One of the goals of the International Human Rights Movement Philippines is to help the Pastoral Care for Children at St. Anthony of Padua Parish, Subic, Zambales, Philippines in sustaining and fighting zero hunger because the majority of the residents of Matain, Subic, Zambales was greatly affected by the global pandemic, some of them lost their jobs and others lost their business income. The Project was conducted last February 27, 2022 in celebration of the Birthday of the Founding Chairman of IHRM, Dr. Rana Basharat, and the Ambassador at Large / Country Director of the IHRM Philippines in sponsoring the Feeding Program in support to the United Nations SDG 2 Zero Hunger, the said event was also participated by the Honorable Mayor Jonathan John Khonghun, Mayor of Subic, Zambales, Philippines The Researchers would like to cite that there is a need to address the issues on malnourishment and hunger in collaboration with the Government in attaining the Sustainability and Development.
UIDB/04647/2020 UIDP/04647/2020 ; Portuguese organic food consumption to meet national individual and institutional demand is swiftly increasing, notably triggered by Covid-19 pandemic. This increasing demand is an opportunity currently missed due to lack of land access for farmers. At this point, we claim that land availability needs to be centrally taken into consideration in the formulation of local and national food policies. In particular, we suggest: 1) policy options in order to make them inter-cross coherent, notably regarding land needed to achieve goals; 2) mechanisms to strengthen multi-level and cross sectorial food governance, with a focus on land accessibility for organic food production, in particular vegetables and fruit. Based on the municipality of Torres Vedras, as a pilot case, we conclude that local policies require a bundle of instruments which will vary from place to place. Nevertheless, local authorities have a key-role to play as facilitators for land access, primarily by identifying and mapping idle land either communal, public or private. That land should be made available to organizations and farmers willing to supply local schools, in priority, as well as local consumers . Results from field visits and local stakeholders interviews in Torres Vedras suggest that cooperation across city departments and local stakeholders could spearhead an integrated food policy that would turn idle land into the decisive element of a blooming local food system. In conclusion, any municipality can do this, if there is political willingness to start a collaborative process, within municipalities, to think strategically how to access land for food. ; publishersversion ; published
In: EFSA Publication 2012 , EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ); Scientific Opinion on the "Biomation" application for an alternative method for the treatment of animal-by-products . the EFSA Journal , no. 2614 , vol. 10(3) , European Food Safety Authority , Parma, Italy . https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2614
A method alternative to the ones already approved in the current legislation, called 'Biomation' process, for the treatment of Category (Cat.) 2 and 3 Animal By-Products (ABP) was assessed. The process consists of an alkaline treatment. The target parameters are: particle size ≤ 5mm, temperature 70 °C, pH 12.5, exposure time 20 minutes. According to the application received also Cat. 1 ABP can enter the processing plant and it has then to be removed from the rest of the ABP material and treated according to current legislation. The end product generated by the 'Biomation' process is intended to be used as an organic fertiliser and soil improver. According to the legislation in force, before being used as an organic fertiliser, Cat. 2 (and mixes of Cat. 2 and 3) material should be treated with a sterilisation process (i.e. 133 °C / 20 min / 3 bars / 50 mm particle size). The hazard identification provided by the applicant was not adequately addressed, since the most resistant organisms (including TSE agents) were not properly identified, and an experimental validation with representative test-organisms under practical conditions was not performed. A laboratory experiment was performed but its results were not clear and did not allow a proper assessment of the level of risk reduction of the relevant biological hazards achieved by the process. Moreover, it was noticed that it is not certain that the values of the parameters used in the laboratory experiment would be homogenously reached in all the material under real scale conditions. Major deficiencies were noticed in the HACCP plan provided. It was concluded that there is no evidence that the proposed alternative method is equivalent to the sterilization process defined in the current legislation.
In: Revoredo-Giha , C , Akaichi , F & Toma , L 2018 , ' Exploring the effects of increasing underutilized crops on consumers diets: The case of millet in Uganda ' , Paper presented at 30th International Conference of Agricultural Economists , Vancouver , Canada , 28/07/18 - 2/08/18 . https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.277447
Known in the literature as neglected, underutilized or orphan crops, they have been cited as having the potential to improve food security; however, the literature also highlighted that consumers in developing countries are increasingly abandoning their traditional diets, where those crops are part of and replacing them by western diets. In that context, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the implications of expanding the consumption of neglected crops on current diets by considering consumers preferences and uses a modified version of the microeconomic consumer problem, which was augmented with linear constraints using generalized rationing theory. The method was applied to the consumption of millet by three Ugandan socioeconomic groups: rural, urban-poor and urban-affluent. The results indicate that millet can contribute to improve the intake of macronutrients and some micronutrients. However, the results also show that under the current preferences increasing substantially the quantity of millet in the diet will require a significant reduction of its price and the net impact on nutrition, as measure by the mean adequacy ratio, will be only slightly positive for the rural and urban-poor households; this points out the importance of work encouraging consumers appreciation for millet as part of the everyday diet. Acknowledgement : This paper derives from the project 2017-2019 project Formulating Value Chains for Orphan Crops in Africa funded by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council - Global Challenges Research Fund (BBSRC-GCRF), Foundation Awards for Global Agriculture and Food Systems. In addition, part of the methods used derived from work as part of the 2016-2020 Scottish Government Strategic Research Programme, Theme 3: Food and Health.
In: Padfield , R , Hansen , S , Davies , Z G , Ehrensperger , A , Slade , E M , Evers , S , Papargyropoulou , E , Bessou , C , Abdullah , N , Page , S , Ancrenaz , M , Aplin , P , Dzulkafli , S B , Barclay , H , Chellaiah , D , Choudhary , S , Conway , S , Cook , S , Copeland , A , Campos-Arceiz , A , Deere , N J , Drew , S , Gilvear , D , Gray , R , Haller , T , Hood , A S C , Huat , L K , Huynh , N , Kangayatkarasu , N , Koh , L P , Kolandai , S K , Lim , R A H , Yeong , K L , Lucey , J M , Luke , S H , Mitchell , S L , Montefrio , M J , Mullin , K , Nainar , A , Nekaris , K A I , Nijman , V , Nunes , M , Nurhidayu , S , O'Reilly , P , Puan , C L , Ruppert , N , Salim , H , Schouten , G , Tallontire , A , Smith , T E L , Tao , H H , Tham , M H , Varkkey , H , Wadey , J , Yule , C M , Azhar , B , Sayok , A K , Vairappan , C , Bicknell , J E & Struebig , M J 2019 , ' Co-producing a Research Agenda for Sustainable Palm Oil ' , Frontiers in Forests and Global Change , vol. 2 , 13 . https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2019.00013 , https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2019.00013
The rise of palm oil as the world's most consumed vegetable oil has coincided with exponential growth in palm oil research activity. Bibliometric analysis of research outputs reveals a distinct imbalance in the type of research being undertaken, notably a disproportionate focus on biofuel and engineering topics. Recognizing the expansion of oil palm agriculture across the tropics and the increasing awareness of environmental, social, and economic impacts, we seek to reorientate the existing research agenda toward one that addresses the most fundamental and urgent questions defined by the palm oil stakeholder community. Following consultation with 659 stakeholders from 38 countries, including palm oil growers, government agencies, non-governmental organizations, and researchers, the highest priority research questions were identified within 13 themes. The resulting 279 questions, including 26 ranked as top priority, reveal a diversity of environmental and social research challenges facing the industry, ranging from the ecological and ecosystem impacts of production, to the livelihoods of plantation workers and smallholder communities. Analysis of the knowledge type produced from these questions underscores a clear need for fundamental science programmes, and studies that involve the consultation of non-academic stakeholders to develop "transformative" solutions to the oil palm sector. Stakeholders were most aligned in their choice of priority questions across the themes of policy and certification related themes, and differed the most in environmental feedback, technology and smallholder related themes. Our recommendations include improved regional academic leadership and coordination, greater engagement with private and public stakeholders in Africa, and Central and South America, and enhanced collaborative efforts with researchers in the major consuming countries of India and China.
In: Ali , S S , Ahmad , M R , Shoaib , J , Sheik , M A , Hoshain , M I , Hall , R L , Macintosh , K A & Williams , P N 2021 , ' Pandemic or Environmental Socio-Economic Stressors Which Have Greater Impact on Food Security in the Barishal Division of Bangladesh: Initial Perspectives from Agricultural Officers and Farmers ' , Sustainability , vol. 13 , no. 10 , 5457 . https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105457
The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent protectionary lockdowns have had a dramatic impact on agricultural production globally. Barishal division is the 'grain-basket' of Bangladesh and a main rice cultivation centre within the country. This study captures perspectives on the environmental socioeconomic stressors impacting primary production in the coastal region of Barishal, and the impact of the first wave of the global pandemic. In our methodology, a cross-sectional survey is carried out amongst agriculture officers and farmers focusing on land management practices, environmental stressors, and the consequences of the pandemic on winter crop harvests and wet season production. A total number of 234 people participated, of which 31 were agriculture officers and 203 were farmers. Government officers completed an online questionnaire, while farmer responses were collected through Focus Group Discussion. The results show that despite the lockdown, 76% of responders claimed that they had harvested more than 80% of the cultivated winter rice. Other crops, such as fruits and vegetables, were less successfully returned. Despite food production pressures, land capacity was not fully utilised, with a significant/notable proportion of fields left fallow, principally due to periodic flooding events that sufferer concurrently from soil organic matter depletion. Upazila, not severely waterlogged, had salinity problems to contend with. While transportation restrictions and labour shortages were key constraints arising from the impact of COVID-19 on both agricultural production and post harvesting (processing, distribution, and utilisation). Current storage facilities for perishable produce, such as fruit, were found to be lacking, which further compounded access to such food items. The COVID-19 pandemic shocked agricultural productivity and food supply within the Barishal division. However, despite managing to return a successful rice harvest during the lockdown, it was found that the pre-existing environmental stressors arising from cyclones and flooding continued to be the primary threat to agriculture, even during a global pandemic. Our findings have been used to inform management options to increase resilience in the region.
In: EFSA Journal 2016 , Guidance on the preparation and presentation of an application for authorisation of a novel food in the context of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 . EFSA Journal , no. 4594 , vol. 14(11) , Europen Food Safety Authority , Parma, Italy . https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2016.4594
Following the adoption of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council on novel foods, the European Commission requested EFSA to update and develop scientific and technical guidance for the preparation and presentation of applications for authorisation of novel foods. This guidance presents a common format for the organisation of the information to be presented in order to assist the applicant in preparing a well-structured application to demonstrate the safety of the novel food. The application should be comprehensive and complete. This guidance outlined the data needed for the safety assessments of novel foods. Requirements which should be covered in all applications relate to the description of the novel food, production process, compositional data, specification, proposed uses and use levels, and anticipated intake of the novel food. Further sections on the history of use of the novel food and/or its source, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, nutritional information, toxicological information and allergenicity should be considered by the applicant by default. If not covered in the application, this should be justified. The applicant should integrate the data presented in the different sections to provide their overall considerations on how the information supports the safety of the novel food under the proposed conditions of use. Where potential health hazards have been identified, they should be discussed in relation to the anticipated intakes of the novel food and the proposed target populations. On the basis of the information provided, EFSA will assess the safety of the novel food under the proposed conditions of use.
Modern agricultural biotechnology is being flaunted in global policy de-bates as a powerful technology for improving agricultural productivity and food security in Africa. These debates often conveniently lump to-gether the controversial GMOs and the less contentious traditional bio-technology, also known as 'non-transgenic biotechnology'. The contro-versial debate on GMOs encompasses the influence of biotechnology companies, governmental regulators, non-governmental organizations, scientists and consumers. The contentious issues on GM food and crops include labelling, health and environment, pesticide resistance; impacts of GM crops on farmers, feeding the world population; and the role of government in all these issues. The overall policy debate is whether and how GMOs can contribute to sustainable agricultural productivity and new inputs for African smallholder farmers. Most African governments are cautious of modern biotechnology and especially about GMOs because the role of this technology in Afri-can agriculture is not well understood. Today, there are few transgenic crops that have been developed and successfully introduced to African smallholder farmers. This situation raises the question: Can agricultural biotechnology be harnessed to improve sustainable agricultural produc-tivity and food security of smallholder farmers in Kenya? This study employed the Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) framework as a potentially useful tool for identifying and analysing strengths and weaknesses in harnessing biotechnology for smallholder farmers. This analysis helps understand how the NARS has evolved and to examine whether biotechnology will be useful to the people or not. Empirical research was conducted within selected NARS at the na-tional level, and among the target smallholder farmers in Busia and Nyeri Counties.
In: Lavers , T 2012 , ' 'Land grab' as development strategy? The political economy of agricultural investment in Ethiopia ' , Journal of Peasant Studies , vol. 39 , no. 1 , pp. 105-132 . https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2011.652091
This paper examines the domestic political economy of so-called 'land-grabbing' in Ethiopia, assessing the motivations of the Ethiopian government, which has strongly promoted foreign agricultural investment. The paper draws on a unique set of federal and regional databases detailing foreign and domestic investments in Ethiopia to analyse the likely role investment will play in the Ethiopian economy and the areas which have been targeted for investment. The analysis identifies increased foreign exchange earnings as the main likely contribution of investment but in doing so highlights concerns for food security in Ethiopia, as the goal of national self-sufficiency has given way to a risky trade-based food security strategy. The paper also argues that the federal government's attempts to direct investment to sparsely-populated lowlands have important implications for the ethnic self-determination that is a key tenet of Ethiopia's federal system.
Background: The UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 ('Zero Hunger') aims to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030. Thus, a range of different strategies are needed to facilitate the achievement of SDG 2 to overcome challenges and enable synergies between various SDG targets. Objective: The aim of this review is to highlight Africa's progress toward SDG 2, including targets, strategies, synergies and challenges. Methods: We scrutinized published research articles in peer-reviewed journals, UN reports and in-country Africa reports (between 2015 and 2020) that were relevant to the current topic. Results: Several hunger indicators are showing slow progress or even deterioration in Africa. The prevalence of undernourishment in the general population was 19.1% in 2019 and is expected to increase to 25.7% by 2030. Improvements in child stunting in several regions in Africa are slow, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where about 34% of under-fives were stunted in 2012 and 31% in 2019. In Eastern Africa, stunting prevalence decreased from 38% in 2012 to 34% in 2019. Major drivers of hunger are poor governance and state fragility, war and conflicts, increasing inequality, weak economic development, climate change, biodegradation – and now lately the Covid 19 pandemic – factors that all increase food insecurity. Conclusion: Africa is off track to reach SDG – 'Zero Hunger' – by 2030. Current efforts and progress are insufficient. Africa must champion the SDG agenda on a national, regional and global level to facilitate synergies to unlock the potential for reaching 'Zero Hunger' throughout the continent.
BACKGROUND: The UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 ('Zero Hunger') aims to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030. Thus, a range of different strategies are needed to facilitate the achievement of SDG 2 to overcome challenges and enable synergies between various SDG targets. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to highlight Africa's progress toward SDG 2, including targets, strategies, synergies and challenges. METHODS: We scrutinized published research articles in peer-reviewed journals, UN reports and in-country Africa reports (between 2015 and 2020) that were relevant to the current topic. RESULTS: Several hunger indicators are showing slow progress or even deterioration in Africa. The prevalence of undernourishment in the general population was 19.1% in 2019 and is expected to increase to 25.7% by 2030. Improvements in child stunting in several regions in Africa are slow, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where about 34% of under-fives were stunted in 2012 and 31% in 2019. In Eastern Africa, stunting prevalence decreased from 38% in 2012 to 34% in 2019. Major drivers of hunger are poor governance and state fragility, war and conflicts, increasing inequality, weak economic development, climate change, biodegradation – and now lately the Covid 19 pandemic – factors that all increase food insecurity. CONCLUSION: Africa is off track to reach SDG – 'Zero Hunger' – by 2030. Current efforts and progress are insufficient. Africa must champion the SDG agenda on a national, regional and global level to facilitate synergies to unlock the potential for reaching 'Zero Hunger' throughout the continent.
Die in der Agenda 2030 der Vereinten Nationen beschlossenen Nachhaltigkeitsziele (Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs) sind universell und gelten für alle Länder, wobei jedes Land eigene Prioritäten festlegen kann. Um der Sorge zu begegnen, dass dabei die Unterstützung der Armutsprobleme der Entwicklungsländer auf der Strecke bleibt, haben sich Industrieländer wie Deutschland verpflichtet, nationale Herausforderungen mit internationalen Zielen zu verknüpfen, insbesondere den armen Entwicklungsländern gegenüber – gemäß dem Agenda-Prinzip Leaving no one behind. Wir haben die am 11. Januar 2017 beschlossene Neuauflage der "Deutschen Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie" (DNS), die Maßnahmen zur Umsetzung der Agenda 2030 aufzeigt, im Hinblick auf ein wesentliches Anliegen der Entwicklungsländer analysiert – Ziel Nummer 2: Den Hunger beenden, Ernährungssicherheit und eine bessere Ernährung erreichen und eine nachhaltige Landwirtschaft fördern. Insbesondere haben wir die Indikatoren analysiert, d.h. den messbaren Kern der Strategie. Doch die in der DNS verwendeten Indikatoren beziehen die unmittelbaren Bedürfnisse der Entwicklungsländer nicht ein. Die Maßnahmen auf nationaler Ebene zielen vor allem auf die Verbesserung der ökologischen Nachhaltigkeit der deutschen Landwirtschaft ab: Speziell werden zwei verifizierbare Indikatoren für die Verbreitung des ökologischen Landbaus und die Verringerung des Stickstoffüberschusses in der Landwirtschaft benannt. Diese Ziele sind für Deutschland sicher sinnvoll und können zur Erreichung anderer SDGs (z.B. Wasser, Biodiversität, Gesundheit) beitragen. Sie leisten jedoch kaum einen Beitrag zum Kern des SDG 2. Im Gegenteil, die möglichen Folgen der beiden Indikatoren auf die Ernährungssicherung in Entwicklungsländern, und damit ihre entwicklungspolitische Kohärenz, werden nicht berücksichtigt. Die Folgen können Agrar-Extensivierung und damit tendenziell steigende Nahrungsmittelpreise sein. Unberücksichtigt bleiben auch andere Politikbereiche, die große Wirkung auf globale Ernährungssicherung haben (können), wie Bioenergie und Agrarhandel. Für den internationalen Bereich werden zwar wichtige Maßnahmen genannt, die von Deutschland für die Erreichung von SDG 2 nötig sind und umgesetzt werden. Allerdings fehlen überprüfbare Indikatoren und Zusagen, dass diese Bemühungen in Zukunft fortgesetzt werden. Insgesamt wird die deutsche Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie dem Anspruch der Agenda 2030 in Bezug auf SDG 2 bisher nicht gerecht. Was müsste sich in der für 2018 geplanten Weiterentwicklung der DNS ändern? Im nationalen Bereich wäre ein Indikator zur (Prüfung von und Bemühung um) Kohärenz von nationalen Politik-maßnahmen mit SDG 2 notwendig. Für die internationale Ebene bedarf es einer glaubhaften Absicherung des derzeitigen Engagements im Bereich der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit (EZ) bzw. einer Selbstverpflichtung zur Steigerung des deutschen Beitrags auch nach Ende der Sonderinitiative "EINEWELT ohne Hunger". Zielführend sind Indikatoren für die Nachhaltigkeit der gesamten deutschen Landwirtschaft, des Konsums von Agrarprodukten, insbesondere tierischer Produkte, und für genetische Vielfalt.
In 2015, the United Nations decided to establish the goal of achieving "zero hunger" in the world by 2030 through "outcome targets" such as eliminating hunger and improving access to food, ending all forms of malnutrition, promoting sustainable and resilient agriculture, and maintaining genetic diversity in food production. As a result of this decision, strategies are under way in different countries around the world in the form of political, academic, development, and non-governmental organization projects and programs. Five years later, these strategies have certainly generated results that need to be documented and analyzed so as to answer the following questions: what are the progress and success stories in terms of policies, innovations, technologies, and approaches to reach the zero hunger goal? What are the constraints and mitigation strategies? Are we really in a phase of transition towards the zero hunger goal? What new directions do we need to consider to achieve this goal, particularly in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, which affects all sectors of development around the world? Transitioning to Zero Hunger is part of MDPI's new Open Access book series Transitioning to Sustainability. With this series, MDPI pursues environmentally and socially relevant research which contributes to efforts toward a sustainable world. Transitioning to Sustainability aims to add to the conversation about regional and global sustainable development according to the 17 SDGs. The book series is intended to reach beyond disciplinary, even academic boundaries.