MALAYSIA’S social and economic development has been remarkable. The development of excellent infrastructure and the move to become a major exporter are impressive.
Malaysia has also developed a modern and dynamic agricultural sector and has led the way in many technological innovations, including the development of Islamic finance systems to enhance investment in agriculture.
These advances are reflected in the undernourishment rate in the country. I am pleased to recall that last year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) recognised Malaysia as one of only 15 developing countries that held hunger rates at below five per cent since at least 1990.
The gains made by Malaysia and other countries are proof that we can defeat hunger. This should inspire us in the final effort to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of reducing by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger between 1990 and 2015. Our deadline is fast approaching, but can still be met.
However, while meeting the MDG target is important, it’s not enough. With hunger, the only acceptable number is zero and, today, more than 800 million people still suffer from undernourishment. Two-thirds of them live in Asia, including nearly 65 million in Southeast Asia.
So, while we make a final push to halve hunger by next year, we also need to look ahead and be even bolder in our ambitions. Reducing hunger and malnutrition is an important first step, but our true goal is to end hunger in the world.
This is necessary to meet the international development goals we have committed to as a global community and the cornerstone of the future we want. We cannot call development sustainable while millions of people are left behind.
More and more countries in the Asia-Pacific region are committing to this goal and, last year, the region launched its Zero Hunger Challenge in response to the call made by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon at the Rio+20 Sustainable Development Conference. Malaysia has also expressed a willingness to tackle food loss and waste at the national level following the launch of the regional Save Food Asia-Pacific Campaign. Malaysia has the opportunity to give a strong contribution to these efforts as it will host the FAO Asia-Pacific Regional Conference in 2016.
Regional commitments are an important support to national actions, but efforts to promote food security need to be government-led and locally owned. Many actors can, and should, be part of this process, including family farmers.
In Malaysia and across the Asia-Pacific region, there is increasing awareness of the role that family farmers play in eradicating hunger and conserving natural resources.
We have much to learn about this group, which includes smallholders and medium-scale farmers, indigenous peoples, traditional communities, fisher folk, pastoralists, collectors, and many others. In recognition of their relevance, the UN designated this year as the International Year of Family Farming.
Paradoxically, while family farmers are the main food producers in many developing countries, they are also among the most vulnerable to hunger, especially subsistence farmers. Our efforts need to change this reality. Experience in many countries shows that family farmers respond well to increased sustainable production if the appropriate policy environment is in place.
We must also recognise that while fighting hunger remains our biggest challenge, malnutrition manifests itself in many ways. Hunger affects some 12 per cent of the world’s population, or nearly one in eight people. An estimated 162 million children below the age of 5 are stunted, 51 million people are wasted or acutely malnourished, while two billion people suffer one or more micronutrient deficiencies. But at the same time, 500 million people are obese.
The socio-economic cost of malnutrition is high: up to five per cent of global income is lost due to loss of productivity and healthcare. All this makes malnutrition a public issue that needs to be tackled by a global effort. That is why FAO and the World Health Organisation are jointly promoting the Second International Conference on Nutrition from Nov 19 to 21, in Rome.
There is still much we can, and should, do to meet the food security, nutrition levels and sustainable development challenges we face. While countries need to find their own way forward, there are many experiences that can be shared.
The successes of Malaysia and other countries should serve as an inspiration as we move forward together to ensure a future of food security for all and hunger for none.