Today, October 16th is a worldwide event that is designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger. Today around the world people are participating by organizing a World Food day food packaging event, walking to end hunger, doing food drives, and hosting a “World Food Day meal.” The day focuses on how each of us does can do something to help stop the needless suffering of nearly a billion people worldwide who are hungry.
This year’s World Food Day theme is “Agricultural cooperatives – key to feeding the world.” The theme is announced each spring by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. This topic was chosen since
cooperatives are an important force in achieving food security.
The World Day food website reports that:“70 percent of those who face hunger live in rural areas where agriculture serves as the economic mainstay. Smallholder farmers are central to addressing hunger, yet many face barriers such as a lack of infrastructure, outdated farming practices, and a lack of access to financial services. Cooperatives improve farmers’ agricultural productivity and equip them with access to marketing, savings, credit, insurance, and technology. Farmer cooperatives serve both to connect farmers to markets and to increase food production.”
Over 1 billion individuals are members of cooperatives worldwide, generating more than 100 million jobs around the world. Areas include agriculture, forestry, fishing and livestock keeping, members participate in production, profit-sharing, cost-saving, risk-sharing and income-generating activities, which lead to better bargaining power for members as buyers and sellers in the marketplace.
More information about World Food Day and Agriculture Cooperatives can be seen on the World Day website, and in video made for the event that is on Youtube.
Image Source:
www.worldfooddayusa.org
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