Minister, UN and FAO Food Security Experts attend Launch of New Hunger Initiative
May 5th 2010Gorta Hunger Secretariat calls for sustained action to tackle world hunger crisis
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheal Martin T.D. launched the Gorta Hunger Secretariat in Dublin last week, accompanied by Mr. Salil Shetty, Director of the UN Millennium Campaign and Dr. Kostas Stamoulis, Director of the Agricultural Development Economics Division of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The Gorta Hunger Secretariat was launched to add sustained focus on hunger for the next five years to support the adaptation of international pledges and promises into tangible actions. 1.02 billion people in the world are now hungry. To achieve the first Millennium Development Goal the world needs to greatly accelerate its progress in reducing world hunger.
Speaking at the launch, Professor Denis Lucey, Chairman of the Gorta Hunger Secretariat said that
“responses to tacking hunger must be global, coordinated, and focused on results. Impact is key”.
Professor Lucey, a previous member of the government’s Hunger Task Force, commended the key findings in the Task Force’s report, particularly the need to increase the productivity of smallholder farmers to reduce poverty, focus on nutrition and recognising the central role of rural African women.
“GDP growth generated by agriculture is up to four times more effective in reducing poverty than growth generated by other sectors. In the majority of developing countries, smallholder farmers produce most of the food consumed. They are efficient producers per hectare and can contribute to a country’s economic growth and food security”, concluded Professor Lucey.
