Proposes measures to reduce food crisis and possible famine

Former President Hipólito Mejía told a ministerial summit in Costa Rica that to successfully face the challenge of reducing the impact of a food crisis and, as a consequence, a global famine, it is necessary to increase production in general and productivity per unit of land area.

He also said that the sustainability of the environment and natural resources must be ensured.

He considers it necessary and urgent to improve living conditions in the countryside to ensure that all rural actors have more excellent knowledge and skills, create and consolidate international cooperation mechanisms that, based on solidarity, explore new market opportunities, use environmentally friendly technological packages, promote experiences of community participation and access to financing.

The planet today, and our countries, in particular, are compelled to guarantee food security. However, suppose we fail to do so, as international organizations affirm. In that case, we run the risk of being hit by famine with devastating consequences, said former President Mejía while participating as a special guest at the Ministerial Summit on Agricultural and Food Systems in Africa and the Americas, held in Costa Rica and organized by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture.

He said that this premise implies that the actors in the rural world must have the knowledge and skills necessary to seek efficient solutions in each of the links of a chain that begins at the planting stage and ends at the table of the end consumer.

He added that to guarantee efficiency in each link of this chain, it is imperative to have qualified human resources.

The former president said that for this reason, it is essential to train professionals with the highest level of preparation in the sciences related to the agricultural sector, in the technological dimension, expertise in trade, food processing, marketing, and especially in understanding the social size of the rural world.

Mejía said that the preservation of families in the countryside is closely linked to the generation of quality jobs based on creating value chains from agriculture.

A fundamental step in this path is the diversification of production versus monoculture, favoring the production of high-demand crops, such as those that can be grown in controlled environments (greenhouses), said the president.

He said that we could add value through the treatment and packaging of food at the place of production and its transformation through the agro-industry. He said that by doing so, we are generating jobs and profits at the local level.