Chennai: “With an estimated 8 billion mouths to feed by 2025, achieving zero hunger by that deadline is indeed challenging and this calls for arriving at precise solutions, particularly in ensuring access to nutritious food, not calories alone,” said Dr M.S. Swaminathan, founder chairman of the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai.
“Family farming offers an effective and economic solution to help meet the challenge of making sure that each person has access not just to calories, but to nutritious food,” he pointed out.
The United Nations designating 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming, has opened up opportunities to encourage a shift in tackling global hunger — from a ‘food security’ focus to an agenda that promotes ‘nutrition security’ instead. The drive to reduce hunger in the world has largely relied on crops, such as wheat and rice, that provide calories. But an increase in calories alone is not good enough. Improved diets and good health require bolstering nutrition, he said.
In consonance with the UN theme, an Asia Pacific Regional Consultation on the ‘Role of family farming in the 21st century: achieving the zero hunger challenge by 2025’ will be held at the MSSRF, Taramani, from August 7 to 10. Ministerial delegates from 12 countries apart, over 200 participants from national and international organisations, farmer groups and academicians will take part in the four-day event being held in partnership with global and national agencies including the FAO, International Development Research Centre, Canada, World Food Programme and others. Union agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh will also participate.
According to executive director, MSSRF, Dr Ajay Parida, “While there is rapid urbanisation and growing corporate farming in some countries, as over 60 per cent of agriculture is carried out in small farm holdings in India, making family farms profitable is the best way of ensuring their sustainability for crop diversity, nutrition security and healthier lives.”
