UNITED Nations agencies Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Program (WFP) laid out the horrific choices of the poor, especially in the current global downturn, in their report “The State of Food Insecurity in the World,” for a more emphatic call to action by governments.

The report said, “[All] coping strategies draw down the assets of the poor. For example, migration may reduce community cohesion, increased female employment may reduce visits to health-care providers, asset sales reduce the stock of physical or financial resources, and switching from more-nutritious foods [such as meat, dairy products, fruit and vegetables] towards less-nutritious grains.”

It added that in times of crisis, these hard choices are made for poor families to survive.

The effects of such coping strategies are quite apparent to all—low access to health care and the resulting weak physiques, higher child mortality, lower life expectancy, loss of resources for education, etc.

The world crises already have led to increased unemployment, declining wages, so that reduced demand for people’s services will force poor families to maintain their income through migration, engaging in other economic activities, sell their assets, or resort to credit.

A very regrettable option is the poor being forced to complement these efforts by resorting to food that are affordable but poor in nutrients and that, in the long term, lead to increased malnutrition and weaker chances for the development of children’s “cognitive potential.”

The study said one of the ways to ensure access of the poor to nutritious food is for both the public and private sectors to invest in agriculture during and after the crises. For these investments to materialize, the publication said a business environment that promotes private, domestic and foreign investment needs to be in place.

This, the publication stated, is especially important for countries like the Philippines where economic crises hit the agriculture sector hard. Using select data, the publication showed that every time the Philippines suffers a natural catastrophe, billions worth of investments in agriculture get diverted to rehabilitation.

“The public sector has a crucial role to play in promoting the overall investment in agriculture required to achieve the full socioeconomic potential of agricultural growth,” the publication said.

The publication said governments must create social safety nets. These safety nets must move from relief to risk management, from projects to systems, from assistance to country ownership, and from handouts to investments.

These safety nets, the study said, will mostly include transfers that do not depend on the recipient having previously contributed money. These transfers can be in cash or in kind, and can be conditional or unconditional.

“Social safety nets are not a new concept, but their importance has grown considerably in recent years. Their implementation is often a key recommendation for mitigating the effects of food, fuel and financial crises.”

“The right to food is, first of all, a basic human right enshrined in international law. It is the right of every person to have continuous access to the resources necessary to produce, earn or purchase enough food not only to prevent hunger, but also to ensure health and well-being.”