PEACE AND FOOD SECURITY

1 PEACE . AND food . SECURITY . Investing in resilience to sustain rural livelihoods amid conflict Includes TECHNICAL NOTE. PEACE AND food SECURITY . INTRODUCTION. South Sudan has been mired in Most conflicts mainly affect rural food riots in many countries. civil conflict since December 2013. areas and their populations. This is Dispossession of assets, such as Some million people almost particularly true for civil conflicts , land or cattle, or other threats to a quarter of the population - are which have tripled in recent years, food SECURITY , can fuel conflict. now facing acute food and nutrition and which today are the most Reduced access to food may insecurity. One of them, Nyalen common form of armed conflict, compound other forms of grievance Kuong, was on an intravenous and increasingly prolonged. Such and discontent, such as poverty, feeding drip. I'm not sick, I'm conflicts damage agriculture, unemployment or marginalisation.

2 Hungry, she told the camp hospital disrupt food production and food doctor. Nyalen lost her husband, systems, fuel the plundering of Combining efforts to restore two sons and all the family's cattle crops and livestock, and cause loss and support resilient livelihoods during an attack on her village. of assets and incomes. As a result, with peacebuilding and conflict After the attack, she took shelter they are major drivers of food resolution efforts is critical for with her daughters and many other insecurity and malnutrition, both sustainable development and families on islands protected by acute and chronic. food SECURITY and nutrition. miles of swamps. She was suffering Equally, investing in food from diarrhoea caused by acute The proportion of undernourished SECURITY may strengthen efforts malnutrition. She ate little food , people is almost three times to prevent conflict and achieve and her body was no longer able to as high in countries in conflict sustained PEACE .

3 Absorb even the meagre nutrients and protracted crisis than in available. After treatment, Nyalen other developing countries. For decades, FAO has worked in, returned to her daughters and, with Approximately 167 million and across, both humanitarian the help of equipment distributed undernourished people live in by FAO, she is now able to catch countries in protracted crisis today fish in order to survive, and has the roughly one-fifth of all people makings of a new livelihood. suffering from hunger. Malnutrition tends to affect children the most Nyalen's case is but one example and, when it happens at a critical among millions of how conflict causes hunger, destroys individual age may cause life-long mental and physical handicaps. Conflict has INVESTING IN. and household resilience, and undermines rural livelihoods. For lasting, multi-generational impacts on human development.

4 RESILIENCE AND. many people affected by conflict, agriculture is their only means of food insecurity can trigger food SECURITY . survival. Addressing this requires life-saving interventions, but also conflict: the sharp increases in food prices in 2008, accompanied HELPS FIGHT. requires support to livelihoods by cuts in food and fuel subsidies HUNGER AND. BUILD PEACE . and resilience, even in abject and reduced real incomes of, mainly insecure conditions. urban, populations and triggered 2. SYRIA. A family on the outskirts of Damascus. FAO/Faidutti and development spheres The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable The UN system must work in an in order to protect, save and Development acknowledges these integrated and coherent manner restore livelihoods, reduce food challenges, and recognizes PEACE to provide timely humanitarian insecurity and malnutrition and as a vital threshold condition assistance, build resilience to improve resilience of livelihoods for development, as well as a reduce risk, mitigate and prevent and agricultural systems.

5 FAO development outcome in its own conflict, and sustain PEACE . FAO. supports investments in capacity right. The first two sustainable and its partners have a key role at the local, national, regional and development goals focus on to play on all of these fronts, global levels to reduce poverty the eradication of poverty and with successful experiences to and build sustainable food and hunger, and achieving food build on. Some examples are agricultural systems. SECURITY and making agriculture presented below, showing how sustainable. The 2030 Agenda PEACE dividends can be derived For example, supporting agriculture sees achievement of these goals from interventions supporting based livelihoods, ensuring as critical to achieving the agriculture and food SECURITY . effective coverage of social further goal of ensuring the protection systems, addressing establishment of peaceful and Reducing armed conflict and issues of land tenure and of access inclusive societies.

6 Extreme poverty - and addressing to natural resources, and fostering their consequences - are key to employment opportunities for Recognizing that preventing crises ending hunger. Along with the youth can effectively contribute to and sustaining PEACE are shared, eradication of hunger, PEACE peacebuilding and post-conflict Charter-based responsibilities is essential for achieving the recovery. They can also help across the entire UN system, the Sustainable Development Goals. people stay on their land when 2030 Agenda opens the way to new they feel safe to do so, and create and collaborative approaches that food SECURITY and agriculture conducive conditions for the integrate humanitarian assistance have a meaningful and often return of refugees, migrants and and conflict-prevention through unnoticed contribution to make to displaced people. resilience building efforts.

7 This global challenge. 3. PEACE AND food SECURITY . FACTS. AND FIGURES. 1 The proportion of undernourished people living in countries in conflict 6 Since 2000, 48% of civil conflicts have been in Africa where access to rural and protracted crisis is almost land underpins the livelihoods three times higher than that in of many and in 27 out of 30. other developing countries. interstate conflicts in Africa, land issues played a significant role. 2 Post-conflict countries with high food insecurity are 40% more likely to relapse 7 Rural Mayan women in Guatemala exposed to the into conflict within a 10-year country's civil war (1985-1997). timespan. received 30% less schooling compared to older and younger generations. 3 Agriculture accounts for two-thirds of employment and one-third of GDP in countries in protracted crises. 8 Every day in 2014, conflicts and violence forced approximately 42,500 people to flee their homes and seek safety 4 Civil strife caused a loss of 438 Kcal in average per capita daily food -energy either internally or across borders.

8 Fewer refugees (only 1%) have returned, less than at any point intake in Somalia, about over the past 30 years. 20% of minimum daily food requirements. CONFLICT, 9 In 2014, children constituted 51% of the VIOLENCE AND. 5 Livelihoods of 80% of the population of South refugee population, the highest percentage in more than a HUNGER ARE. Sudan depend on livestock, a sector that has lost $2 billion decade. CLOSELY. in potential GDP during the current conflict. CORRELATED. 4. IMPACT OF LATE 20TH CENTURY CIVIL WARS ON HUNGER in terms of average per capita lost food energy Somalia Liberia Ethiopia Uganda 56 kcal 438 kcal 362 kcal 120 kcal lost lost lost lost Source: conflicts , agriculture and food SECURITY . FAO, 2000. CORRELATION BETWEEN VIOLENCE AND HUNGER Violence index Hunger percentage 63% 26,1%. 2,75 55,6%. 2,54 2,53. Colombia 2,50 42,8%. 2,25 2,1 2,46. Nicaragua Yemen 2,00 1,95 14,6%.

9 1,82 26,8%. Peru 1,75 1,60. Afghanistan 1,50 54,5% 31,6%. 1,25 1,39. 1,09. Angola Sierra Leone 1,00. Rwanda 1,12. 8,8% 28,9%. 0,75 0,61. 0,50. 0,52. 0,25. 0,27 7,5%. 0,22 Source: 14,2% 0,1 0,05. State of food Insecurity in the World. 22,3% 16,6% FAO, 2015 and FAO's suite of food 22,3% SECURITY Indicators 5. PEACE AND food SECURITY . ILLUSTRATIONS. OF FAO'S WORK. It is critical to harness international assistance to boost resilience, overcoming INFORMATION. the divide between humanitarian and FOR EARLY ACTION. development investments. Targeted goals should be food SECURITY Informing stakeholders and building technical consensus on and the protection of rural livelihoods. the severity of food insecurity is Investment in agriculture can play vital, particularly during conflicts a PEACE -making role. when access may be compromised. FAO together with 11 partners SUSTAINABLE.

10 Conflict average. Backyard including UN agencies, production kits are enabling international NGOs, donor- food SECURITY . conflict-affected families to related bodies and regional produce nutritious food close intergovernmental bodies working DURING CONFLICT. to their homes with a quick on food SECURITY , promote a turnaround, and earn much- common approach and standards needed income. for food SECURITY analysis through Despite ongoing conflict, the Integrated food SECURITY Phase agricultural production is Poultry packages have been still possible in many parts of particularly important for Syria. Even in the midst of the women who often have violence, FAO is operating in little or no income, and are 13 of Syria's 14 governorates, traditionally responsible for working to help families stay poultry keeping in Syria. food SECURITY . on their land when it is safe to Moreover, micro-gardens are do so, and continue producing helping displaced families to food to feed themselves, their communities and the country.