5 Conclusion
94. Progress against the MDG target to reduce the
number of people suffering from hunger by half between 1990 and
2015 has been variable: while great strides have been made in
East Asia and Latin America, the same cannot be said for South
Asia, Western Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. As this report has
shown, the fight against food insecurity has been made more difficult
globally by a tightening of the balance between demand for and
supply of food. On the demand side, policy-driven demand for biofuels
and the consequent use of food crops for fuel is driving up food
prices. The current rate of increase in meat consumption is unsustainable
due to the large quantity of crops required to feed livestock.
High levels of food waste pose an additional problem, and all
this must be seen in the context of an increasing global population.
On the supply side, farmers face a number of difficulties: the
lack of good roads, irrigation and storage facilities leads to
otherwise avoidable post-harvest losses in developing countries;
insecurity of tenure prevents smallholders from investing in their
land; and climate change poses a further challenge. In the context
of these factors, global food prices have increased and become
more volatile, and this situation is expected to persist. There
have been various suggestions as to how such volatility might
be mitigated, but the wisdom of some of these suggestions is dubious.
While there may be a case for judicious use of stocks to reduce
volatility, the imposition of export controls is thoroughly unhelpful.
The challenge of preventing price spikes in future, and more broadly
of ensuring that supply is able to meet demand, will not be easy.
95. However, as this report has shown, real progress
is eminently achievable. There are a number of tangible measures
which, if implemented, would have a significant impact on global
food security. On the demand side, biofuels mandates should be
reformed. Campaigns should be launched to reduce food waste in
developed countries, while meat should be promoted as an occasional
item rather than an everyday staple. On the supply side, donors
should focus on creating an enabling environment for agricultural
productivity in developing countries: this will include greater
investment in infrastructure and land tenure projects. Smallholders
have a vital role to play. They should be offered greater support
through agricultural extension services, and should also be assisted
to engage with large corporations. Climate change mitigation and
adaptation should remain an overarching priority. Donors donors
should focus on boosting the resilience of the most vulnerable
to shocks and on protecting the poorest. Social protection is
crucial, as is work to tackle undernutrition.
96. Our specific recommendations are repeated below.
With some of the measures we propose, such as campaigns to reduce
food waste, the impacts will by nature be gradual, becoming apparent
only in the medium- to long-term. For other measures, however,
the impacts will be immediate, the reform of biofuels mandates
being the most obvious example. All that is needed is political
will.
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