Food and Agriculture Organization
The Republic of South Africa
Post-Emergency Food System Recovery
The issue of properly recovering food systems in the wake of national disasters is one of
great importance to the Republic of South Africa and to the international community as a whole.
World hunger is arguably the most significant problem in the world today, and the provision of
food to all is complicated by the damage done to food systems in emergencies of one kind or
another. Distribution of food is disrupted and farms and agricultural centers are damaged,
among other ramifications, and the chaos caused by natural disaster exacerbates these problems
further. Hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis and a host of other disasters devastate the food cycle,
especially in nations who already have weak food-related programs. Furthermore, emergencies
stunt the growth of developing nations where food systems are not yet strong enough to
withstand the impact of a disaster, and as a result, they are damaged to the point where recovery
is much more difficult. Despite this fact, South Africa also recognizes that the food systems of
developed nations are far from immune. The fallout caused by the 2008 earthquake in China’s
Sichuan province demonstrates the need to improve post-emergency food system recovery in
developed, as well as developing nations. The Republic of South Africa sees this as a multifaceted problem, and in solving it we must address every facet. Some aspects of the issue often
go unsolved, and South Africa believes that it is imperative to discuss these aspects thoroughly.
The recovery of food systems after disasters is a prominent issue that has plagued the people of
the world for millennia, and South Africa strongly believes that the international community and
the FAO must devote itself to finding an effective solution to this problem as soon as possible.1
The Republic of South Africa believes that when addressing the issue at hand, the FAO
should not only address the recovery of food systems in the short term, but also the long term
strengthening of these systems in order to build capacity for responding to emergencies,
including preventative and preparative measures to lessen damage. Natural disasters are
inevitable, but through preparation nations can reduce the impact of these disasters on their food
systems. South Africa sees poor coordination between NGOs, states governments and
international organizations (such as the FAO) as one of the main issues preventing the effective
and efficient recovery of food systems.2 In addition, the Republic of South Africa is the leading
nation in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region in which our neighbors’ weak food systems are frequently
devastated by drought and conflict. As a result of this, South Africa strongly believes that
regional cooperation is a necessity when solving this issue. Furthermore, the types of
emergencies that affect our region raise the issue of addressing food system recovery in the wake
of violent conflict and slow-onset disasters, such as drought and climate change.3 Overall, the
Republic of South Africa believes that cooperation, development of emergency response
strategies, and consideration of different types of disasters are among the most important facets
of this issue.
South Africa believes that the development of emergency food system recovery
capabilities in every nation is a pressing issue, and we have developed an Integrated Food
Security Strategy (IFSS) that incorporates both proactive and reactive measures to deal with the
impact of emergencies on our food system. South Africa believes that the FAO must encourage
1
http://www.fao.org/emergencies/en/
http://ncsp.va-network.org/UserFiles/File/PDFs/Resource%20Center/Africa/Food_security_SA.pdf
3
http://www.fao.org/emergencies/current-focus/climate-change-adaptation/en/
2
nations to incorporate emergency recovery measures into their food system structures where they
exist, and assist nations in doing so where help is needed.4 Another way to address poor
preparation is to fund, encourage and assist in the research and development of new techniques
to predict threats of disasters and long term climate trends. Many of these systems already exist,
but they are not yet incorporated on a widespread level, and the benefits of these technologies are
useless unless the results are communicated to farmers and food distribution centers. South
Africa believes that by incorporating these technologies and optimizing their benefits through
education and communication we can reduce the impact of disasters on our food systems.5 In
summary, the Republic of South Africa believes that the only way to resolve the issue of post
emergency food system recovery is to address all the aspects of the problem, both long- and
short-term.
4
5
http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=70243
http://ncsp.va-network.org/UserFiles/File/PDFs/Resource%20Center/Africa/Food_security_SA.pdf