Agriculture, food systems and the Millennium Development Goals

Agriculture provides food and employment for many poor people, in both rural and urban areas. There is also a direct link between agriculture and natural resource conservation. Considering these connections, investments in agriculture and food production systems may be an important tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, particularly targets aimed at reducing poverty, achieving food security and environmental sustainability.

Poverty is the main cause of food insecurity; food insecurity and hunger contribute to poverty. This creates a cycle of poverty and hunger from which it is hard for poor people to escape. Research from the International Institute for Environment and Development, UK, examines the connections between agriculture, food security, poverty in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The research specifically examines the MDGs that aim to halve the number of people whose income is less than US $1 per day, halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger between 1990 and 2015 (both MDG 1) and ensure environmental sustainability (MDG 7).

The research argues that:

• Progress in agricultural productivity will increase food security and improve human health. Improved human health will enable further gains in agricultural productivity.
• Environmental problems can undermine agricultural productivity; land, water and soil management combined with sustainable agricultural practices will protect the environment and enhance agricultural productivity, reducing poverty.
• Improved agricultural practices and new technologies can also help poor people adapt to the effects of climate change

MDG 8 calls for a ‘global partnership for development’ and seeks to promote fair and open global trading systems. More equal global trading systems and greater private sector investment in agriculture are vital for the development of sustainable agriculture. There are many additional benefits to changing markets systems and agricultural practices; these include increasing consumer choice and improving the quality of agricultural products.

Improved environmental management, sustainable agricultural practices and fairer markets will help to achieve the objectives of poverty reduction, food security and environmental sustainability. This will require investments in the agricultural sector that increase food production and agricultural productivity. These developments must be sustainable and designed specifically for the needs of poor people.

The research recommends that governments and international development organisations work towards the following objectives:

• Fairer land distribution and improved access to land, through government-controlled changes in land ownership systems, property rights and land markets.
• Agricultural policies and investment systems that do not discriminate against small scale and medium scale farms, such as the removal of trade barriers for many crops.
• Investments in agricultural research to develop cheap, labour-saving and resource-conserving technologies.
• Agricultural and rural development policies must begin to anticipate changes in global markets, rather than respond to them. There must be greater efforts to include small scale and medium scale producers, processors and traders in global markets.

Source(s):
‘Feeding the future? Agri-food systems and the Millennium Development Goals’ by J. Thompson, in ‘The Millennium Development Goals and local processes’, IIED, edited by D. Satterthwaite, 2004 Full document.

Funded by: International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), UK

id21 Research Highlight: 20 May 2005

Further Information:
David Satterthwaite
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
3 Endsleigh Street
London
WC1H 0DD
UK

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7388 2117
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7388 2826
Contact the contributor: david@iied.org

International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), UK

Other related links:
'Measuring the results: how to monitor progress towards the Millennium Development Goals'

'Missing the targets: poor progress on the MDGs'

'Food systems and security: helping the poor to cope'

'Achieving the MDGs and related outcomes: a framework for monitoring policies and actions background paper'

'Building Capacity to Measure and Monitor MDGs'

United Nations Millennium Development Goals