ROME, Sept. 23, 2021
/PRNewswire/ -- It is an outrage that rural small-scale
farmers in developing countries, who grow a third of our global
food, are paid a pittance for their work, said the President of the
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) who today
asks world leaders attending the UN Food Systems Summit to take
concrete actions to change this.
"It is a terrible irony that those who grow our food cannot
afford to feed their own families healthy, nutritious diets," said
Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of
IFAD. "With no savings and no access to capital, farming families
also have no cushion against climate change and other shocks.
Today's Food Systems Summit is our chance to commit to concrete
changes. We mustn't squander this opportunity."
The majority of rural people in developing countries earn their
incomes from agriculture. Rural small-scale farmers produce over 30
percent of global food, and up to 80 percent in parts of
Africa and Asia. According to a recent study of a number
of crops sourced from small-scale farms in developing countries,
only 6.5 percent of the supermarket price
is paid to the farmer. Traders, food manufacturers and retailers
take the lion's share.
According to IFAD's Rural Development
Report released earlier this week, the growing
concentration of power within food systems have seen profits for
large food companies escalate, while people working to produce,
process and distribute our food are trapped in poverty and hunger.
Inadequate incomes are a major reason why around 3 billion people
cannot afford healthy diets.
"When rural people are paid fairly for their labour, the ripple
effect is enormous. Profitable small farms put children through
school, pay for diverse, healthy diets, generate employment, and
boost rural economies," said Houngbo. "Conversely, poverty and
hunger are key drivers of migration, conflict and instability.
Which future do we want?"
IFAD is calling on governments to work with the private sector
to implement policies that promote employment generation, decent
wages and improved working conditions, and to ensure small-scale
producers can access existing and emerging markets on fair
terms.
Today's Summit is intended to result in actionable commitments
from heads of state and other leaders. Following this,
IFAD will co-lead the Decent Wages and Living Income coalition with
the International Labour Organization (ILO) and support of CARE to
advance this important work.
Contact: Joanne Levitan -
j.levitan@ifad.org
www.ifad.org
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SOURCE International Fund for Agricultural Development