G8 plans threaten African food security: New Report

Brussels, 4 June 2013: A new report, “Whose Alliance?”, sharply criticizes the G8’s “New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa” for ignoring human rights and the root causes of hunger and instead seeking solutions through a market orientation. The report, published by CIDSE, an international alliance of Catholic development agencies, and EAA, the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, was launched at a panel discussion in Brussels on Tuesday. CIDSE is an international alliance of Catholic development agencies. Its members share a common strategy in their efforts to eradicate poverty and establish global justice.

“We welcome that G8 leaders put food security high on their agenda, however, the New Alliance treats hunger as a matter of insufficient production while neglecting many of the root causes of the situation in Africa. Issues of access and distribution are largely ignored in this approach” remarked CIDSE Secretary General Bernd Nilles on the launch of the report. The New Alliance initiative pushes African countries to change legislation, particularly on seeds and land rights, both are areas of a great interest to corporate investors.

According to the report, the G8 New Alliance focuses too much on the role of markets as a food security strategy. “The vision espoused by the New Alliance largely ignores the critical role of small holder food producers in ensuring food security and environmental sustainability in Africa and is primarily interested in their participation only as far as their inclusion into markets is concerned,” said CIDSE Food Policy Officer Gisele Henriques.

The report urges the G8 to serve food security through a focus on communities, not corporations.
“Small-scale family farming provides food for 80% of Africa’s peoples without any subsidies; investments must enable these small holders to continue to feed Africa in dignity without compromising the future capacity of the continent to feed itself” stated Peter Prove, EAA Executive Director.Source: VR Sedoc