IAO

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IAO

• FOOD SECURITY COURSE
• Florence
• January/March 2004

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FOOD SECURITY in the context ofCHANGING
DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVES

• Franco Viciani
• Former Chief, Policy Support Service,
• FAO

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Why choose this topic?

• Because
• Food Security is a primary objective of
  development
• seing the evolution of ideas and event in a
  historical perspective helps understand them
  better

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Purpose of presentation

• Review and discuss in parallel the evolution
  through time of
• - the concept of Food Security
• with special reference to the initiatives
  taken by FAO (original proponent of the idea
  of Food Security)
• - the prevailing views on development by
• - development scholars
• - international organizations

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1945 ESTABLISHMENT OF FAO

• FAO Constitution
• - raise levels of nutrition and living standards
• improve efficiency in production and
  distribution of food and agricultural products
• better the condition of rural populations
• thus contribute to an expanding world economy
• and
• - ensure humanitys freedom from hunger

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FAO AND FOOD SECURITY (1)

• 1946 First World Food Survey
• 1954 Guidelines for Food Surpluses Disposal
• 1960 Freedom from Hunger Campaign
• 1962 Establishment of UN/FAO World Food
  Programme

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Evolution of Development Perspectives- a
simplified sketch - (1)

• 1950s Growth through Industrialization
• prevalent pessimism on prospects for lower
  income countries
• risk of vicious circles

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Evolution of Development Perspectives- a
simplified sketch (2)

• 1950s - proposed strategies
• Big Push
• Balanced Growth
• Backward and Forward Linkages
• .Development with unlimited labour supply
• (..but..)
• Limited hope to solve problems of
• Poverty
• Undernutrition
• Food insecurity

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Evolution of Development Perspectives- a
simplified sketch (3)

• 1960s - More optimism for development
• positive experience in a number of newly
  independent countries
• discovery of HYVs Green revolution
• optimism on technology transfer
• growth of technical assistance

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IMPORTANT EVENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 1970S

• Nixons decision to abolish dollar
  convertibility
• end of stability of exchange rates
• greater financial uncertainty
• Major increase in oil prices
• benefits for exporting countries
• difficulties for importing countries

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IMPORTANT EVENTS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 1970s
(contd)and1972/74 WORLD FOOD CRISIS

• Fall of cereal production
• Massive cereal purchases on world market
• Reduction of grain availability
• Price increases
• and, in general,
• preoccupation on future availability of primary
  commodities
• (Limits to Growth)

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FAO AND FOOD SECURITY (2)

• 1974 WORLD FOOD CONFERENCE
• PRIORITY WORLD FOOD SECURITY
• (first official reference)
• Higher production (availability)
• especially in developing countries
• Greater stability
• of food supplies
• of food prices

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1974 World Food Conference (contd)

• Implications
• Creation of food reserves
• at national level
• at regional level
• Critiques
• cost
• management of regional reserves
• Issue of food self/sufficiency

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1974 World Food Conference (contd)

• 1975 Establishment of IFAD
• (International Fund for Agricultural Development)
• Function investment funding
• Priority improve the condition of the
  rural poor

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Evolution of Development Perspectives- a
simplified sketch (4)

• 1970s -Accentuation of extreme views
• neo-marxism / neo capitalism
• But, in the area of development theory, an
  intermediate line prevailed
• redistribution with growth
• basic needs strategy
• more equity , employment
• less poverty, food insecurity

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Evolution of Development Perspectives- a
simplified sketch (4 contd)

• In relation to food, agriculture and RD
• attention to small farmers (WB)
• integrated rural development
• labour intensive technologies
• critique of urban bias

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FAO AND FOOD SECURITY (3)

• 1976 Food Security Assistance Scheme
• 1977 Global Information and Early Warning
  System
• 1979 Plan of Action for World Food Security
• 1979 WCARRD (World Conference for Agrarian
  Reform and Rural Development)
• ..but, meanwhile..

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meanwhile, by end of the decade.

• soaring debt (petrodollars)
• second oil price increase
• international recession
• higher interest rates
• higher debt servicing cost
• fear of crisis of banking system
• ..therefore..

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Evolution of Development Perspectives- a
simplified sketch (5)

• Prevalence of neo-conservative policies in rich
  countries
• (more market, less state)
• and, by international financial organizations
• (IMF, World Bank)

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CONDITIONALITYloans and financial aid at the
condition that policies be changed in the
direction of

• STABILIZATION
• reduction of deficits in the
• state budget (cut public expenditures)
• balance of payments (devaluation)
• STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT
• privatization
• liberalization

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Stabilization and Structural
Adjustment- Poverty reduction and food security
no longer stated objectives- Faith that market
forces would lead to general improvement of
living standards- Stab. S.A. were to be of a
temporary character. In fact, they continued
well into the 1990s, assuming an ideological
character (Washington Consensus)
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FAO AND FOOD SECURITY (4)

• 1983 Expanded Concept of Food Security
• Availability
• Stability
• Access
• meanwhile
• Amarthya Sen entitlements
• 1985 World Food Security Compact (failed)

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Evolution of Development Perspectives- a
simplified sketch (6)

• 1990s - Elements leading to re-evaluation
• S.A. did not produce expected results
• too much dogmatism
• asymmetric advantages of liberalization
• wrong perception of supply elasticities
• neglect of institutions
• throwing the baby with the bathwater
• Transition problems in ex-communist countries
• Persistance and increase of
• poverty / food insecurity / inequality

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Evolution of Development Perspectives- a
simplified sketch (7)

• Research has taken important new line
• Institutional economics
• an abstract behavioural model cannot
  explain everything in economics
• Critique to the Washington Consensus

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Critique to the Washington Consensus

• Stiglitz the Washington Consensus has confused
  means with ends
• Privatization and liberalization are not ends,
  but means towards a sustainable, equitable and
  democratic development
• Too much emphasis on price stability and
  privatization
• Too little on institutions and sustainable growth
• Globalization has been inadequately managed

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FAO AND FOOD SECURITY (5)

• 1992 International Conference on Nutrition
  (utilization)
• 1994 Special Programme for Food Security
  (country level)
• 1996 WORLD FOOD SUMMIT
• and its follow-up
• international commitment to reduce hunger and
  undernutrition
• (next session by Skoet and Smulders)

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Current areas of main interest for development
studiesrelating to Food Security

• Poverty
• Social exclusion
• Sustainable livelihoods
• Right to food
• Development of human capital
• Globalization opportunities and risks
• growth and inequality
• Towards a Post-Washington Consensus

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2000 U.N. DEVELOPMENT MILLENNIUM

• (following a series of initiatives by various UN
  agencies, all centred on the problem of poverty)
• Main objectives
• Reduce extreme poverty and hunger
• Ensure primary education for all
• Reduce infant mortality
• Improve health (HIV/AIDS and other diseases)
• Promote gender equality
• Ensure a sustainable environment
• Promote a world partnership for development-

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World Bank current orientation

• Comprehensive Development Programme
• Poverty reduction strategies
• Assistance to low-income countries under stress
• HIPC (initiative for highly indebted countries)
• Education, health, drinking water
• World Development Report 2004 Making services
  work for poor people
• but
• ....in the context of which development
  paradigm??
• (my own doubt)

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Noble intentions, but how to put them
into effect?With which policy measures and at
what cost?Is there sufficient political
will?These are still open questions. Some of
them will be addressed in the rest of the
course.Others are beyond the scope of the
course indeed of any course. They depend on
the conscience and foresightedness of political
leaders of all countries in the world.
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For the moment, let us take stock of a
change of orientation in attitude by most
international organizations. Besides political
will and financial means, what is needed is a
new, better formulated development paradigm
incorporating Food Security objectives, that is
- socially acceptable, - efficiently
implementable and - internally consistentA
good starting point go back to the concept of
development proclaimed by Dudley Seers back in
the 1970s
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There is no development if,together with
economic growth,there is no reduction of

• Poverty
• Inequality
• Unemployment
• and, of course, of hunger and
• food insecurity