Oxfam launches Grow campaign for sustainable food

A table for nine billion. This is what Oxfam aims to achieve with its recently launched campaign "Grow," which explores better ways to share food and live together. It is for "the billions of us who eat food and over a billion of men and women who grow it, to share solutions for a more hopeful future in which everyone always has enough to eat," reads the invitation to the launch. "We all need food. Some people don't get enough food. That problem is going to get worse. All our knowledge learning and studies tell us, the way we've organized our food systems too many people don't get enough food. A billion people wake up hungry and go to bed hungry. That's one in seven. In the Philippines that's closer to one in five," said Oxfam Hong Kong Director General John Sayer at the Grow campaign launch in Manila on Friday. Sayer enumerated the "deadly combination of factors" that are causing this problem: climate change, depleted natural resources, and rising population. "I think its our mutual responsibility for everyone in the world to provide food for all people on earth. So we're launching the Grow campaign, which will last for several years," he said.

No magic solution Just as the food crisis has a number of causes, the solution lies in several challenges. "There is no simple magic solution," said Sayer, who listed three challenges that must be faced. "One, we've got to produce enough food. By 2050 there will be nine billion people on the planet. Second, we've got to do this in an environmentally sustainable way. Third we've got to do it in a way where the food reaches the people who need it. There's no point in producing food that is geographically far away or unaffordable," said Sayer. Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala said local government units are working closely with indigenous people, especially the women's sector, to grow more food. "You may not know it, but we are the ones putting food, especially vegetables on your table. There is money in agriculture... Given the right services, the right incentives especially for the women, we will be empowered. Just give us the chance to grow and give a piece of land to us and we can grow anything, and feed the world," said Ka Elvie Baladad, a farmer from Rizal. "What we're saying is empower first the smallholders. Help them. Now is the chance," said Baladad, a member of the Pamansang Koalisyon ng mga Kababaihan sa Kanayunan. Sayer agreed that smallholders are the key to improving food security in the country. "We believe one of the keys to feeding everyone and averting the global food crisis is to empower smallholder producers. More than half the people who are malnourished and hungry are smallholders. They own land, but they are not getting enough food to eat," he said. "Aid and government budgets have dropped dramatically for agriculture around the world. If we invest in smallholders, helping them to increase their production, helping them with infrastructure and knowledge, make sure they're not exploited by middlemen, big companies in trade and food," added Sayer. "Busog at malusog" "Planting alone will not give them the necessary means to have a better quality of life. Give them the means to plant, but provide other means for them to up their daily income. As to how we can achieve that, that is what we're discussing in AF 2025," said Senator Francis Pangilinan. Convened last February, AF 2025 is an agriculture summit involving some of the key agriculture stakeholders from government, the farming sector, the private sector, and other related groups. It aims to draw up a road map that would address key agriculture issues. "Our policy now is from farm to table. Hindi lang busog kundi malusog," said Alcala. The importance of women was highlighted during the launch, which was followed by the opening of "Saganang Amin," an exhibit of women food producers. The launching also featured a Good Food Lunch, where Manila's famous chefs served dishes made with ingredients grown by the women featured in the exhibit. Among the celebrity chefs was Chef Steph Zubiri, who served Filipino-style onion soup made with Ligaya "Laling" Oria's onions from Munoz, Nueva Ecija. Meanwhile, Chef Sau del Rosario used Rosario Mendoza's alumahan from Naic, Cavite to make spicy alumahan maki with srirachi, apple and walnut salad on roasted sesame dressing. "Women farmers are responsible for a huge amount of food production in the world. In addition to that they are responsible for early child education, for feeding the family, for the health of the family," said Sayer. "Ang pinakamalaking maitutulong ng mga kababaihan ay yung pagluluto sa bahay, with extenders. Like rice with cassava, or rice with bananas. Hindi kayang i-quantify agad, pero ang laking magagawa niyan to ease the pressure on rice. They help us educate the whole family. They are the boss in their houses. Malaki pong tulong yun, sila ang pinakamagaling," said Alcala. "Around the world, there are two things that make a difference. Women need confidence. With confidence, they are actually really formidable. Women as groups are really very strong," said Dame Barbara Stocking, CEO of Oxfam Great Britain. "The second thing is money. When they have some money with them, they really do something with it. So with confidence and money, they really take it away," she concluded. - YA, GMA News