Welcome Address by Honourable Premier TSP Makwetla at the Commemoration of the World Food Day

Ebutsini Tribal Authority, Albert Luthuli Municipality

16 October 2007

Programme Director,

Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs, Ms Lulu Xingwana,

Honourable Members of the Executive Council,

Honourable Members of the Provincial Legislature,

Executive Mayors and Councillors,

Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Mr George Mburathi,

Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission, Mr Jody Kollapen,

Senior Managers and officials in the Public Service,

Government's Social Partners,

Citizens of Mpumalanga ,

Ladies and gentlemen

I am privileged to welcome all of you to this important occasion of celebrating World Food Day. Today, on 16 October, we join the global community and citizens of the world in celebrating World Food Day, a day that marks the date on which the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) was founded in 1945 in Quebec City, Canada.

In a very significant way, the founding of FAO served to create the necessary space for global dialogue and impetus towards addressing the world food problem, as well as galvanizing global action and commitment to fighting poverty and hunger. Subsequently, the 1996 World Food Summit and the United Nations Millennium Development Summit in September 2000 were, among others, critical milestones in helping to enhance and solidify global commitments to implementing policies aimed at eradicating poverty, underdevelopment and inequality.

The World Food Summit reinforced the need, among the nations of the world, to ensure that there are policies in place to eradicate poverty and equality, and improving access by all to sufficient, nutritionally adequate and safe food. At the United Nations Millennium Development Summit, world leaders agreed to a set of measurable goals and targets for combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women.

In celebrating World Food Day, we must be reminded of the immense task to eradicate poverty on the continent of Africa . Poverty in Africa is a major cause of food insecurity. The continent's sustainable progress in reducing poverty will progressively improve access to food. The challenge of reducing extreme poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa remains a major threat to food security, and work towards reaching the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of halving the extent of extreme poverty by 2015 requires increased allocation of resources to accelerate development on the continent.

This year's World Food Day theme of the “Right to Food” highlights the importance of food as a basic human right. As South Africa , we have ensured that this right of access to safe, sufficient, nutritious food and water is constitutionally enshrined. Despite challenges, pleasing progress has been made in ensuring that South African citizens progressively realize socio-economic rights that are guaranteed in the Constitution.

Programme Director, a right-based approach to development requires the state to view beneficiaries of development as active stakeholders, rather than passive recipients. The state has to ensure that it provides the supportive environment, appropriate infrastructure and economic opportunities for people to produce their own food for sustainable livelihoods. The right to food should be realised through increased active participation by the citizens in food production initiatives to meet their food and dietary requirements. In rural areas, where most of the world's hungry people live, it is critical for the state to provide essential resources and services, such as land, credit and training.

In this context, our government's land and agrarian reform programme enhances prospects of unleashing the productive capacity of the poor and previously disadvantaged individuals to contribute to food security, and the reduction of poverty. It is essential that government programmes strengthen the provision of adequate and stable supply of food at household level, and cater for the vulnerable sectors of society through adequate safety nets. In the event disasters occur, such as the recent veld fires in Mpumalanga , there should exist adequate institutional capacities to respond appropriately to ensure that food security disruptions affecting the victims of disasters are alleviated.

Programme Director, allow me to congratulate the Mpumalanga Tfutfukani Maswati vegetable project in Mbuzini which made history when their grant proposal for food production was approved the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for telefood funding. According to the FAO, this is the first South African project to be funded by Telefood. This has motivated other districts and hopefully other provinces to participate in such initiatives.

Programme Director, the negative impacts of hunger and malnutrition throughout the human life cycle manifest themselves in increased mortality rate, burden of disease and excessive costs in the national health bill, ill-health, limited capacity for mental and intellectual growth and underachievement in the education environment. In addressing the effects of hunger and malnutrition that lead to reduced mental capacity, we are implementing the National School Nutrition programme.

Thank you