At the launch of the Global Report on Food Crises 2017, Daniel Gustafson, the Deputy Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, warned that 108 million people are in “food crisis” around the world. Daniel Gustavson joined the FAO in 1994, serving in Africa and South Asia. Before assuming his present role, he was the director of the organisation’s Liaison Office for the US and Canada. Gustavson spoke with EURACTIV.com Development Correspondent Matthew Tempest. The message of today’s report seemed to be summed up in the words that ‘famine is back’, especially looking at South Sudan, Somalia and north-east Nigeria.
Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica announced today additional EU support to respond to the crises in South Sudan, Somalia and its neighbouring countries, during an official visit to the African Union. On the occasion of an official visit to the African Union in Addis Ababa, Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica, announced a support package of €165 million to address the multiple crises in the Horn of Africa region. Commissioner Mimica said: "The sooner we act, the more lives we can save. This package of €165 million will support the urgent needs of South Sudanese people in the country and the region but also the millions of people at risk of famine in the Horn of Africa. With this additional support, the EU shows the way to other members of the international community to also respond urgently."
The Government has pumped more than $18 million into the establishment of an in vitro propagation of Irish potato seeds programme in a bid to reduce the country’s dependence on imported seeds. The Government is also hoping that the programme will increase the yields of Irish potato farmers across the island. The project, which is a component of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries’ National Irish Potato Development Programme, will be implemented with the assistance of the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), the Scientific Research Council (SRC), and the Northern Caribbean University (NCU)
The global governance of food security and nutrition (FSN) has been evolving rapidly over the last 10 years. While the reform of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in 2008-2009 has been celebrated for its “exemplarity” with respect to inclusiveness and accountability, recent trends have led to a growing complexity and fragmentation of the governance regime for FSN. In such a context, this policy brief traces back the main changes that have occurred over the last years to draw their political implications for FSN-related EU policies. The paper recalls the main aspects of the reform of the CFS. It then shows that despite it has been said to be “the foremost inclusive international and intergovernmental platform dealing with FSN”, the current governance regime is still highly fragmented.
Development agencies must use the momentum from COP22 to prioritise water infrastructure projects and help mitigate the effects of climate change and extreme weather events in Africa, write Elke Herrfahrdt-Pähle and Waltina Scheumann. Elke Herrfahrdt-Pähle is an economist and Waltina Scheumann is a political scientist. This editorial was first published by the German Development Institute (DIE). Last Friday (18 November) marked the end of COP22 in Marrakesh, which addressed the implementation of the climate agreement signed in Paris one year ago. The accord at long last recognised that climate change adaptation is equally as important as greenhouse gas emissions reduction.
Vanuatu hosted its first ever Agritourism Festival from 9-11th November at the Agriculture Complex- Tagabe, in the capital city of Port Vila. Agriculture and food production are critical to Vanuatu’s prosperity and welfare: for food security and job creation. Given that animal, vegetable and other food products equate to over 82% of the island’s economy, Vanuatu boasts rich agricultural resources. Yet, the country is still heavily reliant on imports, which in 2011 amounted to over 280 million USD (more than four times the amount of exports). Vanuatu, like many other Pacific Island nations, relies on cheap, calorific and low nutritional food imports from the USA and Australasia.
The Dutch and Mozambican authorities on Tuesday signed two agreements to improve water supply, under which Holland will provide funding of 13.5 million euros (about 14.5 million US dollars). Signing the agreements were the general director of the Mozambican government's Water Supply Assets and Investment Fund (FIPAG), Pedro Paulino, and the Dutch Deputy Director-General for Development Cooperation, Reina Buijs.
The Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) will fund two projects in eastern Sudan aimed at improving water, sanitation and hygiene services in Kassala state, and in treating and preventing malnutrition in Red Sea state. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports in its latest weekly bulletin that the two projects will cost €1.3 million (about $1.45 million) in total. In Kassala State, the €800,000 ($891,000) one-year project will address the severe need for water and waste management services. It will be implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In many regions of central and northern Tanzania, lives and livelihoods suffer from periodic weather-related stress, particularly from below-normal rainfall. The resulting crop failures and loss of livestock increases economic hardship, forcing thousands of families to skip meals, sell assets, cut back on medical care, or stop attending school. While these strategies help populations live through difficult times, they dampen quality of life and limit opportunities for development.
The Italian government, through the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation, is to provide €500,000 for a new project to be implemented by Children's Rights & Emergency Relief Organization Unicef-implemented in Sudan's Red Sea state. A joint press statement by Unicef and the Italian government says that the 12-month project is to be implemented in five localities in the Eastern State with an aim to prevent and control malnutrition in the region, specifically targeting children under 5, pregnant and lactating women. "While funded by Italy, Unicef is to provide technical guidance and support to the Ministry of Health in the State of Red Sea, its main implementing partner in the region.