Developing Nations Help Each Other Improve Food Security

by Katherine Gustafson · 2010-05-19 06:00:00 UTC
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When you think of nations working together to improve food security, Vietnam and Chad seem like an unlikely pairing. We usually hear more about developed nations donating their materials or knowledge to less-developed parts of the world.

But nations at similar development levels are actually uniquely positioned to help each other with the low-tech improvements that can benefit these countries the most. Under an agreement coordinated by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), agricultural experts from Vietnam will send five experts and 10 technicians to Chad for two years to help farmers there learn new methods of irrigation, rice cultivation, fishing, and bee-keeping, according to SciDev.Net.

This is a perfect example of the type of project we need to help ensure food security. As I wrote recently, what developing-world farmers need is appropriate forms of technology that really work in the climate and context in which they farm. Low-cost methods of improving agriculture that require little energy or other inputs to employ and maintain are essential in these places. Things like drip irrigation systems, foot-powered water pumps, effective storage and transport methods, and radio- or mobile-based farming advice systems can change these farmers' lives.

More such projects that empower the developing world's agricultural sector in ways that don't involve expensive techno-fixes are badly needed around the world. With the world's population growing, it will be better to find simple and effective ways to improve yields and prevent spoilage than to institute high-cost, technological methods of turbo-charging production.

"So far experiences with similar collaborations have been good," Abdul Kobakiwal, chief of the FAO's Integrated Food Security Support Services, told SciDev.Net. "Farmers really enjoy them, because … the experts have been through similar stages in agriculture and development recently so they can relate to farmers in recipient countries well."

Photo: IRRI Images via Flickr

Katherine Gustafson is a freelance writer and editor with a background in international nonprofit organizations.

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