Posts tagged CGIAR

Blue economy must benefit fishing communities in Global South: WorldFish Chief

0 Comments read Climate Change, Environment & Development, Health & Science
Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed, Director-General of WorldFish and CGIAR's Senior Director of Aquatic Foods. Photo Credit: ©WorldFish

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 07.06.2024 (IPS): The Global South is crucial for ensuring aquatic food security to feed the growing world population. It is imperative that blue economy initiatives benefit fishing communities in developing and small island nations, which are facing disproportionate impacts of climate change, says Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed, Director General of WorldFish, an international non-profit research organization based in Penang, Malaysia.

“More than three billion people depend on aquatic foods as their main source of protein and micronutrients, and nearly 800 million people rely on fishing for their livelihood. The Global South produces a significant portion of the world’s aquatic food and 95 percent of the fishing workforce comes from these regions,” notes Mohammed, who is also CGIAR’s Senior Director of Aquatic Food Systems.

Growing up in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, situated on a highland plateau 2325 meters above sea level, Mohammed learned the value of food early in life. The country had recently gained independence from Ethiopia in 1991, and young children like him were motivated to contribute to the nation’s food security.

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Innovation `imperative’ for securing rice production

0 Comments read Climate Change, Environment & Development, Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 19.02.2024 (SciDev.Net): Innovations in rice production and eco-friendly practises must be made viable for small-scale farmers in the global South in the face of climate threats, says Yvonne Pinto, incoming head of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

Relied upon by more than half of the world’s population for nearly 80 per cent of their dietary needs, rice is pivotal to ensuring global food security, with consumption increasing even as the climate crisis jeopardises production and the livelihoods of millions of people.

About 520.4 million metric tonnes were consumed worldwide in the 2022-23 crop year, up by almost a quarter from 437.2 million metric tonnes in the crop year 2008-2009, according to the data platform Statista. The Food and Agriculture Organization says developing countries produce and consume about 95 per cent of the global rice output.

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Crisis resilience ‘critical’ to stem rising hunger

0 Comments read Health & Science

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 19.04.2023 (SciDev.Net): A shift towards permanent “crisis resilience” from short-term aid is crucial to mitigate increasingly frequent shocks to the global food system and tackle rising global hunger, say food policy researchers.

Disruption to food systems from multiple crises such as economic downturn, conflict, climate change-related weather events and the COVID-19 pandemic, has caused a surge in acute food insecurity in recent years.

The Global Report on Food Crisis: Mid-Year Update 2022 estimates that as many as 205 million people in 45 countries experienced crisis-level acute food insecurity or worse, nearly double the number in 2016. It says requests for humanitarian assistance reached a record high of US$41 billion.

“Crises, shocks, and volatility are no longer exceptions and may become the new normal,” says Johan Swinnen, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and managing director of the CGIAR Systems Transformation. “We should better predict and prepare, implement effective and accountable governance and institutions, and invest to build resilience against future crises.”

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