No progress in Govt. plan to lessen food insecurity

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) has not been able to work substantially towards implementing provisions of the Three Years Interim Plan 2007/08 - 2009/2010 on food security in the country. The Interim Plan envisioned a Food Security Division in the MoAC to effectively to monitor and identify problems of food security in the country.

“We don´t have any data that specifically shows how many people are under food insecurity,” said Dr Hari Dahal, joint secretary and spokesperson of the ministry. “Though we have food surplus this year, the situation is unlikely to improve because we don´t have mechanism in place to distribute food to the needy.”

According to the World Food Program (WFP), 3.5 million people were under food insecurity in the country. Explaining the necessity of Food Security Division, Dahal said, “It would have been easier if we had actual data, forecast and overall coordination required to improve food security situation."

Due to the timely monsoon, Nepal has around 400,000 tons of food surplus in the country this year. “I think, if there was existence of Food Security Division in the ministry, there would of course be discussions on how we could distribute the surplus food.”

Moreover, the Interim Plan had another provision to provide at least 100 days employment to the families that are food insecure. To get this done, ministry must have data that show which families were under food insecurity in the country.

The Interim Plan, a blueprint to upgrade the national mechanism and infrastructure with sound planning, admitted 35 per cent of the total population were facing food shortages. “Adequate attention is not paid to food insecurity at the national level,” Interim Plan acknowledges.

According to Dahal, many districts in mid and far western regions remain under food insecurity this year as well. “There are some efforts from different agencies, but nothing at the national level to address the problem of food security in those regions.”

The Interim Plan 2007/2008 - 2009/2010, which was replaced by Three Year Plan 2010/11 - 2012/13, also has a vision to establish an Information Centre in the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD).

However, Dipendra Bahadur Kshetry, vice-chairperson of the National Planning Commission (NPC), said some efforts had been made to establish Food Security Division in the MoAC. “I think, work is in progress to establish a division in the ministry with the help of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation.”

FOOD INSECURITY GROWS

But GON and WFP continue to squabble

This Commentary was first published in the The Reporter Weekly

There will be slight increase in the number of food-insecure population in the country this year largely because of agriculture lean season, according to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). The number of people hit acute food insecurity across the Mid and the Far Western Hill and Mountain (MFWHM), is estimated to be 0.48 million, and WFP is running out of  budget necessary to cope with the situation during the fiscal year 2011/12.The Government of Nepal (GoN) does not have a well-grounded program to address the problem either.

As per the WFP report, the total number of food insecure population in the country stands at 3.7 million spread across 38 out of 75 districts. The MFWHM districts have recorded a 2.7 per cent increase in population (July-September) compared to the corresponding period last year. While food insecurity may not have taken into its fold new population this year, the budgetary constraints of WFP may come as a handicap to do anything substantial there in need.

WFP is  suffering from the 51% budget deficit compared to the planned budget for this fiscal year 2011/12. "The budget deficit is due to the global financial crisis," WFP Nepal Office elaborated, "many donors reduced their contribution  and some stopped the fund for WFP." And that naturally will have its impact on the lives of food insecure people in the country. The UN agency works as per the emergency needs in member countries.

The WFP is coordinating with the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) to help the food insecure population in Nepal. The Government of Nepal (GoN) hasn't been able to show any willingness to serve the food insecure population besides repeating the cliché of 'food distribution by Nepal Food Corporation (NFC)'.

However, government authorities in Nepal do not quite agree with the projection of the  WFP regarding the  food insecure population. They allege that the WFP is just multiplying the costs of food distribution. "The GoN won't give any additional budget to the WFP," one senior official at  the Ministry of Local Development said, adding “We are not going to repeat our past follies like giving  WFP the money we had got from the World Bank. " Nepalese authorities also claim that WFP just refuses to work ‘under our government’.

The World Bank says that the global food crisis has reached 'dangerous levels'.  “As  Nepal does not produce enough food to meet the domestic requirement, we have to import food from international market. This rising food prices will definitely lead us to some problem. GoN should acknowledge this fact and have to work towards advancing the food production situation in the 38 food deficit districts”, World Banks says.

But what is likely to create more crisis in a scenario of food scarcity is the rigid stance of the government not to give budget to the WFP. “Why can’t it ask the WFP to work more efficiently? But at the same time, WFP also must realize why donors are cutting or reducing their contribution to it when the food insecurity is increasing in many countries,” ask the WB officials.