CIAO DATE: 12/2012
September 2010
For the first time in history, the number of people suffering from chronic hunger reached one billion globally in 2009, with Asia accounting for approximately two-thirds of the world's hungry. The future looks even more daunting. Population growth, increasing demand from changing diets, dwindling land and water resources for agriculture, higher energy costs, and the huge uncertainties regarding the effects of climate change present scientists and policy makers with additional challenges. A new Task Force report jointly released on September 27,2010 by the Asia Society and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) brings together a pragmatic approach to public policy and the best science, with substantial input from key players in the field, to advance a comprehensive plan of action to address food insecurity and poverty in the region. The report, Never an Empty Bowl: Sustaining Food Security in Asia, outlines a strategy focused on three key areas: (1) Raising and sustaining the productivity of rice farmers, including improving resilience of crops to climate change. (2) Increasing investments by countries and donor organizations in rural development, with the agricultural sector as the priority. (3) Bringing food safety net programs up to scale at the national level with investments that target better health, nutrition and formal education programs. To help bring about sustainable food security throughout Asia, the report calls for the creation of innovative public-private partnership arrangements, as well as partnerships involving different levels of government, civil society organizations, and donor organizations, in these three areas. Additionally, the Task Force recommends establishing a center for the coordination of food security activities in Asia to document the systemic nature of long-run food security challenges in Asia and identify appropriate systemic approaches to them.
Resource link: Never an Empty Bowl: Sustaining Food Security in Asia [PDF] - 622K