More than 160 parliamentarians from 45 countries met in Rome in mid-November at the invitation of the IPU and the Italian Parliament to contribute to the outcome of the World Summit on Food Security. The meeting was held under the overall theme of "Parliaments addressing agriculture, hunger and food insecurity in times of global crises".
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Food insecurity has increased in recent years, culminating in popular riots in several cities around the world. In order to guarantee social stability and peace, the issue of food insecurity needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Because agricultural policies are interconnected, the food insecurity problem cannot be resolved without addressing the politics of agriculture. The 21st century has seen many technological and scientific achievements, yet there are still citizens who do not enjoy one of the most basic human rights: the right to food. Moreover, in times of crisis - the financial crisis and the environmental crisis caused by climate change - additional challenges are posed to combating food insecurity.
As IPU President, Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, said, "You will no doubt remember the riots that broke out in several cities in 2007 and 2008, triggered by soaring food prices. Driven to desperation, people took to the streets to demand a solution to the problem from us, their politicians. But we know how difficult it is, if not impossible, for one country or even one region to guarantee food security. Across the world there are millions of parents wondering how they are going to manage to feed their families when the next day comes, going to sleep on an empty stomach in order to keep their children alive."
Prof. Olivier de Schutter, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, led an intense and lively debate with the parliamentarians, urging them to become active participants in the fight for food security. Dr. Cecilia Rocha, Director of the Centre for Studies on Food Security at Ryerson University in Canada, referred to the successful efforts undertaken by Brazil to combat hunger. Strong political will, active involvement of civil society, a comprehensive approach and the robust support provided by the Brazilian Parliament were key ingredients that led to real progress and measurable results.
The participants underscored the fact that the world will continue to face a serious food crisis. They agreed that several challenges had to be addressed, not just the problem of food production, but also problems relating to food distribution, from the small farmer to the markets, the affordability of food, quality and nutritional diversity, social inequalities and poverty, marginalization of women and gender inequality, insecurity and conflict, ineffective programmes and corruption. To address these challenges, parliamentarians identified a clear set of recommendations, taking responsibility into their own hands and adopting legal frameworks and national strategies to protect the right to food. As women’s empowerment is a key component of the efforts, it was agreed that parliaments should adopt entitlement laws that cover women’s access to land, credit and markets. They should also give agricultural development the priority it deserves in the budget, examine current agricultural policies from a climate change perspective and promote policies and methods that have a less severe impact on the climate, monitor implementation of programmes to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable in society are met, and monitor the impact of trade agreements on the right to food.
In spite of the tremendous challenges the world faces in the area of food security, the parliamentarians went away with the conviction that, working together, they can truly be a part of the solution.
