Brussels, 30/03/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 31 March, the European Commission is to present two communications, one on food security in developing countries and the other on humanitarian food aid. The texts, which are prepared by the department headed by European Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, aim to invite the EU to adopt a more coordinated approach for these complementary policies and to prepare an EU common position for the UN conference on revision of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This conference is to be held in New York in September 2010, five years before the date when these objective are to be reached.
Despite efforts deployed to reduce extreme poverty and hunger in the world (MDG No1), there is still a long way to go. Instead of declining, hunger has grown worse in recent years as the number of people suffering from hunger in the world now exceeds one billion. Unless this changes, the aim of reducing the number of people suffering from hunger in the world by half by 2015 will not be achieved. The Commission considers that, as the leading donor in the world, the EU must be ready to take action to reverse this unacceptable trend. “Debates underway on climate change and the right to food also call for a European approach”, a source close to the Commission says. Also, the Treaty of Lisbon gives the European Commission a mandate to take initiatives to better coordinate member states' positions in the field of development. Both communications meet this requirement.
The communication on food security will suggest four key concepts to the member states for a coordinated approach to: - increase the availability of foodstuffs; - improve access to food but also take into account agricultural policies in development policies; - take more into consideration the nutritional quality of food; - and improve the prevention and management of food crises. The Commission nonetheless acknowledges that the specific conditions prevailing in each country that suffers from food supply security should be taken into account.
The Commission's objective is three-fold: - support sustainable development, support small farms so that they increase in number, and promote research in agriculture in order to meet food needs in coming years. This strategy must aim to improve global coordination, under the aegis of the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
The communication will further propose that, for Africa, where food crises are legion, the policy guidelines drafted by the African Union for land use policy should be toughened up. The Commission is of the view that time has come to put the issue of land seizures by multinationals, and even small land-owners, on the table. “This is highly political, but we have to be brave and bring land policy into the debate,” said the same source.
The communication of food aid for humanitarian purposes will propose a framework for general responses to food crises (early warning systems, transitional stores so as not to be caught short) and range of responses depending on the type of crisis. The text will stress access to food and availability of foodstuffs. It will highlight the importance of nutrition and the adverse effects of malnutrition on infant mortality. It will contain criteria for EU commitment (for example, malnutrition levels, mortality rates, the risk of humanitarian disasters, etc.) and for its leaving things to other players (reversing the indicators allowing the opportunity for withdrawal, lesser need for EU humanitarian intervention than that of longer-term development players). (A.N./transl.jl/rt)