As multiple crises continue to threaten the world, the United Nations estimates that 350 million people will face acute food insecurity this year. Former UN World Food Programme (WFP) chief David Beasley pointed to the next 12 to 18 months as being a critical period to garner funds to stave off extreme hunger, which could ultimately lead to destabilisation among other problems. He lamented that the number of people staring starvation in the face had grown from 80 million in 2017 when he took over the organisation to what it is today.
Wars, particularly the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the COVID-19 pandemic are among the reasons for that steep increase. However, as has been done before, Mr Beasley took the opportunity to point out that global wealth far exceeded its opposite and in fact, during the pandemic many of the world’s richest individuals had amassed even more profit. He joined the largely unheeded voices that have been calling for less greed and more giving since the early 2000s.
Of course, charity is only an interim measure as it cannot completely wipe out global hunger. The long-term solution lies in producing more food to feed the world’s burgeoning population and this includes such innovations as self sufficiency, lowering food imports and developing climate resilient crops. None of this is new information, however, the steps being taken to achieve these targets can be best described as desultory. With 2030 a mere seven years away and the threat of missing Sustainable Development Goal Two: Zero Hunger looming, the lack of momentum is both disappointing and alarming.
On Tuesday, Mr Beasley formally handed over the reins of the WFP to fellow American Cindy McCain, widow of the late senator John McCain, who has spent decades absorbed in humanitarian and non-profit work. The third woman to lead this important agency, it is expected that Ms McCain’s directorship will come under tremendous scrutiny; not that she isn’t used to being in the public eye. It will be to her credit and the benefit of the rest of the world if her tenure results in an improvement in the numbers quoted above.
It should be noted that one of her predecessors, Catherine Bertini, who won the World Food Prize in 2003 for transforming the WFP, had seen the value in focusing on women. Wherever possible, she had placed food distribution in their hands recognising that it was women who led families out of poverty, in spite of the disparity that existed (and still does) between what they do and the spaces allotted to them.
One of these spaces is in farming. Globally, men are seen as the faces of farming, even though, particularly in developing countries, women are responsible for some 60 percent of food production, specifically cash crops. The World Bank estimates that women in developing countries own less than 20 percent of farmland, but spend more than 50 hours a week working on family farms without remuneration. Women are also not well represented on farm boards and decision-making committees associated with farming.
These are issues that can be resolved with gender equality. Unfortunately, just last month, the UN estimated that goal as being 300 years away at the current rate of progress. However, it is not all doom and gloom. There have been initiatives involving women in agriculture and agribusiness that offer hope, including programmes initiated by UN Women, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the UN Population Fund among others.
Women have also been inspiring each other. One example is Jai Kumarie Persaud, a marketing graduate, whose story this newspaper featured last month. Mrs Persaud left an office job to work alongside her husband on his farm, but found her own niche planting cash crops and eventually supplying local supermarkets. She spoke of young women she met who already are or are becoming successful farmers. The gates are wide open for others to do the same and the government should ensure that land is made available to women, particularly single parents, who would like to pursue this path.
What is also encouraging is the growing number of young women attending the Guyana School of Agriculture. As important as it is now, food production is going to be doubly critical in the future. Women’s place in agriculture should not be simply as part of an unpaid labour force as they have an equally great contribution to make as their male counterparts.
