commemoration of the World Food Day, Ebutsini Tribal Authority, Albert Luthuli
Municipality
16 October 2007
Programme Director,
Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs, Ms Lulu Xingwana,
Honourable Members of the Executive Council,
Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature,
Executive Mayors and Councillors,
Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
(FAO), Mr George Mburathi,
Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission, Mr Jody
Kollapen,
Senior Managers and officials in the Public Service,
Government's Social Partners,
Citizens of Mpumalanga,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am privileged to welcome all of you to this important occasion of
celebrating World Food Day. Today, on 16 October, we join the global community
and citizens of the world in celebrating World Food Day, a day that marks the
date on which the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations
was founded in 1945 in Quebec City, Canada.
In a very significant way, the founding of FAO served to create the
necessary space for global dialogue and impetus towards addressing the world
food problem, as well as galvanising global action and commitment to fighting
poverty and hunger. Subsequently, the 1996 World Food Summit and the United
Nations Millennium Development Summit in September 2000 were, among others,
critical milestones in helping to enhance and solidify global commitments to
implementing policies aimed at eradicating poverty, underdevelopment and
inequality.
The World Food Summit reinforced the need, among the nations of the world,
to ensure that there are policies in place to eradicate poverty and equality,
and improving access by all too sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe
food. At the United Nations Millennium Development Summit, world leaders agreed
to a set of measurable goals and targets for combating poverty, hunger,
disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against
women.
In celebrating World Food Day, we must be reminded of the immense task to
eradicate poverty on the continent of Africa. Poverty in Africa is a major
cause of food insecurity. The continent's sustainable progress in reducing
poverty will progressively improve access to food. The challenge of reducing
extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa remains a major threat to food security,
and work towards reaching the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of
halving the extent of extreme poverty by 2015 requires increased allocation of
resources to accelerate development on the continent.
This year's World Food Day theme of the "Right to Food" highlights the
importance of food as a basic human right. As South Africa, we have ensured
that this right of access to safe, sufficient, nutritious food and water is
constitutionally enshrined. Despite challenges, pleasing progress has been made
in ensuring that South African citizens progressively realise socio-economic
rights that are guaranteed in the Constitution.
Programme Director, a right-based approach to development requires the state
to view beneficiaries of development as active stakeholders, rather than
passive recipients. The state has to ensure that it provides the supportive
environment, appropriate infrastructure and economic opportunities for people
to produce their own food for sustainable livelihoods. The right to food should
be realised through increased active participation by the citizens in food
production initiatives to meet their food and dietary requirements.
In rural areas, where most of the worldâs hungry people live, it is critical
for the state to provide essential resources and services, such as land, credit
and training. In this context, our government's land and agrarian reform
programme enhances prospects of unleashing the productive capacity of the poor
and previously disadvantaged individuals to contribute to food security, and
the reduction of poverty. It is essential that government programmes strengthen
the provision of adequate and stable supply of food at household level and
cater for the vulnerable sectors of society through adequate safety nets. In
the event disasters occur, such as the recent veld fires in Mpumalanga, there
should exists adequate institutional capacities to respond appropriately to
ensure that food security disruptions affecting the victims of disasters are
alleviated.
Programme Director, allow me to congratulate the Mpumalanga Tfutfukani
Maswati vegetable project in Mbuzini which made history when their grant
proposal for food production was approved the Food and Agricultural
Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations for Telefood funding. According to the
FAO, this is the first South African project to be funded by Telefood. This has
motivated other districts and hopefully other provinces to participate in such
initiatives.
Programme Director, the negative impacts of hunger and malnutrition
throughout the human life cycle manifest themselves in increased mortality
rate, burden of disease and excessive costs in the national health bill,
ill-health, limited capacity for mental and intellectual growth and
underachievement in the education environment. In addressing the effects of
hunger and malnutrition that lead to reduced mental capacity, we are
implementing the National School Nutrition programme.
Thank you
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Mpumalanga Provincial Government
16 October 2007
