The next Brussels Development Briefing no. 51 on ”Agriculture as an engine of economic reconstruction and development in fragile countries ” took place on 27 June 2018 from 09h00 to 13h00, ACP Secretariat, Brussels 451 Avenue Georges Henri, 1200 Brussels. This Briefing was organised by the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), in collaboration with the European Commission / DEVCO, the ACP Secretariat, and CONCORD.

1. June 2018
Rajendra Aryal
Senior Coordinator, Strategic Programme on Resilience
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Agriculture as a means to bridge
the humanitarian-development-
peace divide in fragile contexts

2. The State of Food Security and Nutrition
in the World 2017 (SOFI)
The number of
undernourished has
been on the rise
since 2014,
reaching
815 million people
in 2016

3. The State of Food Security and Nutrition
in the World 2017 (SOFI)
The majority of
chronically
food-insecure
people live in
countries affected
by conflict

4. Key figures
O
N
• 124 million people across 51 countries
facing Crisis (IPC/CH Phase 3) food insecurity
or worse
• An increase of 11 million more people in
the 45 countries analyzed in both 2017 and
2018 report
• 52 million children under-5 acutely
malnourished
• 17 million children under-5 severely
malnourished
Main causes
• New outbreaks and intensified
conflict & insecurity e.g. Yemen,
Northeast Nigeria, Democratic
Republic of Congo, South Sudan and
Myanmar
• Consecutive climate shocks
affecting livestock and agricultural
production e.g. eastern and southern
Africa

5. O
N
South Sudan
• Declaration of famine: February 2017
• 2017 – peak in hunger – 6.1 million
people in Crisis food security
(IPC Phase 3) and worse (June/July)
• 2018 – 7.1 million people will
likely be in Crisis food security
and worse (May/July)
• 2017 – people in Catastrophe
(IPC Phase 5) declined
from 100 000 (Feb.) to 40 000 (Sep.)
• 2018 – people in Catastrophe
likely to rise (155 000 people)
– but NO area classified as Famine

6. FOODINSECURITYSHORTTERMOUTLOOKFOR2018
O
N

7. Why agriculture?
Farmers clear a land with a tool donated by FAO at the community garden in Dolnoon, Aweil South, South Sudan
124 million people are facing severe food
insecurity
8 of 10 people rely on crop production, fishing,
livestock and forests for their survival

8. Agriculture is remarkably
resilient
75% of rural families in Syria continue
producing their own food
2 million tonnes of cereals were
produced in Syria in 2017 – about half the
annual production before the crisis – despite
7 years of conflict
Farmers in Syria harvest wheat during the 2017 season

9. Agriculture contributing to sustaining peace

10. And improving relationships between host
and displaced communities
Syrian refugee in Turkey taking part in FAO agricultural skills training

11. Humanitarian assistance is CRITICAL but not
sufficient on its own – hunger is rising!
Humanitarian action to address immediate needs
And simultaneously,
Development and peace building interventions to
address the root causes of food insecurity, prevent conflict/return to
conflict and contribute to sustainable peace

12. UN Security Council Resolution #2417 (2018)
• “Recalls the link between armed conflict and violence and conflict-induced food
insecurity and the threat of famine, and calls on all parties to armed conflict to
comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law regarding
respecting and protecting civilians and taking constant care to spare civilian objects,
including objects necessary for food production and distribution”
• “food insecurity can be drivers of forced displacement, and, conversely, forced
displacement in countries in armed conflict can have a devastating impact on
agricultural production and livelihoods”

13. Global Report on Food Crises:
Providing technically-sound analysis of
acute food insecurity to inform
programming at the Humanitarian-
Development-Peace nexus
Who? 12 global and regional partners
providing joint food security and nutrition
analysis under the umbrella of the Food
Security Information Network
Working together - From Analysis to Consensus
Building and Coordination

14. O
N
Global Network Against Food Crises
• WHS - May 2016: launched by EU Commissioners, FAO DG and WFP ED to
enhance the impact of prevention and response action to food crises.
• Long term vision: promote synergies and coordination to address food
crises along the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus, including
promoting joint programming to achieve collective outcomes.
• Partnerships and advocacy at the highest levels to address rising hunger
through effective resilience interventions based on sound analysis.
• 1st achievement: Global Report on Food Crises to provide evidence for
decision making and resource allocations.

15. O
N
Humanitarian and
development
programming

16. O
N
Rome-based Agencies
Resilience Initiative
• Recurrent and protracted crises
prevent the most vulnerable people
to move out of food insecurity
• Multi-year funding allows the RBAs
to jointly provide sustained support
by
⁻ strengthening livelihoods
⁻ building resilience to shocks
⁻ simultaneously protecting food and
nutrition needs

17. O
N
Rome-based Agencies in
Niger
• WFP – Food-for-assets, restoring
pasture, water infrastructure
• FAO – food diversification, farmer
field schools, good nutrition and
agricultural practices
• IFAD – investing in rural
infrastructure

18. O
N
FAO, WFP, UNICEF in
Somalia
• WFP – safety nets
• FAO – focus on production
• UNICEF – access to basic services

19. June 2018
Rajendra Aryal
Senior Coordinator, Strategic Programme on Resilience
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Agriculture as a means to bridge
the humanitarian-development-
peace divide in fragile contexts