H.E. Ms. Amira Gornass, Chairperson, Committee on World Food Security
Wednesday 12 July- 4:30-6:00PM
Conference Room 4:
"Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing
world - approaches for countries in special situations: LDCs
and LLDCs. Also including special challenges of MICs"
Guiding questions (generic, not iust for the Chair):
1. What actions and policies have proven successful in increasing
resilience and addressing the impacts of climate change, natural
disasters, conflict and displacement in countries in special
circumstances?
2. How are governments working to address the underlying social and
economic root causes of distressed migration that can potentially lead
to conflict?
3. What technologies, innovations and data collection tools have been
effective so far for countries in special situations in monitoring and
follow-up to the SDGs?
Further guidance: intervention should be 7 mins max, informal, focused
and frank. It should facilitate interaction with other panelists, lead
discussants and audience.
1
Ladies and Gentlemen,
By the current trends, the world is not on track to eradicate
poverty and hunger and meet the SDGs by 2030.
The progressive realization of the right to adequate food is an
imperative for eliminating poverty, promoting prosperity and
achieving success across the rest of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development.
This requires policy coherence and coordination, especially in
those least developed countries that are too often and too
harshly hit by natural and men-made disasters that pose so
many obstacles to progress and development.
It is my view and the view of the Committee on World Food
Security that priority should be given to: i) food security and
building sustainable food systems; and ii) to rural areas, where
the majority of extreme poor and chronically food insecure live.
In the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, with its commitment to leaving no-one behind,
least developed countries (LDC), landlocked developing
2
countries (LLDC), Small-island Developing States (SiDS) and
Countries in Protracted crises are the most in need of our
attention.
If you were asking me what actions and policies should be
encouraged because they have proven most successful in
increasing resilience and addressing the impacts of climate
change, natural disasters, conflict and displacement in
countries in special circumstances, my answer is: invest in
smallholder agriculture.
Small-scale food producers (including small-scale farmers,
artisanal fisher-folks, and pastoralists) play a critical role in both
adaptation and mitigation. The likely negative effects of climate
change are alarming; however relatively small investments in
small-scale agriculture can contribute to emission reduction
efforts and enhance the adaptation capacity of small-scale food
producers to ensure especially the most vulnerable ones are
not too adversely impacted.
Investing in smallholders, be it through social protection, giving
them access to better rural services or building rural
3
infrastructures, will build their livelihood assets and increase
the resilience of small-scale producers to shocks and stresses,
reducing the impacts of natural disasters on them and their
recourse to migration as a coping strategy in times of crises.
Evidence shows that, besides generating higher incomes for
them and stimulating broader economic growth, investing in
smallholders can produce results on other fronts. It can lead to
more diversified production and healthy diets, leading to
improved nutrition and health (SDG3); and it can contribute to
closing the gender gap in agriculture (SDGS).
Now, I want to say something about countries in protracted
crises, as their circumstances deserve special attention.
Protracted crises are often the result of the combination of
multiple drivers, including conflict, natural disasters and climate
change; often compounded with more structural factors such
as inequalities, weak governance, and resource scarcity. Over
50 1 per cent of people living in extreme poverty are living in
countries deemed as fragile, vulnerable or in protracted crises;
1 Source: A joint FAO/WFP update for the United Nations Security Council (July 2016)
4
and those people are three times2 as likely to be
undernourished as compared to those living in other
developing contexts.
Countries experiencing these circumstances need immediate
actions to alleviate hunger and suffering, and medium to longterm
actions to build resilience, avoid impoverishment, and
address the underlying causes of food insecurity.
This calls for both short- and longer-term interventions (a
"twin-track approach"), which combines and integrates
humanitarian aid and development assistance, to address
poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition and their causes.
CFS, with the leadership and technical support of FAO, IFAD and
WFP, developed a Framework for Action for food security and
nutrition in protracted crises which provides guidance on the
development, implementation and monitoring of policies and
actions to improve food security and nutrition in conflicts and
protracted crises.
2 FAO, State of Food Insecurity Report (SOFI) 2010
5
With the average length of displacement being 17 years3
, many
live in a state of protracted displacement, or "second exile", a
long chunk of their life. The Framework for Action, for example,
calls for understanding the effects of protracted displacement
on food security and nutrition and addressing immediate and
long-term food security and nutrition needs of IDPs, refugees,
as well as host populations, also with the objective of
eliminating further possible causes of conflict.
The Framework also focuses on policies and actions to support
comprehensive evidence-based analyses of crises; on
technologies for strengthening early warning and reducing
risks; and on innovative financing mechanisms for countries in
protracted crises.
By addressing critical manifestations and building resilience;
adapting our interventions to the specific challenges; and
contributing to addressing the underlying causes of crises, we
can really make a difference I
3 Source UNHCR
6
One minute last intervention:
The number of hungry and food insecure people in countries in
special situations is so high that alone it represents a major
impediment to sustainable development. Eradication of
poverty in all its forms will only be possible if we work together
to eliminate hunger and malnutrition through commitment to
effective policies and by building effective partnerships. It is
only through the meaningful participation of those furthest left
behind that we can advance the implementation of the 2030
Agenda and build the World We Want, for ours and all future
generations.
7
Conference Room 4:
"Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing
world - approaches for countries in special situations: LDCs
and LLDCs. Also including special challenges of MICs"
Guiding questions (generic, not iust for the Chair):
1. What actions and policies have proven successful in increasing
resilience and addressing the impacts of climate change, natural
disasters, conflict and displacement in countries in special
circumstances?
2. How are governments working to address the underlying social and
economic root causes of distressed migration that can potentially lead
to conflict?
3. What technologies, innovations and data collection tools have been
effective so far for countries in special situations in monitoring and
follow-up to the SDGs?
Further guidance: intervention should be 7 mins max, informal, focused
and frank. It should facilitate interaction with other panelists, lead
discussants and audience.
1
Ladies and Gentlemen,
By the current trends, the world is not on track to eradicate
poverty and hunger and meet the SDGs by 2030.
The progressive realization of the right to adequate food is an
imperative for eliminating poverty, promoting prosperity and
achieving success across the rest of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development.
This requires policy coherence and coordination, especially in
those least developed countries that are too often and too
harshly hit by natural and men-made disasters that pose so
many obstacles to progress and development.
It is my view and the view of the Committee on World Food
Security that priority should be given to: i) food security and
building sustainable food systems; and ii) to rural areas, where
the majority of extreme poor and chronically food insecure live.
In the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, with its commitment to leaving no-one behind,
least developed countries (LDC), landlocked developing
2
countries (LLDC), Small-island Developing States (SiDS) and
Countries in Protracted crises are the most in need of our
attention.
If you were asking me what actions and policies should be
encouraged because they have proven most successful in
increasing resilience and addressing the impacts of climate
change, natural disasters, conflict and displacement in
countries in special circumstances, my answer is: invest in
smallholder agriculture.
Small-scale food producers (including small-scale farmers,
artisanal fisher-folks, and pastoralists) play a critical role in both
adaptation and mitigation. The likely negative effects of climate
change are alarming; however relatively small investments in
small-scale agriculture can contribute to emission reduction
efforts and enhance the adaptation capacity of small-scale food
producers to ensure especially the most vulnerable ones are
not too adversely impacted.
Investing in smallholders, be it through social protection, giving
them access to better rural services or building rural
3
infrastructures, will build their livelihood assets and increase
the resilience of small-scale producers to shocks and stresses,
reducing the impacts of natural disasters on them and their
recourse to migration as a coping strategy in times of crises.
Evidence shows that, besides generating higher incomes for
them and stimulating broader economic growth, investing in
smallholders can produce results on other fronts. It can lead to
more diversified production and healthy diets, leading to
improved nutrition and health (SDG3); and it can contribute to
closing the gender gap in agriculture (SDGS).
Now, I want to say something about countries in protracted
crises, as their circumstances deserve special attention.
Protracted crises are often the result of the combination of
multiple drivers, including conflict, natural disasters and climate
change; often compounded with more structural factors such
as inequalities, weak governance, and resource scarcity. Over
50 1 per cent of people living in extreme poverty are living in
countries deemed as fragile, vulnerable or in protracted crises;
1 Source: A joint FAO/WFP update for the United Nations Security Council (July 2016)
4
and those people are three times2 as likely to be
undernourished as compared to those living in other
developing contexts.
Countries experiencing these circumstances need immediate
actions to alleviate hunger and suffering, and medium to longterm
actions to build resilience, avoid impoverishment, and
address the underlying causes of food insecurity.
This calls for both short- and longer-term interventions (a
"twin-track approach"), which combines and integrates
humanitarian aid and development assistance, to address
poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition and their causes.
CFS, with the leadership and technical support of FAO, IFAD and
WFP, developed a Framework for Action for food security and
nutrition in protracted crises which provides guidance on the
development, implementation and monitoring of policies and
actions to improve food security and nutrition in conflicts and
protracted crises.
2 FAO, State of Food Insecurity Report (SOFI) 2010
5
With the average length of displacement being 17 years3
, many
live in a state of protracted displacement, or "second exile", a
long chunk of their life. The Framework for Action, for example,
calls for understanding the effects of protracted displacement
on food security and nutrition and addressing immediate and
long-term food security and nutrition needs of IDPs, refugees,
as well as host populations, also with the objective of
eliminating further possible causes of conflict.
The Framework also focuses on policies and actions to support
comprehensive evidence-based analyses of crises; on
technologies for strengthening early warning and reducing
risks; and on innovative financing mechanisms for countries in
protracted crises.
By addressing critical manifestations and building resilience;
adapting our interventions to the specific challenges; and
contributing to addressing the underlying causes of crises, we
can really make a difference I
3 Source UNHCR
6
One minute last intervention:
The number of hungry and food insecure people in countries in
special situations is so high that alone it represents a major
impediment to sustainable development. Eradication of
poverty in all its forms will only be possible if we work together
to eliminate hunger and malnutrition through commitment to
effective policies and by building effective partnerships. It is
only through the meaningful participation of those furthest left
behind that we can advance the implementation of the 2030
Agenda and build the World We Want, for ours and all future
generations.
7