Excellency said “The best way to break the back of poverty is through agriculture”.

His Excellency John Kufuor’s leadership has helped lift millions out of poverty and hunger, but former present also noted leadership is needed at all levels to tackle hunger and poverty around the world.  That is why we call on the G8 and the G20 to maintain their commitments to agricultural development and to align their investments with the plans of African countries.   Together by fulfilling these pledges and building local knowledge we can ensure agriculture remains a global priority and so help lift millions out of hunger and poverty.

Music legend Hugh Masekela joins our Hungry No More campaign

Jan 24th, 2012 8:00 PM UTC
By Dr Sipho Moyo

This blog post was first published on the ONE Africa Blog

As our Hungry No More campaign continues, famed musician and trumpeter Hugh Masekela joins us in calling on African leaders to focus investments in their agricultural sectors, which will contribute to growing their economies and reducing extreme poverty.

Hugh Masekela

Hugh’s support couldn’t come at a better time as the African Union Summit begins this week with our Heads of State in Addis Ababa. Now’s the perfect opportunity to continue our campaign and press our leaders to take action. We’ll be presenting your petition and signatures at the AU later this week!

Here’s what Hugh has to say:

Growing up as a musician in South Africa I witnessed first hand the man-made obscenity that was apartheid and used music to protest against injustice.

Apartheid is now consigned to the history books, but another obscenity still exists on our continent. A famine in Somalia that has killed 30,000 children in 3 months.

Yet the current crisis is a man-made disaster that could have been avoided.

As our leaders prepare to meet next week in Ethiopia to attend a critical summit, please join me in signing ONE’s petition:

The petition reads:

Dear African Leaders,
We are haunted by the famine in Somalia that has killed 30,000 children in 3 months. We respectfully request that you help make this the last famine by: 1) supporting delivery of promised emergency aid; 2) increasing effort on peace and security; 3) keeping the long-term promise toward spending 10% of national budgets on agriculture and food security; and 4) doing so transparently, so citizens can ensure this money is well spent.

With access to suitable seeds, technologies, and improved connections to markets, small-holder farmers can generate more income, send their children to school, help to keep food prices affordable and help lift their communities out of poverty.

When they meet next week our governments must show real leadership and ensure this is the last famine in Africa.

Please take action now.

Thank you for your support,

Hugh Masekela
Musician and ONE member

Join Hugh and our partners in signing the petition today.

Mo Farah’s next big challenge

Jan 20th, 2012 11:34 AM UTC
By Michael Healy

Mo Farah’s list of accolades is jaw dropping. Since arriving in the UK from war torn Somalia at the age of 8 he has risen through the ranks to become arguably the greatest long-distance runner in the history of UK athletics. He is currently 5,000m world champion, 10,000m silver medallist and one of the favourites for the pinnacle of athletics success at this summer’s Olympic games in London. He also holds a number of British and European records over those two distances. I’m exhausted just writing about it!

Mo can now add founding the Mo Farah Foundation to his impressive list of achievements. As a Somali native, Mo regularly visits family in the Horn of Africa and is all too aware of the problems that many in the region faces today. As such, his foundation is working to raise funds to provide essential lifelines to those suffering from malnutrition and starvation. In the longer term, they aim to provide and maintain community water wells, crop seeds for agricultural farming and the tools to sustain this essential way of life. Mo’s links to the country mean that this is an issue very close to his heart:

“As someone born in Somalia this is something that is very important to me. I’ve seen the situation out there and I want to help make a difference. There are kids out there right now who are starving and I want the foundation to be able to help them get over this and plan for the future. That’s why the work of organisations like ONE, which campaigns for better funding for solutions to the problems that lead to famine, is so important.”

This long term work is crucial for the development of the region and the importance of the work of groups like Mo’s Foundation cannot be underestimated. Most food crises are preventable and investments in agriculture can actually help people become more resilient to shocks such as drought. Other types of investments in rural roads, proper storage facilities, and access to improved seed varieties can also build tolerance to drought, save grains from previous seasons and help communities access food when drought strikes. But it is not just up to private foundations to tackle the problem. Government’s around the world need to improve their funding of long-term agricultural solutions for drought-stricken regions like the Horn of Africa.

In 2009, the G8 pledged $22 billion for agricultural development in developing countries and committed to principles to guide the quality, effectiveness, and accountability of their aid.  Some countries have clarified their commitments, outlining how much is new money and constructing plans that will ensure that the principles are upheld. However our recent report “Agricultural Accountability” revealed that G8 and G20 countries had only delivered on a fifth of the promised amount. This is unacceptable. We need governments to step up and work with partners like the Mo Farah Foundation to ensure that the world doesn’t slide back into another food crisis and, instead, find successful solutions to help ensure that droughts do not inevitably to famine.

To find out more, please visit www.mofarahfoundation.co.uk

Hungry No More in Africa

Dec 19th, 2011 2:48 PM UTC
By Dr Sipho Moyo

Beyond being a season for being merry, this is also traditionally a season for giving. As we wind down the year, we at ONE in Africa are asking you to give a thought to the 13.3 million people in the Horn of Africa, who still face extreme hunger. If this thought leaves you unsettled, you’re exactly the person who should join ONE in Africa today together with our partners, the National Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition in Nigeria and the Agricultural Non State Actors Forum in Tanzania, as we launch our Hungry No More campaign in Africa.

This campaign will be focused on challenging African leaders to demonstrate their resolve in tackling famine and other agriculture related problems on the continent by:

• Calling on African leaders to fulfill the 2003 Maputo Declaration on Agriculture, which called for 10% of budgets to be allocated to Agriculture and Rural Development
• Target investments in small-holder farmers (especially women) and encourage sustainable private resources for agricultural development
• A call for African Leaders to be transparent and accountable on progress to achieve the Maputo Declaration

As part of the campaign we have also launched a video featuring a host of African stars including Didier Drogba, Nameless, Habida Malooney, John Allan Namu, Sauti Sol, Camagwini, Tumisho Masha, Dady Owen, Omotola Jalade and Sipho Mabuse. With their help we aim to focus the world’s attention once again this critical issue.

Farming is vital to African economies, where 70 % of the population derives its livelihood from the soil. At the same time, agriculture development is crucial to poverty reduction, where food security is tied to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and especially MDG-1, which is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. This campaign intends to elevate this issue on the global political and public agendas because there is a powerful connection between the Horn of Africa crisis and agriculture, and it is a shame that we still debate famine in the 21^st century. We also need to help ensure African governments keep the promises they have made so that we can break the cycle of famine on the continent.

While the food crisis in the Horn of Africa tragically illustrates the impacts of drought and conflict, it also brings to the fore the effects of neglecting agriculture and local food systems. Reports of an emerging food crisis in the Sahel region highlight just how important this issue is.

Got to one.org/africa, sign the petition, and let’s put an end to famine.

LIVE: European Development Days

Dec 16th, 2011 9:41 AM UTC
By Tamira Gunzburg

The European Development Days are Europe’s premier forum on international affairs and development cooperation, every year attracting political leaders and world-renowned authorities on development.

This year ONE has partnered up with Oxfam International, Caritas Europa, and Polish Humanitarian Action, to organise a high-level event on “How to prevent another famine in the Horn of Africa: the role of the EU in building resilience”.

Follow the debate live, here on ONE.org, on Friday 16 December at 11am CET (10 am GMT):

This panel will bring together practitioners from the field and policy-makers in the EU to exchange experiences on responding to the Horn of Africa famine and discuss how to prevent another crisis on this scale. The speakers include Kristalina Gerogieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Fran Equiza, Oxfam GB’s regional director for the Horn, East and Central Africa, and Marc Breusers from Caritas Belgium.

You can also follow the discussion on twitter via the #EDDendfamine hashtag.

Update:

Kristalina Georgieva EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid & Crisis Response, “welcomes and endorses the charter to end extreme hunger” – read the charter here.

Ask your question at the European Development Days

Dec 13th, 2011 3:13 PM UTC
By Tamira Gunzburg

Right now, the Horn of Africa – Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti – is experiencing the worst food crisis in 60 years, with 13.3 million people in crisis and 250,000 people at imminent risk of starvation. Yet while drought may be an act of nature, famine is not.

Last month, more than 400,000 ONE members sent a resounding message signing our Hungry No More campaign petition urging G20 leaders to break the cycle of famine.

Now, on 15 and 16 December, the European Development Days are taking place in Warsaw, Poland. The European Development Days are Europe’s premier forum on international affairs and development cooperation, every year attracting political leaders and world-renowned authorities on development.

This year ONE has partnered up with Oxfam International, Caritas Europa, and Polish Humanitarian Action, to organise a high-level event on “How to prevent another famine in the Horn of Africa: the role of the EU in building resilience”.

This panel will bring together practitioners from the field and policy-makers in the EU to exchange experiences on responding to the Horn of Africa famine and discuss how to prevent another crisis on this scale. The speakers include Kristalina Gerogieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Fran Equiza, Oxfam GB’s regional director for the Horn, East and Central Africa, and Marc Breusers from Caritas Belgium.

Follow the debate live, here on ONE.org, on Friday 16 December at 11am CET (10 am GMT). Just check out the ONE blog on Friday for more information.

You can also submit a question in advance to the panel in the comments below or tweet it using the #EDDendfamine hashtag.

We will select two to three questions and put them to the moderator, Nazanine Moshiri, East Africa correspondent at AL Jazeera English, to ask the panellists.

I hope you’ll join me on Friday for what promises to be fascinating discussion!

What can Canada do RIGHT NOW to help reduce rural poverty and malnutrition?

Dec 12th, 2011 12:00 AM UTC
By Kelly Hauser

Despite significant progress in global food security since the beginning of the 2009 L’Aquila Food Security Initiative, many developing countries are not on track to meeting Millennium Development Goal 1 – halving hunger and extreme poverty. However, next week donor countries have a once-in-3 years opportunity to accelerate progress toward this goal through replenishment of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Watch this video to learn how IFAD-funded farmer field schools are making a difference in the lives of women in Zanzibar

On December 15 -16, IFAD member countries will meet in Rome and make pledges to cover the next 3 years of IFAD operations and lending. ONE supports robust “replenishment” pledges to IFAD for three main reasons: (1) the Fund’s mandate to reduce rural poverty through women, small-scale agriculture and rural development, (2) it is one of the more effective institutions working towards food security, and (3) it is a model of efficiency in international development.

Its mandate. Holding dual status as a UN agency and an international financial institution, IFAD focuses on small-scale farmers exclusively, thus playing a unique role in the global food security architecture. To date, IFAD has empowered more than 370 million rural poor people to make better lives for themselves and leveraged US$19.7 billion in co-financing for its projects. In 2010 alone, IFAD reached 43 million rural poor people.

Its effectiveness. According to a recent report, IFAD has strong monitoring and evaluation, aligns its aid with national development strategies, and performs very strongly in financial accountability and transparency. Additionally, because IFAD projects coordinate multiple donors, IFAD 9 gives donors an avenue to maintain their commitments to strategic coordination and the improvement of multilateral institutions. All this means that IFAD is one of the most effective agencies out there working on agriculture.

Its efficiency. In the Center for Global Development’s 2011 QuODA database, IFAD ranked in the top four aid institutions globally on indicators related to “maximizing efficiency.” Additionally, IFAD has continuously improved its already efficient model of operations. Likewise, the ratio of its overhead expenses has improved recently, shrinking from 16% in 2008 to a projected 12% in 2012. In times of tight donor budgets, countries should prioritize efficiency when investing resources.

For these reasons, the Cannes G20 Summit called on countries for a successful 9th replenishment of IFAD. In ONE’s view, donors should make pledges at or above the levels of those made during its last replenishment. This will ensure that some small-scale farmers continue to get the support they need to farm their way out of poverty.

During the last replenishment (IFAD 8), donors recognized the important role that IFAD plays in global food security, and they made substantial increases in their pledges for IFAD 8. We must keep those up. The leading replenishment pledges in IFAD 8 were:

1. U.S. (USD 90 million)
2. Italy (EUR 53 million)
3. Netherlands (EUR 49 million)
4. Sweden (SEK 460 million)
5. Canada (CAN 75 million)

Although many donors, like Canada, are currently struggling to meet domestic obligations, they must not forget the world’s poorest, who often live in rural areas and suffer from what Roger Thurow has called the “tragic truism” of hungry farmers, i.e. those that grow food should not go to bed hungry. IFAD can help right this tragic truism and move us closer to meeting MDG 1. Thus, ONE calls on IFAD member countries to replenish IFAD at or above IFAD 8 levels next week in Rome. And we’ll be watching to see if they do.

If you are a Canadian citizen, call or send an email to the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) through Tuesday, December 13^th at (819) 997-5456 or info@acdi-cida.gc.ca to voice your support of IFAD, small-scale farmers and rural poverty reduction.

An update on the Horn of Africa

Dec 6th, 2011 4:12 PM UTC
By Emily Alpert

Many thanks to ONE’s members, our collective voice has helped raise UN Appeal funding for the Horn of Africa by $1 billion and elicit another $700 million-plus in pledges. If combined and fulfilled, these pledges would more than fill the $530 million funding gap.

While ONE continues to press world leaders to deliver on their pledges and deliver much-needed life-saving support now, many Africans in the Horn are far from in the clear. Although the regions of Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle in Southern Somalia were downgraded from famine to humanitarian emergency status on November 18th, the situation in Somalia is still particularly dire.

Four million people remain food insecure in Somalia and 250,000 in Southern Somalia continue to face famine conditions. These conditions are expected to persist at least through December 2011 and depending on the favorability of rains in spring 2012, could be prolonged.

Displaced people face heightened risk of measles, cholera, polio, diarrhea and other diseases, due to malnutrition, close living quarters and inadequate toilet facilities. In Somalia, the number of children facing severe malnutrition nearly doubled in the second half of 2011. Cases of cholera and related deaths continue. Outbreaks of measles have been declining since September, but saw a small uptick in November.

The international community and local NGOs have resettled 4,000 drought-displaced Somali families (24,000 people) who were camped in Mogadishu. The returns are voluntary with most eager to take advantage of what’s left of the rainy season and start to rebuild their lives. United Arab Emirates-Red Crescent Society (UAE-RCS) in Somalia, one of the agencies involved in the resettlement process, is giving families $150 each in addition to a three-month supply of food, livestock and other resources.

A new two-part television program from Al Jazeera English, “Fault Lines” (watch in the player above) takes a look inside Mogadishu, where parents are burying their children and asking what more could have been done to prevent this crisis and what more can be done now. A very timely question as Al Shabaab ordered 16 aid agencies –- many of them from the United Nations –- to leave their territory.

After sporadic attacks and kidnappings inside Kenya’s borders by Al Shabab, Kenyan military forces invaded Somalia last month. The objective was to seize the transportation hub of Afmadow and the Indian Ocean port city of Kismayo, both important al-Shabaab strongholds south of Mogadishu. By doing so, Kenya is hoping to establish a buffer zone in Southern Somalia to prevent infiltration by terrorists and help humanitarian agencies in the region gain better access. Already Kenya has seized a few towns and is calling on aid agencies to return. Reuters reports that Kenya has been “plagued by a wave of attacks” since troops entered Somalia.

Ethiopia, despite the losses incurred from invasion from 2006 to 2009, is reported to be back across the Somali border. Although the Ethiopian government have not confirmed their participation, many eyewitnesses report Ethiopian troops in the town of Guriel. Little is known about Ethiopia’s intentions at this point.

What about the Somali government? Richard Dowden of the Royal African Society writes that with Al Shabaab withdrawn from Mogadishu in mid-August and “with the Kenyan military incursion in the south, presents the government –- known as the Transitional Federal Government -– with an opportunity to prove itself and deliver food and security to the people. But this is unlikely to happen…” He quotes from Horn of Africa specialist Ken Menkhaus “the TFG’s track record so far points to the opposite conclusion -– it has never missed an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

Fighting poverty with healthy indigenous foods in Zambia

Nov 23rd, 2011 6:10 PM UTC
By Edith Jibunoh

The 2011 ONE Africa Award finalists continue with the announcement of our third finalist, a model for social entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector. If you are already familiar with ONE’s recent activities then you will know that we recently launched our campaign to address the famine in the Horn of Africa. Hunger and malnutrition continue to be important issues on the continent and that’s why the work that our next finalist, Sylvia Food Solutions (SFS), is doing is so important.

Sylvia Banda, the founder of SFS, is a very well known personality in Zambia and speaks regularly on the most popular private radio station in the country, Radio Phoenix, about the importance of using local foods, nutrition, and maintaining a healthy life style. With 10 employees, Sylvia started SFS in 2005 building on her successful catering business that had been around for about 25 years.

Sylvia Banda and members of her team

The idea for SFS came to Sylvia after observing the deterioration in the quality of the kinds of food being eaten in Zambia. Much of the food lacked nutritional content and she quickly noticed the opportunity for promoting the use of vegetables in the Zambian diet. Sylvia embarked on an effort to work with farmers and train them to preserve vegetables hygienically with the guarantee that she would purchase them, thereby guaranteeing a market for these goods. These vegetables, the leaves from staple crops like pumpkins and sweet potatoes, were previously discarded by the farmers but are now a new potential source of income.

Sylvia Foods seeks to provide an efficient and viable avenue for rural smallholder farmers to market their indigenous farm produce to both local and export markets. The organization promotes improved quality of farm yields by training farmers to add value and focus on hygiene in the harvesting of their produce. In the last 6 years, Sylvia Foods has trained over 8,500 smallholder rural farmers in Zambia, which has enabled them to scale up their production capacity and engage directly with the markets. They have also engaged in marketing and lobbying efforts to promote the consumption of indigenous foods, including working with the Zambian First Lady to participate in a national television program promoting the consumption of indigenous food. SFS also organized “Cook of the Year” competitions and involved hotels, schools and the general public to spread the message about the nutritional value of traditional foods.

Sylvia Foods works with rural smallholder farmers

SFS has also impacted the consumer culture around Zambian vegetables and raised demand by advocating for a return to the traditional foods that Zambians used to eat before the global culture of fast food started impacting their diet. SFS invested profits from the catering business into the initial interventions including the cooking competitions. As they have built success, the government and donors have become involved and they have been able to access additional funding to scale up their work. The Zambian Development Agency has also featured SFS in many regional and international trade expositions leading to the development of agreements between SFS and other countries to supply their markets with indigenous Zambian food.

Sylvia Banda continues to develop her idea of transforming the agriculture sector to provide improved nutritional benefit and economic empowerment of Zambians. Her next endeavour is a catering college where she hopes that she will train the next generation of Zambian cooks who will be familiar with the nutritional value of local foods and able to respond to the increasing demand that she has helped to foster in her country.

Congratulations to Sylvia Food Solutions for all your hard work and for making it to the finals of the 2011 ONE Africa Award. We wish you the very best of luck.

You and your MP can help end Hunger

Nov 17th, 2011 4:24 PM UTC
By ONE Partners

The following is a guest post from Natasha Adams at Concern Worldwide

First of all, a big thank you to all the ONE campaign supporters who took action as part of Hungry No More campaign. The work directly with MPs and through the petition helped push the issue of hunger high up the political agenda both in the UK and internationally. But more work needs to be done, so Concern has launched a new campaign action to push the UK to invest in smallholder farmers at the G8 and beyond.

The recent food crisis in east Africa has shocked the world. Sadly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. There are still close to a billion people going hungry every night, in a world where we have more than enough food to go around. And as ONE supporters know, half these hungry people are smallholder farmers

Concern Worldwide works in 25 of the world’s poorest countries, with small holder farmers like Patricia (pictured). With the right support, we know that many poor farmers are able to feed themselves through their own hard work. And we know that support to agriculture goes beyond the farmers themselves. When farmers grow more, they eat more and better food, sell food locally and employ others, helping the whole community to thrive.

Thanks in part to pressure from civil society groups, G20 leaders pledged to put hunger at the heart of their discussions in Cannes earlier this month. And there was some positive progress – G20 leaders agreed in the need to invest in smallholder farmers. But they failed to commit to or agree on concrete solutions.

The UK is hugely influential in global development, leading the way in supporting emergency efforts to end hunger.  So Concern Worldwide is calling for the UK to lead the way globally to support poor farmers to grow more, to help make hunger a thing of the past. Please join us to help to end hunger for hardworking farmers like Patricia, by emailing your MP today, to push for their party to commit to supporting smallholder agriculture through aid.

We know ONE supporters agree with Concern that hunger is an outrage, and we’ve set up a simple way for you to make a difference – email your MP today

Photo: Patricia Nakabonye lives in the Mbazi sector of Huye, Southern Rwanda. She is a widow following the death of her husband and nine children during genocide in the country during 1994. Concern Worldwide partner ARDI has given Patricia agricultural training, and provided her with a goat and cow which she uses for milk and manure. Now she is able to grow much more food and is connected to others through a farming cooperative.