The Northern Cape, Departments of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Social Development, Water Affairs, Education and Health will join millions around the world in commemorating World Food Day on the 16th October 2012.
These departments will commemorate the day under the theme “Agricultural Cooperatives- Key to feeding the world” at Warrenton in the Magareng Local Municipality.
The aim of commemorating World Food Day is to highlight efforts by government in eradicating hunger, and malnutrion, through the Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Programme (IFSNP). Over 150 countries across the world will be commemorating the day to highlight the role of cooperatives in improving food security, and to contribute to the eradication of poverty.
Cooperatives are been identified as model for economic transformation and to empower the rural poor. It will also afford/allow them an opportunity to increase food production, market their own goods, create jobs, improve their own livelihoods and thus increasing food security. This is to highlight areas needed for action and provide a common cause.
The MEC for Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Mr. Norman Shushu together with other dignitaries will launch more than R20 million Super Chick Project as part of support to smallholder Farmers development. Warrenton Super chicken is a broiler project that was established in 1991 by a commercial Farmer but later collapsed.
Magareng is one of the local municipalities in the province with poverty rate of 52% while unemployment stands at 60%. (source: Magareng
MEC Shushu will outline the chain linkages from production to the disposal of the produce and institutionalization of smallholder farmers into producer and marketing cooperatives. The MEC will also reflect on strides made in support of the global decision of combating hunger, malnutrition and reduction of poverty by 2015 as spelt out in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
The day will be used as a platform to encourage various communities to form their own Agricultural Cooperatives as a key to feeding the world. Since the inception of the provincial Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Programmes (IFSNP) in 2004, various projects throughout the province have been unveiled in support of Food insecure communities. The deliverables include the distribution of Irrigations tools, seedlings, food parcels, food schemes at schools and clinics. END
Members of the media are invited and details are as follows:
Venue: Ikhutseng Stadium (Warrenton)
Time : 09H00
Date : 16/10/2012
For accreditation and enquiries please call:
Phemelo Manankong –External Communications Officer 071 889 5112 /053 839 7881
Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development
EDITORS NOTES
South Africa is observing World Food Day as a partner to the International Alliance against Hunger that consists of over 150 countries, mainly developing nations.
Uniting against hunger becomes real when state and civil society organizations and the private sector work in partnership at all levels to defeat hunger, extreme poverty and malnutrition. In 2009, the critical threshold of one billion hungry people in the world was reached in part due to soaring food prices and the financial crisis, a “tragic achievement in these modern days" (source FAO).
World Food Day serves to build greater momentum in eradicating poverty and encourage efforts undertaken in eliminating world hunger. It also seeks to heighten public awareness of the world problem and to strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
The world’s poorest nations are in dire need of anti-hunger programmes; hence a collective global call for no other person should die from hunger. Developed nations and the broader society have been urged to make more development assistance available for fighting hunger.
Objectives of World Food Day are to:
• Encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end;
• Encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries;
• Encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and least privileged categories in decisions and activities influencing their conditions;
• Heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger Promote the transfer of technologies to the developing world; and
• Strengthen International and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development; (Source: Food and Agriculture Organization)