HUNGER IS OBSTACLE TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SPEAKERS STRESS AS ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE TAKES UP OUTCOME OF ROME WORLD FOOD SUMMIT

Press Release
GA/EF/2781

HUNGER IS OBSTACLE TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SPEAKERS STRESS AS ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL COMMITTEE TAKES UP OUTCOME OF ROME WORLD FOOD SUMMIT

Malnutrition remains an impediment to development not only in countries affected by emergencies, but throughout the world, a representative of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) this morning as it began its consideration of food and sustainable agricultural development.

Malnutrition violated the human rights of 850 million people who did not have enough food to meet their basic needs, he continued. Integrated development strategies, broader partnerships, and social and economic empowerment of the poor were needed to tackle the problem. The role of women in ensuring food security must be addressed by protecting their rights and improving their health and nutrition.

The representative of the United Republic of Tanzania, speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said hunger was a direct and powerful constraint to both economic and social development of many developing countries. For development to be meaningful in those countries, the international community must meet the challenges of hunger today, as it caused irreversible damage and led to hunger tomorrow.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union and associated States, the representative of Luxembourg said the role of women in food production could not be overestimated. Their involvement in decision-making processes and their right to equal access to land, credit and inheritance were fundamental if food security was to be guaranteed.

Introducing the report on the outcome of the World Food Summit, a representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said governments must create an economic and political environment that guaranteed the food security of their citizens. The Rome Plan of Action called on them to review and revise, as appropriate, their national plans, programmes and strategies for the implementation of the Summit commitments.

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Statements were also made by the representatives of the Russian Federation, Guyana, Uruguay (on behalf of MERCOSUR), China, Senegal, Iran and Norway, as well as by the observer for the Holy See and a representative of the World Food Programme (WFP).

Also this morning, Herman B. Leonard, Baker Professor of Public Management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, lectured the Committee on "Building strategies for public policies in a globalizing environment".

Responding to questions from Committee members, he said globalization and free enterprise did not mean the end of political institutions. But globalization would, no doubt, transform the role of the government, although it would not mean its disappearance. Humility and the ability to listen and learn from mistakes were necessary in trying to persuade people to accept policies which would not immediately improve the material condition of individuals, although they might benefit society as a whole, he added.

The Committee will meet again at 3:30 p.m. today to continue its discussion of food and sustainable agricultural development and to begin consideration of the implementation of the outcome of the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II).

Committee Work Programme

The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met this morning to consider, under the general heading "sector policy questions", food and sustainable agricultural development. (For background information, see Press Release GA/EF/2780 of 30 October.) It was also scheduled to hear a keynote address by Herman B. Leonard, Baker Professor of Public Management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Keynote Address

HERMAN B. LEONARD, Baker Professor of Public Management at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, delivered a lecture on "Building strategies for public policies in a globalizing environment". He said the Kennedy School taught people, from the federal and local levels of government and the public and private sector, how to lead in the public interest through democratic political institutions. Over the years the school had developed a unified curriculum, and today he would give the Committee a compressed overview of the basic ideas in that curriculum. Those ideas were strategy, leadership and democracy, which were intimately connected with each other.

He said a strategic policy required the fitting together of three important elements: the idea of capacity; the notion of public value; and political public support. Capacity involved the ideas or programmes or functions that a given government or society was able to carry out. Public value was the set of activities, programmes and policies, that if put into operation by a government would create value for a society as a whole, such as an effective educational system. Strategies were designed to move capacities to produce more public value. One of the tasks of leadership was to build new capacities and move them in the direction where public value existed. Without political support the capacities would be drained of resources.

He asked the delegations why value and support did not always overlap and why the public did not support policies that were not valuable? There were several reasons for those phenomena, including that the public might have a different idea about what priorities had value. The public also might not understand how the world worked, as in the case of globalization. Globalization was not a question, it was a reality. The question was how successfully societies would organize themselves to address the challenges of globalization. Many people were deeply misinformed about globalization and how they needed to respond to it. Another reason was that the elements of support were based in self-interest and not in the public interest.

One of the challenges of a democratic society was to mobilize support for policies that had public value, he said. Leadership was fundamentally about persuading people to take up new challenges; it was the fine art of taking people to a better place when they did not want to go there.

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Therefore, the tools of strategy-building in a democratic system were analysis, management and advocacy. Democratic political institutions were not always good at producing efficiency and persuading people to face difficult challenges.

The most common response to the challenges of building strategies for public policies in a globalizing environment was for people to do nothing, Mr. Leonard said. Leaders must be prepared for a hostile response when they try to move their societies towards globalization. The key tool leaders had at their disposal were advocacy, persuasion and education. Learning was a very stressful process. The status quo was powerful. They wanted to leave things as they were. They were afraid of new challenges. Globalization was particularly stressful because it challenged entrenched institutions, because it was full of uncertainties and because it left the protected vulnerable. Free trade enhanced growth, but the process of freeing trade was difficult in many societies. Some people saw free trade as a threat. The challenge was selling the concept to the citizens of any country. The challenge was the challenge of leadership. Globalization was a particularly challenging phenomenon and leadership to make hard choices was needed.

Responding to questions from several delegates, he said globalization and free enterprise did not mean the end of political institutions. Those institutions were needed to maintain the rules, look after the educational process and perform other services. But globalization would no doubt transform the role of the government. It would not mean that governments would disappear. Humility and the ability to listen and learn from mistakes were necessary in trying to persuade people to accept policies which would not immediately improve the material condition of individuals, although they might benefit society as a whole.

Responding to a question concerning the teaching of leadership, Mr. Leonard said that as a professor he had to believe that leadership was a teachable activity and not an inborn personality trait. Leadership was an activity, and a set of behaviours and actions taken, particularly actions that advocated for the public to take up a new challenge. People were more effective when they led strategically. If leaders explained to the public why an action was in their interest, the challenge did not need to be stressful.

Statements

FREDERICK WEIBGEN, Senior Liaison Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Liaison Office with the United Nations, reading out a statement by FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf, said there was no room for complacency in the aftermath of the World Food Summit. The Plan of Action called for concerted action at all levels, and noted that coordinated efforts and shared responsibilities were essential. It was at the country level that the major effort must be made. Governments were responsible for creating an economic and political environment that assured the food security of their

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citizens, involving for that purpose all elements of civil society. The Plan of Action called on them to review and revise, as appropriate, their national plans, programmes and strategies, and to establish or improve national mechanisms for priority setting and action to enable the implementation of the Summit commitments.

The FAO was nearing completion of a major effort undertaken to help the developing countries, and those with economies in transition, to prepare national strategies for agricultural development up to the year 2010, he said. That was conceived as a means of transposing the Summit's commitments from the global to the national level, and as a contribution to the preparation or revision of those national plans, programmes and strategies in the all- important food, agriculture and rural development sector. FAO's action in the field was spearheaded by the Special Programme for Food Security, which was designed to assist 86 low-income food-deficit countries. Most of the 840 million people suffering from chronic undernutrition lived in those countries. The Programme aimed to increase food production, stability and availability, as well as rural incomes, where the need was greatest, and in doing so responded directly to "commitment three" of the Plan of Action.

KATINDA E. KAMANDO (United Republic of Tanzania), speaking on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing countries and China, said the Rome Food Summit Declaration was an important instrument to address squarely the problems of hunger and poverty facing over 800 million people in the rural areas of most developing countries. Success in implementing the declaration would depend on how the rural people, particularly women, were empowered in terms of resources and technology. For rural women in developing countries, the battle against hunger and malnourishment was indeed a battle for life. The international community must redouble its efforts to achieve the objectives of the Rome Summit. Developed countries should support the efforts of the FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) in achieving the objectives of food security for all.

Emphasizing that food security was about people and not just about growing more food, he said it involved the ability of people to gain access to sufficient food. Hunger was a direct and powerful constraint to both economic and social development of many developing countries. For development to be meaningful in those countries, the international community must meet the challenges of hunger today, as it caused irreversible damage and led to hunger tomorrow. Malnourished women gave birth to babies whose start in life was already compromised. The international community must pursue policies that raised purchasing power over the longer term. Women should shoulder a major share of the responsibilities for household food security; resources for women were resources for food security.

JEAN-CLAUDE MEYER (Luxembourg), speaking on behalf of the European Union and Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Cyprus, said the multidimensional nature of the follow- up to the World Food Summit required action to be taken at the national,

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intergovernmental and institutional levels. National governments had the primary responsibility to carry out the follow-up to the Food Summit, to promote food security and to apply development policies that would ensure a more equitable allocation of resources. The role of women in food production could not be overestimated. Their involvement in decision-making processes and their right to equal access to land, credit and inheritance were fundamental if food security was to be guaranteed.

Countries should engage in active cooperation with each other and with United Nations agencies, financial institutions, intergovernmental and non- governmental organizations and the public and private sectors in order to define programmes that would ensure food security for all. Food security could also be improved by means of a fair system of access to markets. In the process of reviewing its agricultural policy, the European Union would take account of the implications of its revised policy for developing countries. The position of developing countries in the international food market would also be given more attention.

Investments in food security could not be restricted to mere transfers of capital or technology, he said. It also must concentrate on improving health and primary education, particularly for girls, participation by the poor in the planning of development programmes and better distribution of available resources.

VASILY NEBENZYA (Russian Federation) said his country would like to know what specific measures had been adopted by the United Nations system to implement the decisions of the World Food Summit in Rome. Russia was not interested in measures to institutionalize the follow-up machinery.

He sought information from the Secretariat on the outcome of the inter- agency follow-up endorsed by the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC) at its 1997 regular session; arrangements for establishing follow-up mechanism with other United Nations partners; and on experience on the work of thematic groups with participation of national governments and its external and internal partners, including non-governmental organizations, to support national action and the functioning of the electronic communication system. Russia hoped that the report of the ACC to the 1998 session of Economic and Social Council would provide more food for thought.

RENATO R. MARTINO, observer for the Holy See, said unsound economic policies were direct contributors to conditions of malnourishment. For the last 50 years national and international distortions of agricultural policies had produced enormous disparities in the prices of raw material and foodstuffs, and in the global agricultural economy itself. A matter of further concern was the procrastination in submitting specific solutions to the short and medium-term problems of the least developed countries and net food importer countries, which were created by the reform of the world trade system. In addition, as a result of the huge debts that had been run up by

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the governments of various developing countries, credit had become unavailable for the purchase of necessary technology which would help to sustain or increase food production.

The contribution of sustainable agricultural development to resolve the question of food security was undeniable, he said. Like other forms of development, it involved a commitment to giving those most in need the necessary means to contribute. Investment in education, basic health and other social necessities, like clean water, could lead to the ability to find and implement means of producing more food. Ways must be found to grant farmers greater access to local agricultural markets and credit. Improved vocational training in areas relating to agriculture and protection of land and the environment, as well as strategies to facilitate the transport and marketing of crops and livestock, would also foster sustained agricultural development.

GEORGE TALBOT (Guyana) said the spectre of hunger and malnutrition that beset the world was unacceptable, particularly with the manifold gains in agricultural development over the past 20 years. The challenge was not only to produce enough food but to ensure that each individual gained access to the food produced in order that the goal of universal food security could be realized. Guyana endorsed the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger. While the primary task for achieving food security rested with individual governments, efforts should be made to create an enabling international environment and cooperation to realize those goals. That was particularly the case for small States, such as Guyana and other Caribbean and African countries which depended on agriculture for survival.

Stressing that an unfavourable international environment could have potentially devastating consequences on those economies and undermine the achievement of food security, he said the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling on banana bore severe repercussions for the banana-exporting countries of the Caribbean and threatened their livelihood. It highlighted the critical links among international trade, the pursuit of sustainable agriculture and the achievement of food security. Other issues such as external debt, growing poverty and declining development financing must continue to engage the attention of the international community and the United Nations.

BORIS SVETOGORSKY MARINO (Uruguay), speaking on behalf of the member countries of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), said the last three decades had witnessed a deceleration in the growth of agriculture in the world. The countries of MERCOSUR were working to achieve sustainable agricultural development in order to reach major economic goals, including creating jobs. The growth in population obliged countries to produce a broad range of food to satisfy demand, yet food producing countries also needed to balance the needs of the environment and sustainable agricultural development.

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Despite the acceleration in the process of liberalizing markets, the countries of MERCOSUR believed that agricultural development was necessary to have an adequate level of food production and, therefore, reduce poverty levels, he said. The countries had created stable macroeconomic frameworks in order to increase food security. But the commitment of all the actors involved in world trade was needed. The markets of developed countries must be open to products of the countries of MERCOSUR.

The countries of MERCOSUR believed that development of rural economies and agricultural development were incentives for urban economies, he said. They led to the decrease in the price of food and increased national income. Advanced processes in biotechnology would lead to significant benefits for manufacturers and consumers and a raise in the agricultural yield.

CUI YING (China) said the Rome Declaration on World Food Security was a reflection of the international community's desire for food security. With the worsening of the food security situation it was important to give priority to agricultural development; sustainable agricultural development; eliminating the harmful effects of the liberalization of trade in agricultural products on developing countries; and strengthening international cooperation in the field of food and agriculture.

Her Government had always attached great importance to the issues of food and agriculture, and it had made agriculture the foundation of its overall economic development, she said. China's basic policy on the issue of food security relied on domestic resources to achieve basic food self- sufficiency. A report of the Fifteenth National Congress of the Communist Party advocated a number of basic agricultural development policies, including deepening rural reform; ensuring agricultural and rural economic development; increasing inputs to the agricultural sector; enhancing infrastructure development for agriculture; using science and education to promote agricultural development; and advancing the process of specialization, modernization and market orientation of agriculture.

China's goal for the twenty-first century was to achieve agricultural modernization based on sustainability, she said. By making vigorous efforts to resolve the issue of food security, her Government was not only responding to the needs of its own economic and social development, it was also making a great contribution to the eradication of poverty and the achievement of sustainable development in the whole world.

IBRA DEGUENE KA (Senegal) said it was a paradox that abundance and poverty, waste and hunger coexisted in the world today. The problem of hunger was not just the lack of food, it was a human problem. It was time for the international community to move away from words to deeds in addressing the problem of food security. The Rome Declaration must be implemented. Better access to credit, education, promotion of social justice and rural development

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were needed in tackling the issue of food and sustainable agricultural development. Acknowledging the importance of national efforts towards achieving the goals of food and sustainable agricultural development, he said the international community must complement those efforts not by donating free food, but through such long-term measures such as debt relief, increased official development assistance (ODA), investment and better trade policies. Those measures would guarantee food security for all. He said Senegal commended the activities of the FAO to combat hunger and raise food production, and commended the World Bank's rural development programme, adding that for Senegal agriculture remained the principal engine of economic growth and the means for combating poverty. DAVID ALNWICK, Chief, Nutrition Section, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said malnutrition remained an impediment to development not only in countries affected by emergencies, but throughout the world. Malnutrition violated the human rights of some 850 million people who did not have enough food to meet their basic needs. Micronutrient malnutrition undermined the health and intelligence of millions of people. Two billion people suffered from iron deficiency. To effectively tackle the problem of malnutrition, there was a need for more integrated development strategies, broader partnerships, and social and economic empowerment of the poor. The role of women in ensuring food security must be addressed. Protecting the rights and improving the health and nutrition of women were important. Pledging UNICEF's continued contribution to minimizing malnutrition, he said the organization would support countries in pursuit of the year 2000 goal of halving child nutrition, building on the momentum under way to eliminate vitamin A and iodine deficiencies. It would improve adolescent and women's health and nutrition; advocate the ratification and enforcement of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; and promote, protect and support breastfeeding and adequate complementary feeding. The UNICEF, through its country programmes, had been contributing to the implementation of the Plan of Action adopted by the World Food Summit in Rome last year. JEAN-JACQUES GRAISSE, Assistant Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), said WFP's activities in the implementation of the Plan of Action of the Food Summit had been focused on linking emergency relief and development, supporting women, especially in emergencies, and providing assistance to the neediest. Stressing that the WFP was fully involved in the follow-up to the Summit, he said the Programme had participated actively in technical consultation meetings and panel discussions. and that it would join the ACC network on rural development and food security. The WFP was determined to increase the effectiveness of its programmes even in an environment of declining resources.

MOHAMMAD-ALI ZARIE-ZARE (Iran) said the international community's support was imperative for the prosperity of agricultural development in

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developing countries. That support should not be limited to the provision of finances and the transfer of technology. It should also include creation and maintenance of a favourable international environment, particularly regarding the liberalization of market access for the agricultural products of the developing countries. Good domestic policies could only be pursued and executed with success when the external environment was conducive and helpful. Almost 70 per cent of water consumption was used in the agricultural sector worldwide, he said. A steady increase in world food production, coupled with the application of fertilizer and effective means of pest control, was dependent on irrigation and water-intensive activities. But providing sufficient freshwater for agriculture was becoming increasingly difficult, especially for countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Almost all of the countries with mainly arid territories and scarce freshwater resources in that region were already net food importers, he said. Food security in those countries was closely tied to the solidity of their trading position and sufficient hard currency to finance their foodstuff imports. Access to and utilization of the best agricultural methods and techniques, as well as efficient management or arable land and freshwater resources, were vital issues for that region. Agricultural and related industries were becoming increasingly technology-intensive sectors requiring a higher level of financial resources. The governments in the region seemed to find it hard to finance needed policies and measures to achieve food security and required international cooperation and support in the form of capital flows, transfer of technology and know-how. ODD-INGE KVALHEIM (Norway) said emphasis on the basic causes of poverty was crucial in developing strategies for reducing malnourishment. Food security should be looked at from a broadly based perspective, including the individual households' access to food and productive resources, as well as gender equality, land reform and environmental aspects. In order for the international community to play an effective and efficient role, increased cooperation and coordination was imperative. It was important that all agencies working with related issues were also given a role in the follow-up to the World Food Summit. His Government welcomed the significant role of the ACC in ensuring appropriate inter-agency coordination, he said. Of particular importance was the role of the United Nations resident coordinators at field level and the establishment of thematic groups with the participation of government representatives and external and internal partners, including non-governmental organizations. The further elaboration of the strategies for the follow-up of the Summit should also take the Secretary-General's report on United Nations reform into consideration. Reporting on the implementation of the different plans and programmes of action from the various world conferences represented a heavy workload for many countries and agencies, he said. Reporting routines should be made as simple and effective as possible in order not to use a disproportionate share of valuable resources on reporting.

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