This is a guest post by NEHA SAIGAL

It is well-recognized globally that hunger and malnutrition are serious issues, but even after years of failed attempts by world leaders to try and solve this complex problem there has been little change. In 2009 for the first time in history the population considered to be malnourished exceeded one billion people signalling the serious issue of food insecurity we are faced with. In an effort to bring this serious issue to the forefront, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations marks 16 October every year as ‘World Food Day’.

CLEAR EVIDENCE BUT NO ACTION

This year’s World Food Day (WFD) is important for 2 reasons that require immediate attention and action by decision makers globally. First is the theme which centers on the need for sustainable food systems for food security and nutrition and the second are the protests around people’s right to food safety and sovereignty called the March Against Monsanto which were organized world-wide a few days before the WFD. Both these elements are relevant in the Indian context and point to the need for a paradigm shift in agricultural policy and practice towards sustainability and the need to focus on the small and marginal farmers.

There is a recognition  and acknowledgement by credible bodies worldwide like the UN FAO, UNEP, UN Conference on Trade and Development and the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology Assessment (IAASTD) that there is a need to move towards climate resilient ecological agriculture to enable us sustainably to confront poverty, hunger and climate change and that small holder farmers that produce more than half of the world’s food supply will play a key role in achieving food security. But despite the strong body of evidences the current policy debate on food security and agriculture is on high external input industrial agriculture and related biotechnology and chemical packages are the best and only options for feeding the global population.

FROM THE GREEN REVOLUTION TOWARDS THE GENE REVOLUTION

In India, the Green Revolution which was once said to revolutionise Indian agriculture and helped the country to achieve self-sufficiency in food production, is now criticised for the adverse impacts it brought with it which include the health impacts of fertilisers on humans, the loss of soil fertility and biodiversity. A recent report by the Ministry of Rural Development clearly shows that the Green Revolution was not as momentous as it is believed to be as the yield increases for wheat and rice during the Green Revolution were lower than before or after it. One of the biggest failures was that the advantages of the Green Revolution did not percolate to the small and marginal farmers which constitute the bulk of the rural poor.

Rather than learning our lessons from the Green Revolution some of our policy and decision makers continue to push monolithic solutions as silver bullets in solving the crisis of hunger and malnutrition. Another such is the gene revolution that has been shoved upon us in the last decade. Genetically Modified (GM) crops are touted as the face of salvation for the starving millions in India. Unfortunately responsible agencies like the Ministry of Agriculture have been promoting GM crops recklessly as a solution especially now that the National Food Security Bill is a reality and was passed in the Monsoon Session this year. The truth is that GM crops whether it is pest resistant, herbicide tolerant or climate resilient is a false solution for food security. In fact 99% of GM crops are soya, canola, maize and cotton which have a rather meagre role to play in food security and their use is to service the Industry. If one were to look at data from the USA (country with the maximum adoption of GM crops), in 1995 when the US population was 12% food insecure to 2011 when the country’s population was 15% food insecure  shows that GM crops can play no role in addressing hunger and malnutrition. Government statistics show that Bt cotton which is the only commercially cultivated GM crop in India has failed by not contributing to yield increase and reduction of pesticide as promised by the proponents of this technology.

FALSE SOLUTIONS vs. REAL SOLUTIONS

We cannot afford to adopt false solutions like chemical intensive agriculture and GM crop packages and be blind to the real solutions that so many credible agencies have directed us to.  A survey by Action Aid made public last year and funded by the European Commission clearly warns that the current food system is under threat from “combined effects of climate change, land degradation, cropland losses, water scarcity and species infestations may cause projected yields to be 5-25% short of demand by 2050, and 600 million additional people could be affected by malnutrition as a direct result of climate change by 2080.” The report also suggests that the current model of agriculture that is promoted will fail to feed the world in the future and does not address the real problem to food security which is poverty and inequality.

SO WHERE DO THE REAL SOLUTIONS LIE?

According to the World Bank-commissioned IAASTD, the promise lies in agro-ecological practices in agriculture. Agro-ecology is sciences that offer a set of tools and practices which will help actually help address the real issues of hunger and malnutrition. Most importantly it will help empower the small and marginal farmers who currently not only important for producing food but also the most food insecure.

While most Governments have chosen to ignore the real solutions over false solutions provided by multinational biotech giants who have clear vested interests, people around the world are waking up to the threats of agri businesses who exploit consumer and farmer alike in the name of food security. One such global initiative was the March against Monsanto organized on the 12th October, this initiative was taken forward in India as well in the states of Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala and saw huge number of citizens opposing the corporate control of our food and agriculture by controlling seeds through the controversial GM technology.

It also seems world-wide the judicial system has woken up to the threats of GM crops and the proponents of this controversial technology. In India the Supreme Court appointed scientific Technical Expert Committee in its final report recommended that India should take a precautionary approach to GM crops. While closer to home in the Philippines the Court of Appeals issued a Writ of Kalikasan and ordered a stop to the field trials of Bt Brinjal. And the most recent is news from Mexico where the federal governments have ordered a ban on experimental and commercial release of GM corn. These decisions were made assessing the risks of GM crops and putting the interest of citizens and the safety of the environment as priority.

While there seems to be a growing awareness and action around the flawed models of agriculture and food security promoted by big agri-businesses, the question is why our Government is still sleeping. It cannot be the case of lack of information but a case of wilful ignorance of the facts and wisdom to understand it. But time is certainly running out and the choice between agricultural development models has immediate and long-term consequences and the question of who produces the world’s food and who will secure access to it are central.  This WFD the Indian Government should have the wisdom to understand sustainable food systems and differentiate from the flawed models sold by agrI-businesses and also listen to the voices of protest from around the country and make a decision on the direction this country wants to take to achieve food security.

(Neha Saigal is a Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner with Greenpeace India)