While global attention is being focussed on the swarms of desert locusts attacking crops in East Africa, a number of other countries and regions are also confronting serious food security threats and require support.
This was stated by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which released a funding appeal recently, wherein it sought $900 million to reach 43 million vulnerable, agriculture-dependent people at risk of increased acute food insecurity in 22 countries, including Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Libya, Myanmar, Syria and Yemen.
This represents the FAO component of the UN system's consolidated 2020 humanitarian appeal. It does not include the additional $138 million that the organization is seeking for countries in East Africa affected by the ongoing desert locust upsurge.
“The majority of people facing acute food insecurity globally - due to conflicts, the impacts of climate change or economic constraints - rely on agriculture for their livelihoods,” said FAO director-general, Qu Dongyu.
“We need to provide them with the necessary tools to cope with these challenges, enhance their resilience and bounce back,” he added.
What it takes to keep people self-reliant
FAO’s 2020 appeal outlined a range of initiatives aimed at boosting local food production and enhancing nutrition, while strengthening people’s resilience to shocks like conflicts and insecurity, pests and extreme weather.
Activities vary from country to country, but FAO's goal is to help people produce nutritious food, earn an income and become self-reliant as fast as possible. This can be done by providing agricultural inputs such as seeds, tools, fertilisers and other inputs for crop farming, livestock restocking, by providing animal feed and veterinary care and distributing fishing gear, as well as cash assistance which helps people meet their immediate needs while continuing to produce food.
FAO is also working with communities to help them strengthen their approach to farming and natural resource management, raise their agricultural productivity, and pursue livelihood diversification strategies.
An ounce of prevention
The last edition of the Global Report on Food Crises indicated that the drivers of acute food insecurity included conflict, climate-related shocks, natural disasters, plant and animal pests and diseases, and economic downturn. It was clear that the underlying causes needed to be addressed.
Investing in risk reduction and building the ability of vulnerable people to withstand shocks before they occur is a more humane, effective and cost-efficient approach than responding to the aftermath of disasters.
FAO's unique blend of humanitarian assistance combines shorter-term responses with anticipatory actions and longer-term resilience-building interventions that seek to build the coping capacity of vulnerable populations before shocks hit.
