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Agriculture, development, and freedom from want

Daniel Gustafson

"THE IDEA of freedom from want ... expresses an aspiration as old as mankind ... But in this generation freedom from want has been taken out of the realm of utopian ideas. The conviction has spread that it can be achieved; indeed it is held by hard-headed businessmen and skeptical scientists no less than by the dreamers and idealists ... Freedom from want means the conquest of hunger and the attainment of the ordinary needs of a decent, self-respecting life ... [I]f this can be done within and among nations by their separate and collective action, some of the world's worst economic ills, including hunger and extreme poverty will be on the way to extinction."

This challenge is not lifted, as it may sound, from a report on the Millennium Development Goals or the recently discussed proposal on U.N. Reform In Larger Freedom. It comes rather from the June 1945 General Report on The Work of FAO made to the United Nations Interim Commission on Food and Agriculture. As the United Nations and the Food and Agriculture Organisation mark their 60th anniversaries this month, it is worth re-examining. How far have we come and how differently we see our current challenges?

There certainly has been enormous progress, including extraordinary increases in production that in 1945 were still 20 years down the road. Similarly, from a 1945 vantage point the scale of today's food distribution programmes is remarkable, as is the globalisation of trade in agriculture. The role of NGOs and civil society in advocating change and implementing actions is a tremendous advantage unforeseen at that time. Furthermore, the world has accumulated considerable experience, much of it successful, in applying concerted national and international efforts to the challenges of development. There are valid reasons for thinking we know more about science, technology, and policy and how these can be applied to improving people's lives.

The 1945 report, however, is perhaps more notable not for its differences in perspective but for its similarities. It is humbling to recognise how much the framers knew in 1945 that we are still absorbing. Coming out of the Great Depression, they recognised that farming needs to be profitable, that production, even in a time of hunger, may not find a market if poverty and lack of employment curtail demand, and that this demand must come in large part from the economic health of producers themselves. They conceived of development not merely as growth in output but in terms of freedom and the "the well-being, health and productive ability of human beings the world over." The authors clearly linked hunger and poverty and placed great emphasis on equitable international trade. They knew that "Progress toward freedom from want is essential to lasting peace; for it is a condition of freedom from the tensions, arising out of economic maladjustment, profound discontent, and a sense of injustice, which are so dangerous in the close community of modern nations."

In spite of enormous changes since then, these guiding principles provide an unexpectedly apt summary of current Indian priorities and challenges. The concern, both then and now, is not primarily global or national production but rather the well-being and mutual needs of producers and consumers. Applying the lens of the 1945 report to present day India underlines the challenges.

First, there is an urgent need to raise the production of small and marginal farmers in rainfed areas. National cereal self-sufficiency has long been a reality. But millions of households do not produce enough to ensure adequate nutrition throughout the year, either through consuming what they produce or what they sell. Reaching the goal of household nutrition security requires increased agricultural productivity of these families, building on their assets and what they already know about their core economic activity.

Secondly, India is far ahead in recognising an obligation of the state to ensure that all people have access to nutritious food either through direct food distribution or other measures such as the Employment Guarantee Scheme. There is a clear national priority linking outcomes to outlays in this regard and improving implementation through decentralised management and accountability.

Thirdly, ample statistical evidence underlies the conviction that poverty will decline only when the agricultural sector is a full participant in economic growth, especially that of small and marginal farmers. Given the make-up of Indian society, poverty reduction is driven ultimately by rising farm incomes, spent on locally produced goods and services that lead to more village-level employment opportunities. Agricultural growth of 4 per cent is required within expected economic growth of 7 or 8 per cent; without it, poverty reduction will be limited.

Fourthly, agriculture has to be profitable. This requires efficient markets and a range of pre- and post-production services and facilities. Policy reforms and sizeable investment programmes are in the works and will need to keep pace with changes in demographics and consumption. Agricultural trade will play an increasing important role and, as the 1945 document emphasised, it must be equitable to promote rather than hinder food security and poverty reduction.

Finally, what is especially striking is the report's optimism. The authors knew the impact of war and economic depression but retained an abiding faith that "progress beyond anything now known is a reasonable expectation." In spite of current problems and frustratingly slow progress, there is every reason to expect the same: freedom from want remains a worthy and an attainable goal.

(Daniel Gustafson is FAO Representative in India and Bhutan; courtesy UNIC.)

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