Can EU tackle food security in developing world?

The European Commission is looking for views about the best ways to assist developing countries in addressing agriculture and food security challenges.

The development directorate-general has issued a public consultation on topics such as how EU development policy might contribute to increased food production in developing countries.

The consultation, which takes the form of a questionnaire, also covers the potential advantages and disadvantages of an EU-wide policy on agriculture and food security and the role of European support for other countries’ regional agricultural policies.

Also considered is how such a policy might help address the imbalances in household food distribution and weak social networks, for example access to adequate food among vulnerable groups such as women and children.

Food security can help provide adequate nutrition for children from the very beginning and is therefore important for fair health, according to the WHO.

“It is important to support... the availability of and access to healthy diets for infants and young children through improving food security,” said a WHO report on health inequalities.

“Healthy development during the early years provides the essential building blocks that enable people to lead a flourishing life in many domains, including social, emotional, cognitive, and physical well-being,” the report adds.

For more information on the impact of other policies on families and children, please visit the Gradient project website.

The EU is keen to reflect on its role in the current international agriculture and food security context before the 2010 review of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The European Commission says that a policy on agriculture and food security in developing countries may help with progress towards achieving the MDGs target given the difficulties encountered with the food, economic and financial crises.

The deadline for responding to this consultation is 9 January 2010.

You can access the full consultation document on this page.

The WHO report is available here.

[Photo: © European Communities, ECHO]