As a "National Town Meeting," the intent of the 1985 World Food Day Teleconference is to broaden the discussion of food policy issues and to focus particularly on the kind of development that fosters long-term, sustainable agriculture. This concept paper discusses the broad themes of the program and provides planners and partici- pants with an overview of the second annual teleconference.
In the 12 months since the first World Food Day Teleconference, widespread hunger and the ominous spread of famine in Africa evoked a worldwide response from national governments and non-governmental organizations — and from individuals across national borders. Almost $5 billion in food aid and other assistance has been pledged for 1985. Yet hunger remains widespread throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and the threat of large scale deaths from starvation will not diminish for several years. Another $5 billion in aid and assistance will be needed in 1986, according to most experts.
The hunger that exists in Africa, and in much of the Third World, however, is a manifestation of many problems: of deeply rooted poverty; of agricultural lands over-cultivated or abused by improper farming in the struggle for subsistence and surplus; of the failure of policies that do not place "food first." Hunger is a symptom of poverty and a socio-economic condition.
While Americans continue to support government action and contribute to private voluntary programs, they also recognize that emergency programs that deal only with symptoms are not enough. Improvement in the quality of life is the cure for the disease of poverty, and development assistance can be a means by which families and communities can be helped to overcome poverty and hunger.
Since rural areas are the principal source of domestic food supplies, any increase in the quality of life in the developing world will require an increase in the output from rural areas; i.e., from the agricultural sector. This view of the role of agriculture has not always prevailed in U.S. development policy, nor in the devel- opment policies of other nations and-the international community. In the 1950s and 1960s agriculture was neglected while industrial development was given preference. One reason was a misreading by experts of the fact that as countries become richer, agriculture's contribution to GNP falls. In the industrial nations, for example, agriculture accounts for less than three per cent of GNP.
The logic used to justify this emphasis on industrial investment was false. Agricultural growth complements industrial growth; it doesn't cramp it. Since most workers in developing economies are involved in agriculture, increasing agricultural income generates more demand for products — i.e., bicycles, radios, clothing -- are produced by industry. By the mid-1970s, development assistance policy had begun to shift. The World Bank began to put more emphasis on agricultural development; the FAO World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development was held; governments of many developing countries began diverting more resources into agriculture. The results have been encouraging. Food production per capita has increased steadily in Latin America and Asia.
During the 1970s, 23 primarily agricultural countries — those where farming accounts for 20 per cent or more of GNP — had economic growth rates of over 5 per cent a year; in all but 6, farming output grew by more than 3 per cent. Of 17 countries whose GNP grew less than 3 per cent a year in the 1970s, 11 had agricultural growth rates of under one per cent. Most of the latter were in Africa where food production per capita in sub-Saharan countries actually fell during the 1970s.
In the 1980s, development will require a commitment to a relationship that involves trade, international finance and investment. Development in rural areas will entail a variety of resources, applied to small farming units and focused on more appropriate agricultural methods for small farmers — most of whom in Africa especially are women.
Emphasis on agricultural development will present new kinds of problem seven as it succeeds in raising per capita food supplies. Pressure on fragile land and water resources will increase, threatening an ecological crisis that already is looming in some regions. The World Bank in September warned that indiscriminate deforestation and land clearing is causing soil erosion, rapid runoff of water and flooding, siltation in hydropower and irrigation projects and is causing agricultural losses. The pattern is particularly evident in Africa where the drought has hastened an already alarming trend.
The combined effects of drought, land degradation and the extension of agriculture into increasingly marginal lands are sapping the productive potential of the world's drylands. The task for development assistance programs is to insure that access to available technology which, with adequate inputs and good resource management, can make the same piece of land support many more people while putting less pressure on often fragile ecosystems.
In China, India and most of the developing countries where some improvement in basic living conditions is occurring, population growth and population planning are being taken into account in long-term planning for development, desertification control and other aspects of environmental conservation. Essentially, the task is to restore the balance between people and land and resources. Other factors — such as rural infrastructure, water management, more equitable land tenure systems, producer incentives and improved services of health and education — will also be a part of the process of agricultural modernization.
The four teleconference speakers will address these issues - and others - from very different perspectives. Whether government appointee or elected official, whether international civil servant or author/researcher, the panelists will seek to indicate the complexity of food policies and programs and the problems they are designed to solve.
Peter McPherson, Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development in the Reagan Administration since 1980, will discuss the U.S. government's bilateral development policies. Having been a Peace Corps volunteer, Mr. McPherson has first-hand development experience, and continues to work closely with private voluntary organizations involved in development assistance and resource renewal.
Senator Paul Simon, a Democrat from Illinois, will represent the legislative viewpoint in food policy. A veteran of the House of Representatives before his election to the Senate, Mr. Simon will draw parallels between national and international issues and policies.
Barbara Huddleston, Chief of the Food Security and Information Service of th UN Food and Agriculture Organization, will provide information on the multi- lateral organization's responsibilities for monitoring and assisting agricultural development worldwide.
Marie Angelique Savane, president of the Association of African Women for Research on Development, will share the, African perspective on overcoming this current famine and striving for self-reliance. Newly elected as the inter- national vice president of the Society for International Development, Mme. Savane will also discuss the importance of involving beneficiaries themselves in the development process.
The moderator for both the first and third hour of the teleconference will be Renee Poussaint, award-winning anchorwoman of the ABC-TV affiliate station in Washington, D.C. Ms. Poussaint holds a masters degree in Africa studies and has recently returned from Africa where she prepared a documentary series on the situation there. .