Canada should once again lead the world on food aid

As world leaders meet in France this week for the G7 summit, they will focus on fighting global inequality. This is a critical issue, and one that should include addressing food insecurity.

After all, while many of us enjoy a bountiful choice when we grocery shop, the rising number of hungry people around the globe is closely linked to income inequality.

Smallholder farmers are among those most likely to go hungry. This is especially true for the 79 per cent of women in the world’s poorest countries who depend on farming for their livelihoods.

Any fight against global inequality should include food security and Canada should take the lead. Yet food security is not even on the G7 agenda. That’s a far cry from 10 years ago when the then-G8 pushed food security to the forefront of global concern.

Back then the world was reeling from a serious financial and economic crisis. Food prices skyrocketed. An additional 200 million people went hungry.

In May 2009, Canada declared food security one of its international development priorities. At the G8 summit in July global leaders agreed to mobilize over $20 billion (U.S.) for sustainable agriculture and emergency food aid.. This was a pinnacle moment in a period of strong Canadian leadership on global food security.

Canada made the bold commitment of just over $1 billion and was singled out for giving the highest percentage of its aid to food security. Those investments were effective in meeting the needs of the poorest farmers, particularly women, according to an independent assessment by civil society organizations.

Ten years later, global hunger is on the rise again. The number of people deemed food insecure has risen from 784 million in 2015 to 822 million today — approximately one in nine people. Climate change, conflict and economic instability are major factors. Increased migration and protectionist policies contribute to challenges in addressing these problems.

Yet Canada’s support for agriculture has nosedived. Agricultural aid investments fell from $435 million in 2010-11 to $282 million last year.

Moreover, Canada’s budget for international assistance is effectively stagnant. As a percentage of Canada’s wealth (GNI), Canadian aid sits at 0.28 per cent of GNI — near an all-time low for Canada, and significantly below the global target of 0.7 per cent of GNI.

Two years ago, Canada made positive headlines for launching a Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP), which put gender equality at the heart of Canada’s aid programs.

For this policy to be effective, rural women must be central to it. Agriculture is a vital pathway to achieving women’s empowerment and addressing global inequality. And that requires substantive increases to Canada’s aid budget.

Now is the time for Canada, and its global partners, to once again lead on food security.