Critical situation of food and agriculture in Africa

 

RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Critical situation of food and agriculture in Africa

  The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI) of 1 May 1974, containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order, 3281 (XXIX) of 12 December 1974, containing the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, and 3362 (S-VII) of 16 September 1975 on development and international economic co-operation, Recalling the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade, contained in the annex to its resolution 35/56 of 5 December 1980, in which the General Assembly emphasized agricultural and rural development and the eradication of hunger and malnutrition as being among the principal objectives of the Decade, Recalling also the Programme of Action of the World Food Conference, containing the Universal Declaration on the Eradication of Hunger and Malnutrition adopted by the Conference, and the Declaration of Principles and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, Recalling further its resolutions 35/69 of 5 December 1980, 36/186 of 17 December 1981 and 37/245 of 21 December 1982 on the situation of food and agriculture in Africa, Recognizing the high priority attached to food and agriculture and the commitment and determination of Africa to devote its limited resources on a priority basis to agricultural development, as reflected in and in accordance with the Lagos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic Development of Africa, Noting with grave concern that, over the past two decades, the situation of food and agriculture in Africa has undergone a drastic deterioration, resulting in a decline in food production per capita with detrimental effects on dietary standards, which are well below the minimum requirements, as well as in an alarming increase in the number of people exposed to malnutrition, hunger and starvation, Gravely concerned at the increasing and painful drain of scarce foreign exchange resulting from the growing dependence of African countries on food imports owing to the critical food shortage, which has had a detrimental effect on their overall development, Deeply concerned also at the unabated encroachment of the desert and the recurring problem of drought in many countries of Africa, which have continued to accentuate the food problem on that continent, Recognizing that the food supply crisis has been further exacerbated by such factors as poor rainfall, brushfires, unusually severe crop infestation, epidemics of animal diseases and chronic shortages of production inputs, Recognizing that the responsibility for the development of food and agricultural production lies primarily with the developing countries themselves and that there is an increasing effort and growing commitment by the developing countries to accelerate the development of their food and agricultural sectors, Recognizing the role of food-sector strategies, which emerged from the World Food Council as a means for interested developing countries to adopt an integrated approach to increase food production, improve consumption and attract the necessary additional international resources, Reaffirming the call in the Lagos Plan of Action regarding the application of policies providing incentives for increasing production, particularly for small farmers, while at the same time safeguarding the interests of the poorer consumers, Convinced that increased international support to combat drought, desertification, epidemics of animal diseases, crop infestation and post-harvest losses, among other problems, is crucial to the attainment of food self-sufficiency in Africa, Further convinced that international support measures can reinforce the efforts of the African countries to resolve the technological, managerial and financial resource gaps impeding food and agricultural production in Africa, Noting with serious concern that the findings of the Special FAO/WFP Task Force established by the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Executive Director of the World Food Programme have further highlighted the worsening food supply crisis, which has resulted in increased hunger and malnutrition affecting as many as 150 million people in twenty-two African countries, Noting with deep concern that the high-level meeting of the African countries concerned and of the potential donor countries convened by the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in Rome on 19 October 1983 has not so far resulted in the significant additional food aid resources needed, which have been estimated at 3.2 million tons by the Special FAO/WFP Task Force, of which a minimum of 1 million tons should be provided in the months ahead, including 700,000 tons to be provided on an emergency basis in the next few months in order to maintain supplies to the twenty-two affected countries, Noting the current unfavourable world economic situation, reflected in, inter alia, weak foreign export markets, balance-of-payments deficits and high interest rates, which, together with, in certain cases, a stagnation in aid and other related factors, have seriously undermined the ability of African countries both to sustain a reasonable level of food and agricultural production and to cover food deficits through commercial imports,

1. Reaffirms its resolutions 35/69, 36/186 and 37/245, and calls for their full implementation on an urgent basis;

2. Takes note of the reports of the Secretary-General on the situation of food and agriculture in Africa and on the state of technology for food and agriculture in Africa;

3. Welcomes the conclusions and recommendations of the World Food Council at its ninth ministerial session, held in New York in June 1983, in particular those relating to the African region;

4. Takes note with appreciation of the timely and important initiative of the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in convening a special meeting on the African food supply situation and urges the international community to respond favourably and immediately to the appeal made by the Director-General for alleviation of the present critical food supply situation in Africa;

5. Supports the urgent appeal launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in favour of the twenty-two African countries threatened by food shortages, and urges the international community to respond generously to that appeal by providing the additional food aid required, which has been estimated by the Special FAO/WFP Task Force at 3.2 million tons of which a minimum of 1 million tons should be provided in the months ahead, including 700,000 tons to be immediately provided to maintain food supplies in the affected countries as well as $76 million in agricultural inputs for the rehabilitation of agriculture and animal husbandry;

6. Recognizes the role of the international community, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Food Programme, the World Food Council, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Bank in mobilizing food aid and agricultural assistance for Africa, and requests existing and new donor countries to increase the resources required to meet African needs for food aid and agricultural development;

7. Urges all the countries of Africa to continue to accord priority to food and agriculture in accordance with their national development plans and programmes and to continue to implement measures to raise substantially their food and agricultural production in keeping with the Lagos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy for the Economic Development of Africa, and in this context reaffirms the important role that national food strategies, plans and programmes could play in this process;

8. Urges the international community to supplement, through increased financial and technical assistance, on a priority and long-term basis, the national efforts of African countries to achieve the goals and objectives set forth in the Lagos Plan of Action relevant to food and agriculture, taking into account the conclusions and recommendations of the African Ministers for Food and Agriculture at the Twelfth FAO Regional Conference for Africa, held at Algiers from 22 September to 2 October 1982, in particular the following objectives:

(a) Significant improvement in their food situation and laying of the foundations for the attainment of self-sufficiency in cereals, livestock and fish;

(b) Significant progress towards attaining a 50 per cent reduction in post-harvest losses, through, inter alia, the construction of storage facilities;

(c) Improved transport infrastructure to facilitate food distribution at the national, subregional and regional levels;

(d) Support of indigenous research efforts through expanded and more effective agricultural research, with special emphasis on animal husbandry, improved seeds and an adequate supply of fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals suitable to African conditions;

9. Further urges all relevant organs, organizations and bodies of the United Nations system to expand their training programmes for the building up of national capabilities for the preparation, execution, monitoring and evaluation of agricultural sector projects;

10. Calls upon the international community to continue to support efforts undertaken by African countries at the national, subregional and regional levels to increase food production through, inter alia, the provision, on a priority and long-term basis, of additional financial and technical assistance to Africa by organizations of the United Nations system, such as the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the United Nations Development Programme and other organizations involved in the financing of agriculture development, and through an increase in lending by the World Bank to the agricultural sector in Africa;

11. Recognizes that an international year for the mobilization of financial and technological resources for food and agriculture in Africa would be a useful mechanism for focusing international attention on the problem and could accelerate the process that would lead to a significant improvement of food and agricultural production in Africa;

12. Notes that the report of the Secretary-General on the state of technology for food and agriculture in Africa was incomplete in certain respects and that data are still being gathered, and requests that an updated report be submitted to the General Assembly at its fortieth session through the Economic and Social Council;

13. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth session, through the Economic and Social Council at its second regular session of 1984, a progress report on the implementation of the present resolution.