Agriculture, food security, nutrition and the millennium development goals

This paper discusses the importance of agriculture, food security and nutrition within the context of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). It discusses each of the eight MDGs in turn, analysing the main challenges and opportunities in reaching the specific targets set for the year 2015.Main points raised in the paper include:policy actions that improve agricultural productivity and food and nutrition security are essential components of a successful MDG strategypoor governance can and often does thwart the implementation of appropriate policies and economic reformsit is widely perceived that political will at the national and international levels is of vital importance in reaching the MDGsthe progress made toward achieving the MDG targets is being monitored by many civil society organisations and reported on in the media. Countries are modifying policies and programs to bring about the changes needed to meet those targetspolicy actors have made suitable progress at the initial stages of implementing the MDGs, in promoting the roles of agriculture and food and nutrition security in the development process.The author makes a number of general recommendations in meeting the MDGs:in relation to the goal of cutting hunger in half, the Task Force on Hunger has proposed seven concrete recommendations at the global, national, and community levelsa set of other domestic and international policies to stimulate the agriculture sector are requiredpublic-private partnerships offer an efficient way of providing infrastructure and social services, where public sector efforts alone have proved inadequateinvestment in infrastructure should be linked to national poverty reduction and general development goalsa sense of ownership is important to ensure investments are sustainable. Local communities, particularly those with women and men living in poverty, need to be integrated fully into any investment plans by asking them what they need and how much they can do to maintain any new infrastructure.[adapted from author]