The world “must face up to some difficult questions” around how it feeds the planet, President Michael D. Higgins has stated, in his opening address at the Africa Food Summit in Senegal.
The summit is taking place from January 25-27, and will see governments, those in the private sector, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and scientists come together to address the challenges around food security in Africa.
Speaking on the first day of the event, President Higgins said that the global food production system is “fundamentally” and “deeply flawed”.
A heavy dependency on a small number of food staples within some nations and the high rate of food waste in others are impacting democracy, and people “must address how this has come to pass” he said.
“Do we have the balance right globally between feeding people and feeding animals to feed people?
“What about the balance between meat and plant-based diets with regard to health, nutrition and climate impacts?
“How do we find the optimal balance between land used for food crops versus land used for bio-fuel crops and what are the cultural implications of changes in land use?”
These are the questions which must be answered according to President Higgins, who said that while the need to increase food production to feed a growing population is urgent, this must be done appropriately, through “fair and transparent partnerships”.
“Such increases must also be sustainable, even as we continue to lose land to environmental degradation and climate change, with horrific loss of biodiversity.
“Nine out of the 10 most climate-vulnerable countries in the entire world are in sub-Saharan Africa.
“As for emissions, of the 20 countries most affected by climate change, between them they account for only 0.55% of global emissions,” he outlined.
The president said these statistics demonstrate how unfair it is that those who are affected the most by climate change are not the ones contributing heavily to it.
He added that in order to combat this, “best ecological practices in agriculture, agroecology need to become widespread”, so that African countries can become more self-reliant and contribute to feeding the world.
“A colonially imposed food system, which has exacerbated food insecurity by creating over-dependence on a small number of staples and an over-reliance on imported fertiliser, pesticide and seeds.
“We must acquire a space for the discourse needed to achieve the necessary transformation in policy and practice. It is an achievement we have yet to make,” concluded the president.