Aidmatrix Manager - India Kuldip Nar will be presenting at the AIDF Food Security Event in Thailand on November 26-27.
London, 22 October 2013: AIDF Food Security Summit 2013: to tackle sustainable development
as a means to tackle food insecurity.
Sustainability has unquestionably become
the key focus for development. Asia is poised
for more rapid growth, but growth without sustainability will be untenable. Now
more than ever there is a need for innovative yet sustainable solutions for
tackling issues such as economic development and poverty alleviation. One key
area in Asia where sustainable solutions are
of fundamental importance is in tackling food insecurity.
Despite the rapid growth of many economies
in the Asia Pacific, this region still has the highest number of malnourished
people in the world, with over 700 million people still living in
poverty (defined as living on less than $1.25
a day). Food insecurity can lead to
child underdevelopment, starvation and often death; the resulting weakening of
the population also has far-reaching repercussions on a country’s economic
performance and global standing, making it extremely difficult for these
countries to develop to their full potential.
Significant progress in achieving food
security has already been made in Asia,
however many different factors are accentuating the problem today. Rapidly
rising populations combined with increased consumerism and consumption is
putting immense strain on food supplies in Asia
and the Pacific; IFAD predicts that food production in developing countries
will need to increase by 50% by 2050
in order to satisfy demand. Furthermore
ineffective farming methods and the negative effects of climate change inflate
the problem; up to 40% of the world’s arable land has already suffered the adverse
effects of climate change, which include soil erosion, flooding and droughts.
