Food Security and Peace - Discussion Note 2016

Food Security and Peace Discussion Note.

FAO, 2016.

Hunger remains an everyday challenge for almost 795 million people worldwide, despite significant progress in overall economic growth and food production.

Hunger persists because the poorest do not have the means to purchase or produce the food they need. A large number of hungry people live in marginal or environmentally degraded areas. Violent confl– many of which are in protracted crisis1 contexts – are also a leading cause of hunger.

In those instances where hostilities have ceased, peace is frequently fragile and governance structures are weak. Hunger can contribute to renewed violence by exacerbating existing tensions and grievances. However, although peace is a precondition for eradicating hunger, the inter-relationship between violent conflict, food security and nutrition, and peace is complex and multi-dimensional.

There is unassailable evidence detailing how violent conflicts have devastating and lasting impacts on food security. Conflicts affect the ability to produce, trade and access food, including by destroying farming resources, damaging infrastructure and destroying markets. At times, limiting access to food is used as a deliberate tactic of war.2

Loss of life, injuries, the life-long impact of malnutrition, displacement, theft or destruction of farming and productive assets, and damage to infrastructure have impacts well beyond the duration of violence itself.

Conversely, food insecurity, particularly when related to sudden events, such as the case of food price increases in 2007-2008 can contribute to or trigger political instability as demonstrated during the events in Arab Spring countries. Conflicts over resources such as land and water, both critical for agriculture and food production, have also contributed to violence in several countries. Grievances over social andeconomic inequalities that affect food security (e.g. as a resultof inequitable access to food assistance and/or social protection programmes) have also played a role in triggering conflict or civil strife in some countries. Moreover, there is evidence that involvement in rebel movements or extremist groups can be motivated in part by the access it provides to food, clothing, shelter and other material benefits.There are also compelling arguments that food security and food security related interventions can have positive effects by preventing and mitigating violent conflict, and contributingto more sustainable peace. In this, supporting agricultural livelihoods plays a key role.Agriculture is the dominant sector supporting the livelihoods for the majority of households in fragile and post-conflict countries. Efforts to revive the agricultural sector and trade, and increase food security, have had positive effects on the sustainability of peace. The creation of jobs, particularly for young people, and the enhancement of livelihoods in the agricultural sector help reduce the risk of violence.

The question of food security and peacebuilding has an important gender dimension. In many post-conflict contexts, women are responsible for family food security and provide the majority of agricultural labour. Experience and evidence show that women are more likely to spend their incomeson food security, health care and education, thus making crucial contributions to post-conflict recovery3. Yet women face tremendous obstacles in securing productive and safe employment and decent incomes. In many countries, women do not have equal rights to own or inherit land, and even where women have legal entitlement to ownership, they continue to be denied land rights, primarily for cultural and political reasons4. The phenomenon of ‘land-grabbing’ in some

post-conflict settings, and shifting legal systems, can make women particularly vulnerable to landlessness5.Food security interventions can be an opportunity to address deeply entrenched gender inequalities and promote women’s economic empowerment, their right to land ownership and usage, as well as their participation in decision-making on natural resource management.On the UN General Assembly Resolution entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which set out the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a clear message on the interrelations between development and peace is enshrined: “there can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development”.The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes peaceful and inclusive societies - at all levels - against the backdrop of an increasing share of the extreme poor and hungry living in countries affected by violent conflict. A key overarching message is to leave no-one behind.Understanding the interplays between food security, human security and the promotion of sustainable peace is essential to address the challenges ahead for achieving the SDGs.Eliminating poverty and achieving a world free of hunger, are also essential conditions to pave the way for sustainable and lasting peace in the world.Food security interventions can enhance social cohesion, address root causes or drivers of conflict, generate peace dividends and build the legitimacy of, and trust in, governments. This optimistic function, explored in more detail below, is at the heart of the rationale to build a virtuous relationship, where food security supports peacebuilding and peacebuilding reinforces food security.