The Hindu Business Line : Food research body wants farm R&D doubled

Chennai, Oct 12 Even as the world is currently going through a painful financial turmoil, the attention of the policymakers may have unwittingly been diverted from the threat of high food prices and the fight against poverty and hunger.

Admittedly, food prices have declined in recent months, but they still are at levels unaffordable to the poor.

The credit crunch prevents accelerated flow of much needed investments into sectors such as agriculture.

In other words, serious engagement – call it, obsession – with the financial market can undermine production growth towards a more resilient global food system and can potentially harm the interests and livelihood of poor people.

The way forward

What’s the way forward? According to Mr Joachim von Braun, Director General of the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), investment in agricultural research can help fight the twin global crises of food and financial markets.

Suggesting 14 best bets that would reap the greatest benefits, the expert has grouped those under three broad headings:

Create and accelerate sustainable increases in productivity and production of healthy food by and for poor people;

Conserve, enhance and sustainably use natural resources and biodiversity to improve the livelihoods of the poor and respond to climate change; and

Mobilise science and technology to stimulate institutional innovation and enabling policies for pro-poor agricultural growth and gender equality.

Doubling the Spend

Doubling the spending on public agricultural research over five years would significantly raise agricultural output and reduce poverty, according to IFPRI analysis, which says targeting different regions would yield different benefits.

Allocating more investment to East and South-east Asia would raise agricultural output growth the most and reduce the number of people living on less than $1 a day by 204 million by 2020.

Spending more in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia would have less impact on agricultural growth, but would lift more people, about 282 million, out of poverty by 2020.

According to Mr von Braun, while the investments required might seem large by the standards of agricultural research, they are small compared with other general development expenditure.

In view of the enormous benefits in terms of health and well-being of billion, he calls the investment a moral imperative.

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