Interview with Richard Ragan, WFP Country Representative

Last year, close to three million people in Zambia were threatened with starvation as a consequence of two bad harvests. This year, the government has announced a good crop of about 1.2 million mt, more than enough to feed the country. IRIN spoke to Richard Ragan, World Food Programme (WFP) Country Representative, on Zambia's recovery and the ongoing challenge of food security. QUESTION: Maize production in Zambia at the national level has shown a remarkable recovery after last season's poor crop. Is it just the fact of good rains or were there any policy decisions by the government that contributed to increased output? Could the authorities have done more? ANSWER: The government, along with the UN, donors and civil society all played a critical role - and Zambia also benefited from a little divine intervention with late rains. Let's first look at what happened over the last two years. The 2001/02 growing season was marked by bad weather and a national election. Zambia's agro-ecological system is primarily rain-fed, and thus, is very sensitive to late, early or even decreased rainfall. This period was also leading up to a national election and attention was primarily focused on that process. As a result, very little of the necessary inputs (seeds, fertilisers) were made available to small- and medium-size farmers. That, coupled with the drought/flooding during the 2001 season, and drought in the 2002 season, left subsistence farmers in a tough place. Through a combination of sources, inputs went out on time this year. Some examples are as follows: WFP working with FAO [the Food and Agricultural Organisation] targeted farmers with conservation farming programmes, providing technical as well as physical support. The Programme Against Malnutrition (PAM), and a number of other NGO's, distributed seed starter-packs to farmers. The government worked hard to make fertiliser widely accessible. And finally, the donors made funding available in a quick and flexible fashion. Q: The recent WFP/FAO assessment said that there were still small pockets of need in the country. What has caused these localised problems, and are you confident that these vulnerable districts can be supplied from existing food stocks in the country? A: First, many parts of Zambia remain chronically food-insecure. Our challenge is to work towards dealing with this issue over the short, medium and long term. This is what we are trying to do under this year's recovery activities. We plan, again in partnership with FAO and a number of NGO's, to tackle this question by focusing on "food for work" activities that seek to provide food security. Second, let's agree that there is enough food in the world to feed the entire population of the world, yet we estimate that some 800 million people still go to bed hungry every night. So supply is not the issue, but rather access. Having no, or limited access, to food can be defined by many things (war, isolation, disease or poverty). In Zambia, many of these vulnerable districts are faced with access problems. Q: While availability of food has improved, does access in terms of affordability remains a problem for the poor? What has been the impact of the crisis on their coping mechanisms, and what can be done to address their plight? A: Clearly, access remains the key concern this year. People all over Zambia have suffered through more than two years of crisis. This means that not only have they likely sold most of their assets to make it through these tough times, but they are also both physically and physiologically exhausted! Our goal will be try to help these groups restore household assets, regain food security and begin to rebuild their lives. Q: What have been the key lessons learnt by the humanitarian community from Zambia's food crisis? What were the main problems experienced? A: Obviously, the debate on GMO (genetically modified organisms) in the region, and in particular Zambia, played a dominant role in the early phases of our response (Zambia banned the distribution of GM relief food). As the discussion dragged on, we lost valuable time. That aside, I really do believe we were able to play the kind of key role we envisioned during those most critical months between December and March, when the hunger season sets in. Because our choice of commodities was limited, we needed to source food quickly from the region. Without the EU (European Union), which was our biggest donor in Zambia, we couldn't have done this. With support of the UK, we did something unique, whereby WFP moved government-purchased food with DFID (Department for International Development) funding. This played a huge role in strengthening WFP's pipeline during the critical hunger period. On the logistics side, the Norwegian government donated over 100 7-ton trucks that were managed by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC). This allowed us to deliver food to the most isolated parts of the country. The "white elephants", as they were referred to, were the talk of Zambia. The partnership with IFRC couldn't have worked better. Lastly, the United States made a precedent-setting move by putting ships filled with food on the high seas before WFP had even officially issued an appeal. As far as I know, this is the first time that has ever been done. This kind of bold action from a donor is what allowed us to quickly respond to the crisis. Q: Zambia is now in an agricultural recovery phase. What do you see as the priorities to be addressed in the recovery process? A: As I stated earlier, we'll work closely with our sister UN agency, FAO, to deal with the underlying causes of food insecurity in Zambia. In addition, at every opportunity we plan to programme HIV/AIDS activities into everything WFP does in Zambia. For example, when we get farmers together for a class on conservation farming, we'll give them a course on HIV. This is a battle that we have to wage at every front. Children, in particular orphans and vulnerable children, will also feature in our efforts over the next several years. It simply defies reality to see a 12-year-old child heading a household full of younger brothers and sisters. Without talking numbers, this is an area of concentration that we introduced during last year's emergency and one that we hope will grow over time. Q: Agriculture has been historically neglected in Zambia. Do you see a new commitment towards food security emerging and, in your opinion, what should be the key policy ingredients? A: I've been in Zambia for two years now and have attended President Levy Mwanawasa's inauguration ceremony, his opening address to parliament, and since had many other opportunities to meet with him and hear him speak about his policies. At each and every opportunity, he has focused on agriculture as a pillar for his "New Deal" government. He and his government are very committed to this, not only in rhetoric, but also in practice. He has a very capable and competent team leading the Ministry of Agriculture, which WFP works very closely with. Q: Aside from poor rains, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and the collapse of social services appear to have contributed to Zambia's food crisis. Does there need to be a rethink of development priorities that recognises a role for input subsidies, safety nets, and greater state intervention than has been fashionable over the past decade? A: Well, those things mentioned are, in and of themselves, huge challenges to overcome. Zambia is a young country - only 39 years old. My sense is that things are moving in the right direction. This year the country is enjoying a good harvest, and next year, who knows, maybe it can double this year's production. One day in the very near future it might even be a significant source of food for the region. Today there are so many new opportunities through NEPAD [New Partnership for Africa's Development], SADC [Southern African Development Community], the AU [African Union], which are working towards creating an environment that seeks to create a fair playing field. Ultimately this can only be of benefit for the small farmer, and I would hate to see Zambia backtrack from this course.