SWAZILAND: WFP calls for holistic approach to end food insecurity

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

MBABANE, 25 Apr 2005 (IRIN) - The World Food Programme (WFP) has called for a holistic approach to tackle food insecurity in Swaziland after four years of drought.

"We need to look at the food shortage situation as a whole, including all the factors that contribute: not just a lack of rainfall but the appropriateness of crops; the need to educate farmers on better seeds and cropping techniques; ways to mitigate AIDS, which is eliminating farmers," WFP's country representative in Swaziland, Abdoulaye Balde, told IRIN.

Following a mission to drought-affected areas with government officials and the heads of NGOs last month, the WFP made a list of recommendations for alleviating Swaziland's perennial problem of food shortages.

Balde said the perceived role of WFP should change from that of an organisation handing out unlimited supplies of food, to a body assisting agricultural reform that eventually led to an end of the need for food aid.

"Stakeholders must have a national vision that goes beyond food aid and donations by focusing on how to ensure self-sufficiency in the affected communities," said the WFP.

The UN agency called for crop diversification, pointing out that maize "is no longer a reliable crop". The recommendations suggested the introduction of drought-tolerant varieties, such as sorghum, sweet potatoes and cassava.

Balde acknowledged that weaning Swazis from maize would not be easy, but WFP surveys had found that after four years of failed maize harvests, some farmers were ready try something new.

The theme of community empowerment ran through the WFP recommendations. It asked community leaders to steer the development agenda at the local level, instead of relying on national politicians in the capital, who might focus on short-term rather than sustainable solutions.

Education was another theme tackled by the food aid agency. It proposed the introduction of practical agricultural studies in primary and secondary schools; farmers must be encouraged to opt for commercial livestock farming rather than continue traditional cattle ownership, where cows were kept as status symbols or for customary usage, like paying dowries.

Some recommendations, such as irrigations schemes using local rivers in areas harassed by drought, were expensive and did not offer immediate solutions, while others, like the promulgation of a long-needed Disaster Management Bill, could be effected quickly.

The plight of older people came in for special consideration: "Many households in the drought-stricken areas are either headed by elderly women, or by children who have no source of income and less labour for productive activities. These families depend mainly on food aid for subsistence."

Calling for a National Poverty Census that would map the entire country and provide a verification system ensuring that food aid went to only those genuinely in need, the WFP suggested: "Government should review its policy on social welfare to ensure that the elderly and vulnerable people gain access to social grants for sustenance in times of hunger."

The most radical and potentially controversial recommendation called for some people to finally admit that their ancestral land might no longer sustain life.

"Relocation of communities in the severely affected areas may be considered as a long-term solution," said WFP. "The mission, however, acknowledge the socio-cultural and political constraints related to that approach."

[ENDS]