Food, Nutrition, Agriculture and the Millennium Development Goals

INTERNATIONAL FOOD

POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

sustainable solutions for ending hunger and poverty

Food, Nutrition, Agriculture and the Millennium Development Goals

Joachim Von Braun

Director General

International Food Policy Research Institute

IICA, May 28th 2004

INTERNATIONAL FOOD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE Page 2

Overview of Presentation

1. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) origin, concept and pitfalls

2. The role of Agriculture on MDGs

3. Challenges and disruptions on path to achieving MDGs


Origin and concept of MDGs

Millennium Declaration Goals

Strong international commitment

Eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and one or more targets for each.


Millennium Development Goals

1. Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty

2. Achieve universal primary education

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

4. Reduce child mortality

5. Improve maternal health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

8. Develop a global partnership for development


Towards achieving MDGs: Trend of undernourished people

920

817780 798

616 624 635663

500

550600

650700

750800

850900

950

1979-81 1990-92 1995-1997 1999-2001

Mil

lio

ns

Un

de

rno

uri

sh

ed

Developing World

Developing world without China


Problems facing MDG achievement

Theoretical problem: for efficient achievement of goals you need at least as many instruments as goals (Tinbergen)

A goal by goal approach may lead to inefficient instrument portfolios (e.g. agriculture, infrastructure neglected)

Roadmap to reach MDGs is missing

Lack of country and regional strategy


Agriculture and MDGs

Agriculture is important in stimulating sustainable economic growth and rural employment, and it can be the cornerstone for food security and poverty reduction

Agriculture serves many of the MDGs


MDG 1: Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty

Agriculture plays a crucial role in poverty and hunger eradication

Agriculture employment and undernourishment,

1996 - 2000

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

> 35

20 -34

5 - 19

2.5 - 4

< 2.5

% o

f p

opu

lati

on

un

der

nou

rish

ed

Agr iculture employment as a % of total employment (%)

Source: FAO, 2003



DIRECT EFFECTS

1. Agricultural productivity growth increases food availability and raises farm income improving consumption levels

2. Improves asset levels to enhance production and diminishes effects of shocks in the future

3. Increased production will decrease prices, improving purchasing power of the poor



INDIRECT EFFECTS

1. Households depending on rural non-farmeconomy and agro-industrial sector will: Increase income

Lead to more diversified and resilient economies

Increase demand for agricultural products (virtuous cycle)

2. Agriculture as engine of growth across all other national economies


MDG 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

1. Use of labor saving agricultural technology, reduces opportunity cost of farmer’s children attending school.

2. Broad economic growth will demand increasingly skilled labor, increasing returns of investing in children’s education

3. Agriculture-led economic growth should free more public resources to invest in education


MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

Improving agricultural productivity and empowering women works both ways:

1. Women’ s principal productive activities are in agriculture in developing world. Improving agriculture institutions in which women participate will promote economic opportunities for women.

2. Gender equality is a precondition for agriculture and rural development


MDG 4: Reduce child mortality

1. Agriculture assures food and nutrition security, decreasing child mortality

2. Women as caregivers: agricultural labor and time saving innovations will free time to care for their children

3. Dynamic agricultural sector will free resources for health spending


MDG 5: Improve maternal health

1. Agriculture can improve the quality of diets of women, improving maternal health

2. Increasing micronutrient content in food crops, declines prevalence of micronutrient deficiency among women, making maternal mortality rates drop.


MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

1. Good nutrition achieved though a dynamic agriculture will help mitigate impacts of HIV/AIDS

2. Improved agricultural productivity reduces risky behaviors, e.g. labor migration exposes population to new diseases.

3. Agricultural technology can create labor saving techniques for HIV affected households facing loss of labor power.


MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

1. Agriculture is the biggest user of water. Need for an efficient and sustainable agricultural sector and the public revenues that accrue from it that will enable greater levels of public provision of safe drinking water and improved sanitation.

2. A productive and sustainable agricultural system requires less land, leaving marginal agricultural lands to other uses (forests and other critical habitats)


MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability (Cont’d)

3. Population pressures in urban slums can be alleviated with profitable agriculture systems

4. Proper agricultural policies have the potential of allowing full costs of agricultural technologies to be considered:

• reducing the scope for excessive nutrient run-off from agriculture

• providing incentives for efficient energy use in the sector

• ecologically sustainable use of a range of technologies


MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development

1. International agriculture institutions are ahead in terms of global partnership. MDGs could learn from this experience (e.g. CGIAR, GFAR)

2. Need for a harmonized and rationalized global agricultural trade that will benefit poor agricultural producers

3. PRSPs should target agriculture as its the economic foundation for most poor people

4. Effective agricultural development will help decrease youth unemployment.


Challenges to MDGs?Decreasing World Cereal Stocks

World Cereal Stocks

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

mil

lio

n t

on

s


Challenges to MDGs?Increasing World Cereal Prices

Maize and Wheat International Prices

85

95

105

115

125

135

145

155

165

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

U$

S/T

on

Maize

Wheat


Projections to 2015

Progressive Policy Actions Scenario:

New Focus on Agricultural Growth and

Rural Development

Policy Failure Scenario:

Trade and Political Conflict, Rise in

Protectionism Worldwide

Technology and Resource Management Failure

Scenario:

Adverse Technology/Natural Resource

Interactions


World Cereal Production

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

1997 2015 2030 2050

mil

lio

n m

tProgressive Policy Actions

Policy Failure



Number of Malnourished Children in the World

0

40

80

120

160

200

1997 2015 2030 2050

Mil

lio

n c

hil

dre

n

Progressive Policy Actions

Policy Failure



Contribution of Agriculture to MDGs

Direct and Indirect contribution of agriculture to MDG achievement

: strong : medium : low

1. Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty2. Achieve universal primary education3. Promote gender equality and empower

women4. Reduce child mortality5. Improve maternal health6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other

diseases7. Ensure environmental sustainability8. Develop a global partnership for

development

Documents

Food, Nutrition, Agriculture and the Millennium Development Goals