In late 2007 and early 2008, a surge in the number of hungry, especially in urban sectors, due to an acute rise in staple food prices, resulted in the hunger issue being headlined in the most important media and communication channels. Special attention was given to food riots in more than 30 countries, pointing to political instability. The capacity of international markets worldwide to guarantee access to food at adequate prices was being questioned. With the onset of the global financial crisis in mid-2008, the world food crisis was pushed aside in international and even national political agendas. Trillions of dollars were allocated to save banks, insurance companies and the assets of bankrupt multinational corporations. However, only 10 to 15 percent of the 20 billion dollars, pledged in June 2008 at the High Level Food Security Conference in Rome in support of small holder agriculture in developing countries, has actually been allocated. Most of the allocated funds went to food assistance.
Despite record grain crops worldwide, the number of undernourished people in the world reached in 2009, the historically high figure of 1.02 billion people, about 100 million more than in 2008. The international community and national governments are painfully far from realising the Millennium Development Goal target of reducing by half the proportion of hungry people in developing countries by 2015. It is clear that the global governance of the World Food System needs to be remodelled in order to effectively alleviate hunger.
As part of attempts to overcome the so-called world food crisis, several new initiatives towards improved governance of the world food system were begun. UN Secretary General instituted the High Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis to promote improved coordination of UN agencies and Bretton Wood institutions in their actions to reduce hunger. The G8 proposed establishing a Global Partnership for Agriculture Food Security and Nutrition, involving relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, to improve the delivery of funds to the most affected countries. More recently, a large group of Governments, under the leadership of the G77, has started a process towards the revitalization and broadening of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
Eyes are now focused on the reform of the Committee on World Food Security and on the World Food Summit to be held in Rome later this year. The intention is to transform the CFS into a global body in charge of facilitating at international and national levels the coordination of governmental and intergovernmental action for food security. The Summit will hopefully result in greater coherence in the global governance of the world food system through the improvement of policies and structural aspects of the international agricultural system.
Many questions remain. How far will the right to food be incorporated in the new governance mechanisms? How much participation of representatives of those most affected by hunger and malnutrition will be guaranteed in the revised governance mechanisms? How much priority will be given to policies geared at reaching those most affected in a way that they are effectively and sustainably included in the productive process, such as through support to small holder farmers? Will governments accept the responsibility of establishing a global strategy against hunger, with clear benchmarks, goals, timelines and allocation of funds? Will governments institute monitoring mechanisms that result in increased accountability at national and international level?
With the intention of providing inputs into the global debate, this issue of the Right to Food and Nutrition Watch focuses on the question ‘Who Governs the World Food System’. Articles written by experts in the areas of food, nutrition and agriculture, as well as the transcript of an interview, focus on this question by providing conceptual insights into relevant issues related to this theme and by discussing the reasons why the present world food system has proven unsuccessful in eradicating hunger and severe malnutrition. A central issue is how much any of these processes should be carried out within the framework of the promotion of the realization of the human right to adequate food. Civil society, social movements and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food present concrete proposals on how the new governance system can be shaped within the right to food framework. Among the root causes of hunger are appropriation of farm lands for different “development” purposes and the expanded production of industrialised foods that are theoretically aimed at reducing malnutrition, but, in reality, lead to more hunger. Potential roles are identified for the Committee on World Food Security and the High Level Panel for Experts on Food Security and Nutrition to play in improving global governance for food security. Articles in the first section also provide insights into how civil society organisations, human rights experts, academic institutions and individuals can use the WATCH as a tool to lobby and advocate for the human right to adequate food.
Part two of this issue of the WATCH contains summaries of national and regional reports that monitor the fulfilment of the human right to food in Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Nicaragua, Uganda and Zambia. Lastly, a new section with concluding remarks is included to draw conclusions from the articles and provide information on recent developments related to the central theme. The enclosed CD provides the full content of the reports and additional information.
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