The FAO asks to focus the humanitarian response “on the point of view of those affected” and to strengthen agricultural projects

Alert that “the global food insecurity situation is very worrying” and calls for “more effective forms of response”

22 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has called for focusing the response to humanitarian crises “from the point of view of those affected” in order to work “more effectively”, while at the same time in the need to strengthen agricultural programs to achieve long-term solutions that improve their living conditions, especially in the face of the impact of climate change.

The Director for Emergencies and Resilience of the FAO, Rein Paulsen, has indicated in an interview with Europa Press that “at a global level the situation of food insecurity is very worrying” and has indicated that it is necessary to optimize the response in order to benefit the millions of people in a situation of severe food insecurity, a number that rises to 222 million globally, according to data from 2022.

“One of the most important elements would be to start from the point of view of those affected. Listen to what they ask for, what they want for support, what they say are their most important needs, instead of starting from the point of view of what I have that I can give”, pointed out Paulsen, who explained that, although each situation is different, “there are issues that one can see in almost all crises in the world”.

Thus, he has detailed that “people ask to be able to fend for themselves, ask for peace and almost always ask for support to be able to take their children to school”, while recalling that “for the most part, people affected by crises lives in rural areas. For this reason, he has stressed that, if those affected were listened to, “much more” work would be done in agriculture.

“As of today, only 4% of the humanitarian response in food crisis situations supports agricultural activities. It is an imbalance,” he emphasized, before defending that it is necessary to “realize” that promoting these projects “is more efficient in terms of resources and gives more dignity” and allows finding “more appropriate options to respond”.

“It would be important to always look not only at how to support families who have needs today, but also accompany them to find how to adapt their way of life to face the climate crisis, which is a reality that touches us all”, has said Paulsen, who has pointed out that the numbers of those affected “since 2016 or 2017” have increased “not only in global terms, but in terms of severity, percentage of the population” that suffers from acute food insecurity.

In addition, he has noted that “in many places, the vast majority of displaced people have lost all their assets and livelihoods before being displaced” and has pointed out that, in most cases, “if the camps crops grow and the animals are alive, people generally don’t have to flee,” even in situations of insecurity.

For this reason, he has recognized that “the trends are very, very worrying” and has called for “a global response”. “We are working on this with the entire UN system and partners,” he asserted, before emphasizing that “donors have given more and more resources every year”, which does not prevent the existence of “a gap” between needs and resources.

“We are working to say that it is not just a matter of giving more resources. What we need to do is always look for more effective ways of responding,” he reiterated, before giving the example of FAO’s work in Afghanistan, where it delivers, among other things, seeds, fertilizers and technical support so that these people “can grow what they need to eat.”

JOBS IN AFGHANISTAN

Thus, he has said that part of this work includes the delivery of winter wheat, which can develop at lower temperatures than spring wheat. “It is an intervention that for 220 dollars per family of seven people with these seeds, fertilizers and a bit of technical follow-up, allows them to grow everything they need in terms of calories for a period of 12 months,” she stated.

“If you had to buy the same amount in the local market (…) it would cost four or five times more, while if the international community had to give this aid within the framework of a humanitarian response, it would cost between eight and ten times more. “, has argued Paulsen, who has outlined the importance of working “not only to meet the needs of today, but to give livelihoods and possibilities to these vulnerable families to produce what they need themselves”.

Paulsen has pointed out that the work of FAO has “a great reach” in Afghanistan, where the organization supported more than six million people in 2022, which represents “almost 50 percent of the rural population that is in a situation acute food crisis. “On the one hand, we are supporting the cattle with food and vaccination. The goal is to support the cattle so that they survive and grow for their protein value for these vulnerable families,” he explained.

Given the particular context in Afghanistan due to the Taliban’s decision to prohibit women from working in NGOs and UN agencies, he said that “FAO continues to seek the most appropriate way to respond to vulnerable families” and ” find solutions to remain able to act (…) even after the ban”. “We have been able to do it in many cases,” she has highlighted, although she has acknowledged that “there has been an impact.” “We are still able to carry out activities in most of the country and it is important that we continue to be able to do so, because the situation is serious,” she warned.

CRISIS IN THE HORN OF AFRICA

On the other hand, he said that the situation in the Horn of Africa, shaken by six consecutive dry seasons, the situation “has been very worrying for several years.” “It is very important for people to know when they have to sow and every time there are interruptions or things are not foreseeable, it is very complicated,” he explained, before stressing that the FAO works with “anticipatory actions to prevent the worst consequences”. .

“The big challenge we have faced in the Horn of Africa is, frankly, the lack of resources. Not just the amount of resources, but when the donors give us the funds to start the activities. For us it always has to do with with the growing seasons”, he argued, while stressing the importance of support programs for livestock and access to water.

“Many families have had to sell what they have (…) to survive. The most effective and appropriate way to respond is always to have as a starting point the way these families live in difficult situations,” Paulsen said. , which has explained that “more than 70 percent of the population is in a humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa who lives on agriculture.”

Likewise, he stressed that the FAO works “in very complicated situations, even where there are difficulties for physical access”, as in the case of the areas of Somalia under the control of the terrorist group Al Shabaab. “It’s a matter of looking for the most appropriate and effective way,” he pointed out, before detailing that there are programs for transferring cash through mobile phones.

“We have projects in the field of access to water for animals, but obviously it can also benefit human beings,” he detailed, before adding that work has also been done with refined grains “to tolerate droughts.” Finally, he said that in the region “there are opportunities that could be surprising” and indicated that “in the Horn of Africa there is water, which are aquifers and groundwater, but it is a question of how to provide better access to this water “.