Celebrated each year on October 16, the day was established to bring attention to the plight of the world’s hungry and undernourished while providing an opportunity for a deeper understanding of the complex solutions for ending hunger. This year’s theme “Social protection and Agriculture: breaking the cycle of rural poverty” aims to underline the role social protection plays in reducing chronic food insecurity and poverty by ensuring direct access to food or the means to buy food.

More than 793 million people around the world go hungry every day, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Over 70 percent of food insecure people live in rural areas of Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Near East. And according to the World Food Program and the United Nations, 2 billion people lack the vitamins and minerals needed to live healthy lives.

Of those who go hungry daily, 98 percent reside in developing countries where there is not only a shortage of food but major challenges for aid to reach its destination. Salesian Missions’ programs are dedicated to developing sustainable food systems and providing agricultural education in more than 130 countries around the globe. Operating primary schools, technical training centers, agricultural schools, youth centers, orphanages and programs for street children, Salesian missionaries are on the front lines of the battle against hunger.

Working and living in the communities they serve, Salesian missionaries are perfectly positioned to ensure that the distribution of food aid reaches those who need it most while offering programs that teach agricultural techniques to increase local food production. Through ongoing partnerships with organizations like Stop Hunger Now and Feed My Starving Children, Salesian missionaries are able to deliver life-saving food aid and other supplies to those in need in their communities.

“Salesian missionaries are an integral part of the existing infrastructure in many countries and Salesian Missions plays an important role in making sure aid from the United States reaches its destination country and gets into the hands of those who need it most,” says Father Mark Hyde, executive director of Salesian Missions, the U.S. development arm of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Salesian food programs provide meals to students during the school day and serve as an incentive for families to send their children to school. As a result of the feeding programs, students are thriving. Many have gained weight, suffered fewer illnesses and become more focused on their studies. Teachers are seeing better student performance in class, a decrease in absenteeism and an increase in program enrollment rates.

“Feeding programs are a necessity to meet the needs of the massive number of children around the globe who are hungry today,” adds Fr. Hyde. “Meals children receive at Salesian schools may be their only meals. This food not only encourages them to attend school, it allows them to focus on getting the education they need without worrying about where their next meal will come from. Children cannot learn on an empty stomach.”

Many Salesian programs are also dedicated to developing sustainable food systems and providing agricultural education. This World Food Day, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian agricultural programs which include those offered at more than 90 agricultural schools around the globe.

CAMBODIA

Salesian-run Don Bosco Kep, located in Kep Province, Cambodia, has developed a small farm to better serve the needs of poor and disadvantaged youth in the region. The new farm will help to support the work of the agricultural department which serves to train Cambodian youth in mechanical agriculture while producing food for the technical school to aid its sustainability. Since 2011, the agricultural department has worked with limited resources on a small piece of land inside the school’s campus. Over the past several years, the department has been growing with the addition of more teachers and students and has been making a broader social impact in the regions of Kep, Kampot and Takeo.

DR CONGO

Salesian-led International Voluntary Service for Development (VIS) volunteers hosted a special workshop for farmers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo*. The goal of the workshop was to empower farmers to envision a viable and stable agricultural framework and boost their confidence to bring it to fruition. The farmers’ ideas will provide the foundation for a new agricultural service center in the country. The new center will provide resources and expertise to help improve crop yields, profitability and the overall quality of life for farmers and their families. The input of local farmers will help direct the center’s resources and training curriculum.

INDIA

The Don Bosco Agro-Educational Complex, located in the town of Sulcorna in the state of Goa in western India, has developed the area’s first agriculture college. The new college will utilize 110 acres of fertile land for hands-on farm training and emphasize organic cultivation in its four-year degree program. The mission of the college is to train undergraduates and postgraduates in the latest agricultural practices and modern technologies while moving towards efficiency in farming within Goa by exploring and testing new techniques in agriculture, horticulture, floriculture and animal husbandry. Salesian missionaries in the area are working towards marketing agricultural products and services to local farmers by utilizing the college and its staff as a resource for everything related to farming and off-farm activities. They are also working with local women’s groups helping them to plant specific crops that have greater viability in the marketplace. Salesian missionaries hope the agriculture degree program will entice more local youth to choose agriculture as their long-term livelihood.

MOZAMBIQUE

The Austrian Salesian Youth of the World program has planned its second agricultural project in the town of Moatize, located in the Tete province in northern Mozambique. The project, which will be carried out in seven different rural communities, aims to educate farmers in the latest innovations in agriculture and livestock techniques in order to improve food security and increase income potential. Educators will help farmers introduce or intensify the production of vegetables, experiment with new methods of production and processing of products and assist with raising livestock. Farmers will learn new skills in agriculture and animal husbandry, horticulture and fruit growing and breeding cattle and sheep. They will also be provided with irrigation pumps which will help to support local schools and healthcare centers. In addition, Salesian staff will work with local residents to establish community associations for product sharing and sales. The project will train close to 1,000 families, or about 5,000 people. With increased food production in the small rural communities participating in the program, about 8,000 residents will be positively impacted.

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Sources:

World Food Day 2015

*Any goods, services, or funds provided by Salesian Missions to programs located in this country were administered in compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including sanctions administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Asset Control.

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“Owned by their members, they can generate employment, alleviate poverty, and empower poor and marginalized groups in rural areas, especially women, to drive their own destinies,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a message, stressing that the number of people still going hungry is unacceptable in a world where every person would have enough to eat if food were distributed properly.

“As enterprises with a social conscience, cooperatives have also proven to be an effective vehicle for social inclusion, promoting gender equality and encouraging the involvement of youth in agriculture.”

The theme of this year’s Day, which is celebrated on Oct. 16, 2012, in honor of the date of the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945, is ‘Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world.’

In a ceremony marking the Day at FAO’s headquarters in Rome, its Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, called on governments to do their part and “create conditions that allow producer organizations and cooperatives to thrive” as a major way to lift small-scale farmers out of poverty and hunger.

Although they produce most of the food in many countries, they had poor access to markets to sell their products, lack of bargaining power to buy inputs at better prices and a lack of access to financial services, he said.

“Agricultural cooperatives can help smallholders overcome these constraints,” Mr. Graziano da Silva stressed. “Cooperatives play a crucial role in generating employment, reducing poverty, and improving food security, and contributing to the gross domestic product in many countries.”

Speaking at the same ceremony, the UN World Food Program’s (WFP) Executive Director, Ertharin Cousin, underscored the need for social safety nets for those who could barely feed themselves.

“In our world, too many still struggle to find their next meal,” she said. “Social protection and safety net programs enable the most vulnerable, particularly women and children, to lift themselves out of hunger and poverty. These programs provide a cushion that is otherwise unavailable and build resilience against economic and environmental shocks.”

At the same event, the head of the UN International Fund on Agricultural Development (IFAD), which seeks to empower poor rural women and men in developing countries to achieve higher incomes and improved food security, highlighted its role in working closely with cooperatives worldwide.

“From tea growers in Rwanda to livestock resource centres in Nepal, there are many examples of how cooperatives better support smallholder farmers to not only organize themselves, but to collectively increase their opportunities and resources,” IFAD’s President Kanayo Nwanze said.

“Our experience at IFAD working with farmers has proven time and time again that cooperatives are critical to reach these objectives,” he added. “This is why we place a lot of emphasis on cooperatives and continue to enhance our work with them.”

Speaking from Geneva, the Director-General of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO), Guy Ryder, added his voice to the messages issued on the Day.

“Experience around the world shows that farmers, fisherfolk, foresters and herders have used cooperative organization to increase food production, gain market access, obtain better prices on agricultural inputs, participate more effectively in global value chains and also to manage natural resources and enhance food security,” he said.

In a report launched on World Food Day, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) warns that the ecological foundations that support food security, including biodiversity are being undermined.

“The era of seemingly ever-lasting production based upon maximizing inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, mining supplies of freshwater and fertile arable land and advancements linked to mechanization are hitting their limits, if indeed they have not already hit them,” UNEP’s Executive Director, Achim Steiner, said in a news release.

“The world needs a green revolution but with a capital ‘G’: one that better understands how food is actually grown and produced in terms of the nature-based inputs provided by forests, freshwaters and biodiversity,” he added.

The report – Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Basis of Food Security through Sustainable Food System – was produced in collaboration with IFAD, FAO, WFP, World Bank, and the World Resources Institute, a global environmental think tank.

It points out the challenges posed by overfishing, unsustainable water use, environmentally degrading agricultural practices and other human activities and calls for the redesign of sustainable agriculture systems, dietary changes, and storage systems and new food standards to reduce waste.

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(MissionNewswire) The international community celebrated World Water Day on March 22, which is recognized annually as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. World Water Day 2012 was coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. The theme of this year’s World Water Day was water and food security.

“Agriculture is by far the main user of freshwater,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in an address highlighting World Water Day on March 22, 2012. “Unless we increase our capacity to use water wisely in agriculture, we will fail to end hunger and we will open the door to a range of other ills, including drought, famine and political instability.”

World Water Day is also a day for celebrating organizations and people who work year round to empower women and girls in an effort to make the world a better place. It is work that too often goes uncelebrated.

Salesian Missions has programs helping the poor in more than 130 countries around the globe, including programs that provide safe water and much-needed agricultural training in some of the poorest places on the planet. Here are some examples of that work:

BRAZIL

To address serious water issues resulting from pesticide pollution in a remote area of western Brazil, Salesian Missions worked with members of the Xavante and Bororo Indian communities to obtain clean water from previously inaccessible areas. To do so, they first created wells and designed a mobile drilling truck. To create power, they invented and patented a seesaw pump that would draw water from the depths of the well. Now, solar panels are used. The result is reduced risk of disease, access to potable water, improved infrastructure and expanded farming. The immediate response to a crisis in a community has become a well organized project to ensure the growth of the indigenous groups.

INDIA

Safe drinking water is essential for child survival. In India, progress has been made toward access to safe drinking water with 84.5 percent of rural and 95 percent of urban populations having sustainable access to safe drinking water, according to the World Bank.

At the Don Bosco Centre for Learning in Kura, a new training facility focuses on job training in developing technologies concerning water – ranging from plumbing and sanitation to developing efficient methods for utilization and analyzing existing systems for efficient transportation of water. The courses are designed for youth who have previously left school in order to help them enter the job market.

RWANDA

In Rwanda, food insecurity is a major issue, according to the World Food Program. At least 22 percent of households (2.2 million people) are food-insecure, and another 24 percent are highly vulnerable to food insecurity.

Today, Salesian Missions includes agriculture in its vocational training programs – to ensure that youth of Rwanda learn better agricultural practices as well as keep the school self-sustaining in the face of the country’s food shortages.

PERU

Rebuilding efforts continue after an 8.0 magnitude earthquake in August 2007, which killed more than 500 people in the central coastal cities of Chincha, Pisco and Ica, and injured hundreds more. Years after the quake, Salesians are still helping with ongoing reconstruction efforts in Peru, such as the development of “Mary Help of Christians Village” in Chinca – comprised of 22 small homes with running potable water.

BOLIVIA

In Bolivia, families now have access to safe drinking water in their homes through community water distribution projects. For example, in the town of “19 de Agosto” in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the new distribution brings water directly to 106 families who previously had to carry potable water from the town well to their own homes. In addition, the distribution system greatly improves the sanitary conditions of the drinking water. And, in the town of “Las Parabas,” 50 families now have water distribution directly into their homes.

In Bolivia, training in agriculture practices inspires transformation of communities. At the Muriyana Agricultural School, more than 600 high school students and 100 advanced students are receiving training while learning to integrate their work into the local community. An estimated 20,000 people in the communities benefit directly from this program as a result of the school’s extension and community outreach programs.

LIBERIA

Liberia is one of the poorest countries in the world, according to the World Bank.  After a devastating civil war, orphans, street children and adolescent ex-combatants are facing – with little education or skills – adult responsibilities.

The goal of the Don Bosco Rehabilitation and Skills Training Program in Liberia is to reach youth through rehabilitative skills training and counseling. By attending classes, youth can make up for the years lost as a result of the war by gaining marketable skills that they can then contribute to the rebuilding of the country. Teenagers to young adults in their mid-twenties are able to receive agricultural training in addition to carpentry, masonry, plumbing, auto mechanics, metal works, and electricity. The program was founded in 1991 through a joint initiative with UNICEF.

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An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating March 22, 1993, as the first “World Water Day.”

Each year, World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater – this year’s theme is water and food security.

“Agriculture is by far the main user of freshwater,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in an address highlighting World Water Day on March 22, 2012.

“Unless we increase our capacity to use water wisely in agriculture, we will fail to end hunger and we will open the door to a range of other ills, including drought, famine and political instability,” Ban Ki-moon continued.

“In many parts of the world, water scarcity is increasing and rates of growth in agricultural production have been slowing,” he said. “At the same time, climate change is exacerbating risk and unpredictability for farmers, especially for poor farmers in low-income countries who are the most vulnerable and the least able to adapt.”

Two weeks prior to this year’s World Water Day, UNICEF and World Health Organization report showed conclusively that poor people in rural areas are overwhelmingly those without these most basic necessities for life.

As the world commemorated World Water Day, UNICEF called on governments to pay particular attention to those who are being left behind in their countries’ progress, especially with regard to access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.

“Governments must make sure that their resources achieve real results for the poorest people,” said Sanjay Wijesekera, UNICEF’s chief of water, sanitation and hygiene. “Otherwise they risk leaving large portions of their populations, particularly children, increasingly vulnerable to disease.”

The report, Progress on Drinking Water and Sanitation 2012, says the world met the Millennium Development Goal target for drinking water at the end of 2010, when 89 per cent of the world’s population, or 6.1 billion people, used improved drinking water sources.

However, it says that rural dwellers are several times more likely than their urban counterparts to be without access to safe drinking water. According to the report, globally there is an almost universal disparity of access to safe drinking water in rural areas compared to urban areas.

Of the 783 million people still without improved sources of drinking water in 2010, 653 million are from rural areas. The picture is even worse for sanitation, where globally, 79 per cent of the urban population use an improved sanitation facility compared to 47 per cent of the rural population. Fully 72 per cent of those without access to improved sanitation, or 1.8 billion people, live in rural areas.

UNICEF says the rural-urban divide for safe drinking water is particularly acute in poorer countries. In sub-Saharan Africa the gap between urban and rural is 34 percentage points. On average in Least Developed Countries, ninety-seven out of every 100 rural dwellers do not have piped water on premises.

Overwhelmingly, it is women and girls who are bearing the brunt of the water burden, UNICEF says. Surveys conducted in 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa found that in 71 per cent of all households without water on the premises women or girls are mainly responsible for water collection. Each household typically requires at least one trip a day, and often more, for water collection. It is estimated that women spend a combined total of at least 16 million hours each day collecting drinking water; men spend 6 million hours; and children, 4 million hours.

“Safe drinking water must reach everyone”, says Wijesekera. “We cannot celebrate progress until those who are hardest to reach can also turn on a tap, or go to a well or pump and get enough safe drinking water for their daily needs.”

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UN Photo/Martine Perret

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Agriculture is a critical economic and social activity in Haiti. According to the World Bank, agriculture employs half of the national workforce (including 75 percent of low-income Haitians).

However, the earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010, devastated rural areas—as well as urban areas—destroying crops, farm buildings, equipment and infrastructure, says an Oxfam briefing paper on agriculture’s role in Haiti’s reconstruction. The report notes that 600,000 people migrated to the countryside, increasing pressure on an already stretched food supply and depleted resource base. This internal displacement worsened food availability, which affected six out of 10 people even before the disaster.

The Salesian Missions Agricultural School in Cap-Haitien provides sought-after agricultural skills to more than 140 students who will contribute to the rebuilding of Haiti, says Edson Timana, Haiti relief and reconstruction program manager for Salesian Missions.

“Haiti is a country with limited natural resources, and with most of its economy relying on agricultural production and employment, it’s important for the country to promote training in the agricultural sector,” says Timana, who recently visited the agricultural school. “Students were developing their already impressive agricultural skills that would later serve them when they went back to their family’s farm or if they decided to buy their own plot of land and start their own farms.”

On a national scale, greater support to agriculture is crucial to meet Haiti’s developmental goals and help it prepare for future emergencies, according to a statement released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) about agriculture and food security in Haiti one year after the devastating earthquake.

“Poor, vulnerable, agriculture-dependent communities suffer some of the most severe consequences of natural disasters,” says Etienne Peterschmitt, FAO’s senior emergency and rehabilitation coordinator for Haiti. “Agriculture has a critical role to play not only in eliminating hunger and malnutrition, but also in boosting rural incomes, reversing environmental degradation and increasing resilience to future threats.”

In Cap-Haitien, plans for the refurbishment of the Salesian Missions agricultural facilities are in progress, according to Timana. There, he adds, students learn applied and adapted farming methodology to improve crop quantity and quality. The three-year program focuses on students from families with limited economic resources. Currently, the agriculture school serves 145 students – 34 (23 percent) are women and 111 (77 percent) are male. There are also more than 1,000 students receiving primary and secondary education.

Salesian Missions currently operates more than 90 agricultural schools around the world. Timana offers two examples of such programs.

“Agriculture schools in Ecuador train their students on farming methods with the goal of increasing crop yields,” he says, adding that the Paute-Uzhupud and Cayambe Salesian Schools in Ecuador and the Muyurina Agricultural School in the city of Montero in Santa Cruz, Bolivia serve 562; 1,128; and 800 students, respectively.

All of the agricultural programs are unique because they share a commonality—they all focus on the specific needs of each individual community.

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