Tropentag 2011 : Development on the margin

About a billion people in the world are chronically hungry. They live at the margin of our society, without enough food to live normal productive lives. A high proportion is of women and children. More than 130 million of children under five years of age are underweight, that is they are well below the standard weight for their age. This represents nearly a quarter of the under fives in the developing countries. The numbers increase each time there is a food price spike and we face the daunting prospect of feeding a growing population over the next 40 years, in the face of deteriorating land and water resources and the damaging effects of climate change. We have the science and technology that can help us produce more food, but we need much more than this. There are no magic bullets. People on the margin have limited access to resources, to technologies, to markets and to sources of income. We need a new Doubly Green Revolution that is not only productive, but stable, resilient and equitable. Everyone must benefit. If we do not act more and more people will become hungry.