PRESS BRIEFING BY WORLD FOOD SUMMIT SECRETARY-GENERAL

27 June 1996

Press Briefing

19960627 FOR INFORMATION OF UNITED NATIONS SECRETARIAT ONLY

The forthcoming World Food Summit would aim to renew the commitment of world leaders to achieving universal food security, the Summit's Secretary- General, Kay Killingsworth, told correspondents at a press briefing today. The Summit, to be held in Rome from 13 to 17 November, would be the first such event convened at the level of Heads of State and government since the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was founded 50 years ago, she added.

Ms. Killingsworth said national policies in sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, forestry, transport, labour, commerce, finance, education, health and human welfare all had an important impact on food security. Only Heads of State or government could influence national policies in all of those sectors. Their personal participation would help mobilize the kind of interest and commitment necessary to make the Summit a success, leading to lasting and concrete results.

The decision to hold the Summit had been unanimously endorsed by the FAO Conference in October 1995 and by the General Assembly in December of that year, she recalled. Developments in the global marketplace were a reminder that there was no room for complacency about the food situation. The world's grain reserves had fallen below the level necessary to guarantee global food security, and grain prices had soared. This year, low-income, food deficit developing countries had paid out $3.2 billion more than the last season for cereal imports.

Despite the urgency of these developments, she said, the Summit had not been called in response to what might only be a short-term crisis; there was a long-term structural problem which the international community must address.

Ms. Killingsworth said progress in the past few decades had been impressive by any yardstick. The percentage of hungry and malnourished people, as a proportion of the global population, had decreased significantly, and global food production had kept pace with population growth. Countries that two or three centuries ago had experienced chronic food shortages and sometimes terrible famines now produced or procured most their basic food.

However, expanding populations meant available farmland was decreasing and freshwater resources were becoming more scarce, she continued. Forest cover was shrinking, fisheries resources were being overexploited, and more and more marginal land was being brought into production, thus accelerating the pace of degradation. By the year 2030, there would be some 3 billion more people in the world who would have to be nourished in sustainable ways. Action was needed now to prepare for future food needs. Research took a long time to yield results, and there were distressing trends showing decreased investment in research, she added.

World Food Summit Briefing - 2 - 27 June 1996

She said that although food producers could produce enough total food for the world's population, distribution within and among regions, countries and even within households remained terribly skewed. Hunger was a cause and an effect of social unrest, political upheaval, armed conflict and massive population movements within and outside borders. Although poverty and hunger existed to a greater or lesser degree in most countries, 800 million people in developing nations were chronically undernourished, including 200 million children under five years of age. Without decisive action, the FAO estimated that 600 million to 700 million people would still be chronically undernourished by the year 2010, with well over 300 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa.

The world was still very far from the vision of the FAO's founders, she said. More than 20 years after the 1974 World Food Conference, the goal of eradicating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition was still elusive. The time was ripe for world leaders to turn their attention to the issue of food security, to address the misery of the hungry, and to agree on policies and actions to ensure sustained progress towards food security for all.

The Summit's preparatory process would be short, she said. It would rely on the FAO's existing intergovernmental negotiating machinery in order to keep costs to a minimum. Annual meetings at FAO headquarters were serving as preparatory sessions. The Committee on World Food Security, which was acting as the preparatory body, was negotiating informally on the texts to be submitted to the Summit. There would be a short, political declaration or statement and a concise plan of action which identified specific and achievable objectives.

Representatives from nearly 200 countries were expected to attend the Summit, she said. One ingredient for success would be general support and consensus on concerted action to address current problems and the research needed to deal with future food needs. Widespread awareness and recognition that food security was a problem which affected everyone was also important. The media could play an important role, both in preparatory sessions and in the follow up to the Summit. Civil society, the academic community and non- governmental organizations sensitized the general public to the importance of adopting the right policies.

The high-level participation in the Summit was a sign of acute awareness of the clear relation between food security and national security, she said. The right to adequate food was enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many other international covenants, and was a basic tenant of every moral and ethical system. Among the Summit's goals was to ensure that action was taken to deal with long-term structural problems that caused many food emergencies.

World Food Summit Briefing - 3 - 27 June 1996

Were there any fact sheets on the food problem? a correspondent asked. Ms. Killingsworth said a number of brochures and studies on the dimensions of the hunger problem were available.

Asked for a definition of food security, Ms. Killingsworth replied that the FAO defined food security as having three components -- availability, stability and access. Food supplies had to be available not just globally but where they were needed and on a stable basis. Each individual must have access to adequate food to ensure a proper diet. The three-pronged definition must be applied to nations, regions and individuals, she added.

Was there a mechanism to use the enormous amounts of food which were being dumped in developing countries? a correspondent asked. She said there were many such mechanisms including the Committee on Surplus Disposal. Traditionally and historically there had been many efforts to use food surpluses, but it was important to note that surpluses were not a substitute for adequate food production which would free countries from dependence on international assistance. In the future there would be less and less food surpluses, she added.

Why was the Summit not a pledging conference? a correspondent asked. Ms. Killingsworth replied that countries had decided that it was important to address the actions needed and to leave the task of fund-raising to existing mechanisms. It had also been decided that the Summit would not lead to the creation of any new institutions. Instead, it would focus on getting existing bodies to work together.

Responding to a question on the extent of United Nations involvement in the Summit, she said a large number of United Nations agencies had been involved in the preparatory meetings. A series of technical documents was being produced with the participation of various United Nations organizations. The FAO would hold a seminar next week with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on the implications of the population/food supply equation. It had produced a document on environmental management and food with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Another document on nutrition had been produced with the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

* *** *