Agriculture and Rural Development: Hunger and Malnutrition

1
Agriculture and Rural Development Hunger and
Malnutrition

• Kevin Cleaver
• World Bank Seminar Series
• 18 January 2006

2
Background

• 800 million people suffer from hunger and
  malnutrition
• MDG 1 eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Two types of malnutrition
• Under-nutrition due to a lack of food quantity or
  quality
• Overweight and obesity

3
Scale of malnutrition

• Under-nutrition
• About 20 of the total population in developing
  countries are under-nourished
• 60 of the under-nourished are in Asia 28 are
  in Africa
• Very modest decrease in under-nutrition over the
  last decade, globally
• 1/3 of all children lt 5 years old in developing
  countries are stunted due to under-nutrition
• Main cause of child mortality is under-nutrition
• Overweight and obesity
• About 115 million people in developing countries
  suffer from obesity-related problems
• Growing obesity trends in medium income countries
• Obesity is a risk factor for non-communicable
  diseases such as type II diabetes, cardiovascular
  diseases, certain types of cancer etc.
• Economic impact
• Ex. China Non-communicable diseases related to
  obesity cost 2 of GDP per year

4
The Agriculture and Food Supply Dimension

• Individual person level Food availability
  depends on
• Household income
• For farmers Farm food supply
• hunting - grazing - gathering
• Intra-household distribution of food
• Consumption choices
• Household level Food availability depends on
• Total household income and food prices (for food
  purchases)
• Farm production for consumption
• Consumption choices
• National level Food availability depends on
• National income or GDP (for imports of food
  purchased on the world market)
• National food production
• Food stocks and food aid
• Regional and global food availability

5
The Agriculture and Food Supply
Dimensioncontinued

• Many controllable factors influence the above
• Developing country governments agriculture and
  trade policies
• Industrial countries agriculture and trade
  policies (trade protection and subsidies)
• Developing country governments investment in
  agriculture and rural infrastructure
• International agricultural research and
  technology
• Agricultural and nutrition education
• Donors agricultural assistance and food aid
• Uncontrollable factors
• Weather conditions
• International food prices fluctuations
• International transport costs and competitive
  practices
• Consumption tastes

6
Controversy and alternate views

• Food Aid
• Pro if food availability is insufficient (e.g.
  humanitarian emergencies), donors should send
  food
• Con Food aid is a disincentive to invest in
  agriculture and reduces farmers income in the
  recipient country
• School Food Programs
• Con earlier intervention from pregnancy to the
  1st two years of life is more effective in
  dealing with under-nutrition in children. School
  feeding is too late.
• Pro easiest and fastest way to get food to
  children
• Agricultural biotechnology - GMOs
• Pro (1) food nutritional benefits, (2)
  increased production, (3) reduced post-harvest
  losses
• Con (1) environmental risks and expensive,
  (2) innovation has most benefited large
  farmers
• Lack of capacity to regulate in many developing
  countries

7
Controversy and alternate views continued

• Trade reform
• All agree on the need for industrial countries to
  remove agricultural trade protection and
  agricultural subsidies
• Issue should developing countries also reduce
  agricultural trade protection and agricultural
  subsidies?
• Pro this would reduce food prices to consumers
  and stimulate agricultural trade between
  developing countries
• Con this would invite dumping of agricultural
  products by industrial countries
• Land tenure
• Issue land quality and size are typically highly
  unequal in distribution. Are re-distribution
  programs the answer?
• One view re-distribution of land from
  market-based to radical approaches will help poor
  farmers. Otherwise marginal farmers will stay
  marginal, poor and under-nourished
• Another view Governments land distribution
  programs are usually political and dont succeed.
  Best is to invest directly in small farmers or to
  encourage rural employment

8
Controversy and alternate views continued

• Governments intervention in agricultural markets
  
• Pro Governments are the main instruments of
  change in conservative societies. Governments
  investments in agricultural research, extension,
  education, credit and infrastructure are vital
  for development in rural areas leading to
  income growth and nutrition improvement.
• Con Governments botch it. Leave it to the
  market.

9
Key actions

• Domestic policies and investment
• Economic growth must be pro-poor
• Need for a multi-sector approach to improved food
  security and need to mainstream food security
• Increase public funding to agriculture rural
  sectors
• Removing barriers to agricultural trade
• Low income countries represent only 0.5 of
  global trade
• Reduce access restrictions by industrialized
  countries
• Improve regional cooperation integration
• Strengthening agricultural nutritional research
  
• Need to focus more on the conditions of poor
  farmers
• Recommendation of 2 of agricultural GDP to
  double research funding

10
Key actions, continued

• The international community
• Human right to adequate food nutrition
• Legally binding conventions declarations
• Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
• Conventions of the Rights of the Child (1990)
• World Declaration on Nutrition (1992)
• Rome Declaration on World Food Security (1996)
• Concrete targets UN Millennium Summit (2000)
• MDG 1 reduce by 50 the prevalence of
  underweight among children lt 5 y (1990-2015)
• Financial commitment Monterrey (2002)
• Increase development aid from 0.2 to 0.7 of GNP
• Increase donor coordination and efficiency

11
World Banks response

• Funding for agriculture and rural development
• US 2.1 billion lending to agriculture in FY 05
• US 8.7 billion to all rural development
  activities in FY05
• Reaching the Rural Poor rural development
  strategy
• Alignment with World Banks poverty reduction
  focus
• Economic growth in rural areas as the main
  objective
• Appropriate macro-economic agricultural - rural
  policies at country level
• Ex removal of trade barriers, phasing out of
  subsidies
• Improved agricultural productivity and growth
• Agriculture as the main source of rural economic
  growth
• Increased non-farm economic growth
• Essential element for achieving increased rural
  incomes and food access at household level
• Gender considerations
• More sustainable management of natural resources