SOAS expert quizzed by MPs on global food security
8 February 2013
Andrew Dorward, SOAS Professor of Development Economics, was questioned by MPs on global food security earlier this week.
Professor Dorward, a member of SOAS’ Centre for Development, Environment and Policy (CeDEP), appeared before the Commons Select Committee on International Development.
As an expert witness, he provided analysis on a range of issues relating to the Committee’s recently launched inquiry into the global food system and hunger.
His appearance before the Committee allowed members to question him on his earlier written submission. This focused on a number of issues raised by the enquiry, regarding food security indicators, the performance of the global food system in guaranteeing food security for vulnerable groups, the impact of global food shocks, challenges to the global food system, strategies for addressing these, the roles of small holder agriculture and large scale farming, and global policy measures.
Professor Dorward drew attention to the failure of current indicators of food insecurity to provide comparable measures for vulnerable groups. He proposed instead the Food Expenditure Ratio, as a measure that provides this for low income groups.
He reiterated widely recognised challenges to the global food system with the tightening of both supply and demand, making the system more susceptible to increasingly severe and frequent production shocks.
Professor Dorward said: “I urged the Committee to focus resources on the development of smallholder agriculture. This offers potential for large food production and global food security gains. It would bring increased productivity and incomes of large numbers of poor rural people, reduced rural food insecurity and poverty. It would contribute to broad based growth, and improved fertility and sustainability of large areas of cultivated land.”
Professor Dorward's submission to the IDC can be found on the UK Parliament website , together with the session video www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=12507
For further information, contact:
SOAS' Communication Office.
