Chapter 6


5. Summary of the Major Results of the World Food Summit

In November, 1996, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations organized
in Rome a meeting of world leaders, the World Food Summit, with the aim of providing a
historic opportunity for governments, international organizations and all sectors of the civil
society to join forces in a concerted campaign to ensure food security for all the world's
people. The World Food Summit adopted the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and
the World Food Summit Plan of Action, that have been extensively discussed and approved
by the Committee on World Food Security, prior to the Summit.

The Rome Declaration and the World Food Summit Plan of Action establish the ground for
the achievement of a common objective: food security. More than 800 million people
throughout the world, and particularly in developing countries, do not meet their basic
nutritional needs. The Heads of State and Government that gathered at the World Food
Summit, pledged to reduce the number of undernourished people to half their present level,
by the year 2015. A mid-term review to ascertain whether this target can be achieved will
take place by the year 2010.

Seven strategic steps were developed to tackle the problem of food security. The first
commitment states that: "We will ensure an enabling political, social, and economic
environment designed to create the best conditions for the eradication of poverty and
for durable peace, based on full and equal participation of women and men, which is
most conducive to achieving sustainable food security for all". This commitment
recognizes as a necessary pre-condition for the achievement of food security and the
eradication of poverty the establishment of a peaceful and stable political, social and
economic environment. This can be achieved through joint efforts by the State itself and the
international community, when appropriate, to develop conflict prevention mechanisms and
to promote tolerance, non-violence and respect for diversity. Particular emphasis should be
placed on the development of well-functioning legal and juridical systems, essential to
establish legal mechanisms that will ensure, on the one hand, stable economic conditions and,
on the other, the implementation of development strategies, through: land reform, protection
of property, water and user rights, and protection of vulnerable and disadvantaged groups,
including women and indigenous groups. For this particular purpose, states should introduce
a legislation fighting discrimination, protecting indigenous groups' identity and traditions,
and supporting the pursuit of economic and social development that allows equal access to
resources for all, including credit, land and water, and education.

The next step to achieve food security is highlighted in the second commitment: "We will
implement policies aimed at eradicating poverty and inequality and improving physical
and economic access by all, at all times, to sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe
food and its effective utilization". Here, the need is emphasized to implement policies to
eradicate poverty through the promotion of economic, agriculture, fishery, forestry and land
reform policies which will secure economic access to food. A factor that needs strong special
consideration, when formulating poverty eradication actions, is that 70% of the poor are
women. Securing economic access to food is referred to the urban as well as the rural areas.
In urban areas the idea is to provide sufficient income sources, such as employment
opportunities and access to credit so as to improve the income of the poor. Instead, in rural


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