World Food Day: Focus on agriculture

Sri Lanka had a largely agriculture-based economy until quite recently. This was the same for most other countries too. But now, things have changed drastically, and agriculture is only a minor player in most industrial countries.

However, developing the agriculture sector is vital if the world is to successfully fight hunger, one of the most serious problems it's facing today. The importance of agriculture would be emphasised on October 16, when World Food Day 2006, spearheaded by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), is observed under the theme 'Investing in Agriculture for Food Security'.

Despite the importance of this sector, foreign aid for agriculture has shown a declining trend; the figure, which stood around nine billion US dollars in the early eighties, had declined to around five billion US dollars by the late nineties.

Over 854 million people remain undernourished around the world and the only way to change this situation is to invest in agriculture and provide support for education and health.

Small scale farmers are the biggest investors in the agriculture sector, but they themselves lack sufficient access to food. If they can make profits through their farming ventures, they would be able to feed their families throughout the year, and also reinvest in their farms by purchasing fertiliser, better quality seeds and equipment.

Now there are signs of a new model of cooperation evolving between the private and public sectors in rural development. These include inventing new ways to bring producers and agri-businesses together; establishing and enforcing grades and standards; improving the investment climate for agriculture; and providing essential public goods like rural infrastructure. Developments in rural infrastructure play a leading role in rekindling agricultural growth, and if these aspects come right, dramatic growth could be expected in the agricultural field.

Heightening awareness about the world food problem and strengthening cooperation in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty are the aims of the World Food Day. The Day was declared by the Conference of the FAO of the United Nations in 1979, to mark the date of the founding of the FAO in 1945.

The UN General Assembly endorsed the observance of the Day, in 1980, in consideration of the fact that "food is a requisite for human survival and well-being and a fundamental human necessity". It is now observed by over 150 countries.

Eradicating hunger was also taken up at the World Food Summits in 1996 and 2002, where world leaders pledged to reduce the world's hungry to half by 2015. The Millennium Development Goals also have the same target while ensuring environmental sustainability.