| Copyright (c) 2010 Alison Withers | | | | A persistent and indeed growing problem in the |
| In 2000 to mark the beginning of the new | | | | last couple of years has been access to food and |
| millennium the United Nations set eight ambitious | | | | rising costs. |
| goals to be achieved by 2015. | | | | There have been several conflicting reports on |
| Halving those numbers of people in the world living | | | | this issue, most recently an opinion piece by a |
| in poverty and reducing by two-thirds the | | | | spokesomean from the UK's Soil Association, |
| numbers of children dying before they reached | | | | arguing that it is incorrect to say, as many |
| their fifth birthday are among the eight goals. | | | | agencies have, that world food production needs |
| But in advance of a UN summit in September | | | | to double by 2050 to meet the growing |
| 2010 to review progress on the goals - plus a UN | | | | population. |
| emergency meeting for September 24 on | | | | In fact, the Association argues, figures have been |
| dramatically rising food prices -there has been a | | | | misrepresented and doubling only applies to |
| deluge of press releases and statistics that | | | | specific foods like meat rather than total food |
| suggest meeting the millennium goals within the | | | | production, that the projections actually need to |
| next five years is going to be a challenge. | | | | change to reflect changing diet patterns in some |
| The charity, Save the Children, says that there | | | | parts of the world reflecting increased wealth and |
| have been four million preventable child deaths in | | | | that they ignore the issues of access, distribution |
| the last decade because of states' failure to help | | | | and affordability as well as preventing other |
| the poorest in their societies. | | | | visions of food production and farming from being |
| The charity claims that developing countries use | | | | taken seriously. |
| methods to reduce deaths that lead to the lives | | | | It cirtes one study which claims that organic |
| of children from better off communities being | | | | agriculture would "probably" feed the projected |
| saved while those most disadvantaged are not, | | | | 2050 world population given relatively modest |
| which it describes as a dangerous trend. | | | | diets and a reduction in the inequality of food |
| Unicef too reports a huge and growing divides | | | | distribution. |
| between children from rich and poor backgrounds. | | | | Some low-tech solutions are about. In western |
| This feeds into another issue, highlighted by a | | | | India, for example basic pay as you go mobile |
| report from the Institute of Development Studies, | | | | phones are enabling farmers to access local |
| 1.3 billion of the world's poor live in what are called | | | | weather reports and market prices for their |
| Middle Income Countries (MICs) compared to 20 | | | | products while India's leading phone company |
| years ago when 93% lived in low-income | | | | Bharti Airtel is running a pilot project in |
| countries. | | | | Maharashtra testing the use of farm sprinkler |
| According to the paper the nature and directing | | | | systems that can be activated via a mobile |
| of aid is going to have to change in order to find | | | | phone. |
| new ways of helping the poorest in places liek | | | | Biopesticides Developers have a part to play in |
| India and China, whose economies have both | | | | moving to a more sustainable system of |
| been taking of but who have mot made much | | | | agriculture by using the range of low-chem |
| progress in lifteing their poorest citizens out of | | | | biopesticies and yield enhancers that they are |
| poverty. | | | | devising and are as useful to poor, small-scale |
| It is a message already picked up by the UK | | | | farmers as they are to larger agricultural |
| Government which has protected its aid budget | | | | businesses. Their licensing, production and |
| despite plans to cut back dramatically on spending | | | | distribution needs to be quicker and more |
| in other Government departments to try to | | | | affordable and accessible to those small farmers |
| repair the damage done by the global financial | | | | who could make use of them. |
| crisis that began in 2007-08. | | | | Plainly there needs to be a good deal more |
| UK Deputy PM Nick Glegg is expected to inform | | | | subtlety in the coming debate and more attention |
| the UN summit that the UK will be re-targeting its | | | | paid to specific situations in different parts of the |
| entire aid budget towards the most vulnerable | | | | world if there is to be any hope of reaching those |
| women and babies. | | | | millennium goals by the deadline. |