India’s Zero Hunger Challenge

Ihes Initiative for Health & Equity in Society

                                                                                                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                              

February 25, 2013

Dear Friends

Navdanya/ Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE)/Initiative for Health and Equity in Society (IHES), invite you to a policy dialogue and interactive session on

                       India’s Zero Hunger Challenge

 An Integrated  Response to prevent Hunger, Rural Debt and Depletion of Natural Resources

on Tuesday, 19^th March 2013 at Conference Room II (above the dining hall, main building, India International Center, 40 Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi-110003. The meeting will starts at 9.30 a.m.

India is facing a triple crisis in the food and agriculture sector. The first crisis is the ecological crisis and the depletion of natural capital of biodiversity, water and soil without which there can be no food security. The second crisis is the agrarian crisis of rising debt and falling rural income of which the most tragic expression is the 2,70, 000 farmers’ suicide. The third crisis is the crisis of hunger and malnutrition, with every fourth Indian hungry, every third woman severely malnourished, every second child wasted and stunted.

These three crises are inter related and are different dimensions of an ecologically non sustainable and socially unjust food and agriculture system. Unfortunately, the current policy response to the three dimensions of a broken food system is fragmented and partial. Ecological Sustainability has been totally ignored, even though IAASTD (International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development) and Navdanya’s research of 25 years has shown that sustainable agriculture is more productive and hence the only real solution to hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty. The issue of farmers’ livelihood is not being addressed. In fact, many policy initiatives that are being proposed risk increasing the vulnerability of our peasants. The hunger and malnutrition crisis is being addressed, but in a very partial and fragmented way, without ensuring that the natural resources base is protected and farmers’ sustainable livelihood ensured. Without protecting the ecological and social base of food production, there can be no food security. If we address malnutrition without addressing the sustainability of agriculture or livelihood security of small and marginal farmers we will not have a lasting and real solution to malnutrition.

India’s Zero Hunger Challenge is repairing the broken food system by collectively evolving solutions that recognize the inter connectedness between different dimensions of the food and agriculture crises and offer integrated solutions. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon launched the Zero Hunger Challenge at Rio+ 20  in June 2012.The  Zero Hunger Challenge  is an attempt to integrate different aspects of the food system in removing hunger and poverty (See the attachment for the details).

We hope your presence and participation on ‘India’s Zero Hunger Challenge- An Integrated Policy to prevent Hunger, Rural Debt and Depletion of Natural Resources’ will help us to look at the real and lasting solutions for the food and agriculture crisis.

In Solidarity,

Dr  Vandana Shiva                                                       Dr Mira Shiva

Navdanya/RFSTE                                                         Initiative for Health & Equity in Society (IHES)