The Anglican Alliance have launched a campaign to urge the G20 and African governments to institute measures to deal with the global food crisis when they meet later this month.
The campaign calls for greater support for women farmers, measures to control speculation, improved market access for farmers in developing countries, and more investment in agriculture.
The Alliance has released figures that detail how women produce between 60 and 80 per cent of the food in most developing countries, which is why it claims that by equalising their access to agricultural inputs would increase this output by as much as 10 per cent.
With their focus on empowering woman farmers, the Alliance has called for more secure land tenure for women, greater participation in decision-making on agricultural matters, and equal access to financial support such as credit and loan subsidies.
The Alliance has also explained that controls were needed on speculation in food commodities so as to curb the growing problem of food insecurity, which is creating food shortages for some 900 million people across the globe.
Anglican Alliance director, Sally Keeble said: “Anglicans in African identified food as their top concern in the run-up to the G20 meetings this November.
"There’s a growing consensus over the need for action from G20 governments - the agriculture ministers have a chance this month to put forward some radical proposals to tackle the crisis.”
(Image from www.foodshortageusa.com).