Global Hunger

Robert Halfon Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd January 2013 Westminster Hall

[Mr Clarke]

Yes, I absolutely agree. My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. I hope I might be forgiven for not giving way later on, because I hope to give the Minister at least 15 minutes—or as near to that as possible—to respond to the debate.

I return to the thoughts I was offering. Food prices are more volatile than they have ever been, and even here in our own country hard-working families are struggling to feed their children. The message is simple: there is enough food in the world for everyone if we act now to address the structural causes of poverty. Hunger and malnutrition are not caused by a shortage of resources but by our inability to see beyond our own immediate needs. The time has come to look beyond politics, country borders and economic partnerships, and to make a decisive leap forward for the sake of humanity.

However, that prompts a question: what are the structural causes of poverty? They are the political choices made by Governments throughout the developed world that ingrain inequality and injustice. We have a global mission and duty to ensure that the poor do not become poorer while the rich become richer.

Small-scale farmers in the developing world produce more than half the world’s food—a staggering figure—but look at what is happening to their land. Obviously, sizable and suitable land is vital for farmers to grow food, but globally, in the past decade, an area eight times the size of the UK has been sold off or leased out. Such land deals, done behind closed doors and with no transparency or participation by the people affected, often see local people unfairly lose their homes, land and access to the resources that are vital for them to be able to grow or buy enough food.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

[Mr Clarke]

I am sorry; I said earlier that I wanted to give the Minister a reasonable amount of time.

The situation seems to me to be absolutely disgraceful. Beyond the way land is bought, sold and used, the system is opaque. Once food is produced, it enters the global market, which is dominated by a handful of multinational companies in a system with little transparency. That is not to say that those companies are inherently bad, but we would be foolish to overlook their incredible power. For example, 90% of the global trade in grain is controlled by five companies. Who benefits from that control? Shareholders, or people who are hungry? Companies have more information about us than ever before, yet as global citizens we have little useful information about their social and environmental impact. There are reporting requirements under the Companies Act 2006, but they are not useful to investors, producers, Government or civil society. Decisions continue to be made in the shadows, without participation by the people they affect. That cannot be right.

We in the UK could take a leading role to end the scandal. With the Prime Minister at the head of the G8, we can do a great deal. We could take action to ensure that small-scale farmers keep hold of their land to grow food. We could crack down on the tax dodgers depriving poor countries of resources to ensure the right to food.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Duncan]

Absolutely. A proper legal framework for ownership of land is crucial if property rights are to be exercised fairly, particularly among some of the poorest people. That building block in any country’s framework of law is crucial for the guarantee of such rights.

To tackle hunger, we need to improve poor people’s access to food. They spend a large proportion of their income on food, so are least able to cope when food prices rise unpredictably. UK aid provides money to a consortium, led by FARM Africa and Self Help Africa, which aims to increase the production and returns of nearly 1 million smallholders. We also provide support for safety nets so that the poorest people have a buffer to help them to survive and recover from economic or natural shocks that threaten their ability to feed themselves and their families. For example, DFID supports the Ethiopian Government’s productive safety net programme, which provides predictable cash or food payments to around 8 million people.

[Robert Halfon]

I fully support the campaign for enough food for everyone, and I particularly congratulate Save the Children. Does my right hon. Friend agree that the UK should support increased fiscal transparency in developing countries so that their citizens can hold their Governments to account and press for greater civil participation for local citizens to see better how their money is spent to increase food supply?

Mr Duncan: I share my hon. Friend’s enthusiasm for such transparency, and indeed part of the menu of DFID’s activities in many of our bilateral country programmes is to enhance such political accountability and better governance of the people their politicians serve. We want to help countries to extend accountability, which we take for granted in this country, to their own people wherever possible.

Ultimately, our aim is to ensure that poor households, particularly those with young children, do not suffer from the sort of malnutrition that the right hon. Gentleman described. DFID is scaling up its nutrition programmes in more than 10 countries. We recently announced a new three-year £35 million programme in Yemen, for example, to treat and prevent under-nutrition among 1.65 million women and children. I take a particular interest in that country, where it is thought that perhaps a third of all children under five are malnourished.

We also contribute to research and development to improve the nutritional content of staple food crops. In Africa and Asia, with UK support, HarvestPlus is providing seeds and tubers nutritionally enriched with vitamin A, zinc and iron, which should benefit more than 3 million people.

Of course, no country or Government can tackle global hunger alone. Last year, the UK supported the launch of the G8’s new alliance for food security and nutrition, which aims to lift 50 million people in Africa out of poverty through economic growth and agriculture. This year, during our G8 presidency, the Government will attempt to improve and expand the new alliance. We will work to bring in more African countries and deepen its impact; for example, providing a strong focus on empowering women, who make up 40% of the world’s agricultural work force, and on promoting responsible private sector investment in African agriculture.