Combating World Hunger

Through Sustainable Agriculture

 Sustainet – Sustainable Agriculture Information Network
Sustainable Development –
a Task for Partners
Humanity is facing a variety of social, environmental
and economic challenges: economic globalisation is
intensifying the unequal distribution of employment
and income. The continuing emission of greenhouse
gasses is changing the world’s climate and creating
extreme weather phenomena, worsening problems of
droughts, floods and storms. Biological diversity is di-
minishing and soils are losing their fertility. Every five
years, agricultural land covering an area of the size of
Germany is lost worldwide as a result of erosion, salin-
isation and drought. Environmental destruction goes
hand in hand with poverty and hunger. Poverty is both
a cause and a consequence of environmental destruc-
tion.
It has long been recognized that only together en-
vironment and development policy can overcome
these problems. In order to do so, they take sustain-
able development as a model. The foundation stone
for recognition of this model was laid in 1992 in Rio de
Janeiro, at the United Nations (UN) Conference on
Environment and Development. Heads of government
and representatives of civil society from 178 develop-
ing and industrialized countries met at this world sum-
mit. Important agreements were reached on environ-
ment and development policy, for example the Rio
Declaration, the Agenda 21 action programme and the
Rio Declaration
The Rio Declaration is a political declaration of commitment that has established
27 basic principles relating to peace, development and environmental protection.
These basic principles include, inter alia, the sovereign right of states to exploit
their own resources without causing damage to the environment and to other
states (Principle 2), recognition of the prime responsibility borne by industrialized
countries (Principle 7), the precautionary principle (Principle 15), the commit-
ment to liability and compensation (Principle 13) and the concept of the internal-
isation of environmental costs (Principle 16).
Source: UNCED, Rio de Janeiro 1992
Agenda 21
Agenda 21 is the programme of action on environmental and social policy for the
21st century. It is a valuable compendium, which sets out all the key areas of pol-
icy on sustainable development in 40 chapters covering some 350 pages. The
Agenda 21 is divided into four sections under the headings “Social and Econom-
ic Dimensions”, “Conservation and Management of Resources for Develop-
ment”, “Strengthening the Role of Major Groups” and “Means of Implementa-
tion”. All chapters follow the same basic structure (introduction, programme
areas, basis for action, objectives, activities, means of implementation). The
ideas of Agenda 21 are being implemented in specific projects through numer-
ous initiatives at the local and regional level.
Source: UNCED, Rio de Janeiro 1992
2
global agreements on climate and species diversity.
The results of the world summit mark one of the most
significant turning points in recent decades; they have
altered the political agenda at the global, regional and
local levels. The international community has contin-
ued the process that was begun in Rio with numerous
global conferences on separate topics relating to sus-
tainable development.
A Guiding Principle, Not a Magic Formula
The concept of sustainable development is based upon
the recognition that economic and social development
and the preservation of ecosystems are interconnec-
ted in a variety of ways. Development is only sustain-
able if it meets the needs of the present generation
without undermining the capacity of future generations
to satisfy their own needs. In practical terms, sustain-
able development therefore involves improving peop-
le’s political, social and economic living conditions and
at the same time, secures natural resources for the
long-term.
The economic component of sustainability de-
pends upon a long-term path of growth that leads to
real growth in incomes. The social component lies in
the assumption that an acceptable quality of life can
be maintained in the long-term only if equal opportuni-
ties exist in the implementation of development op-
tions. The environmental component is related to the
long-term functional capacity and, thus, the productiv-
ity of life-preserving natural ecosystems.
Sustainability has often been interpreted as a
purely environmental policy model that threatened
other goals, such as poverty reduction or food securi-
ty. However, the fact that it integrates all development
and environment policy goals renders a special fea-
ture of the concept of sustainable development. At the
same time, this all-embracing claim of the concept is
precisely what led to grave misunderstandings and
controversies. The claim that it covered all people, ar-
eas of life and habitats gave rise to the impression that
sustainable development was a magic formula that
would get rid off all tensions and conflicts within, and
between, societies and sectors of society. A model
cannot, however, eliminate conflicts of interest (such
as between industrialised and developing countries or
between urban and rural populations) or conflicting
aims (such as between short- and long-term profit).
Neither is it designed to take away from countries and
groups within a society the role of identifying and ne-
gotiating their development paths nor to restrict devel-
opment in a deterministic fashion. The model of sus-
“Global partnership for economically viable, socially just and environmentally sound
development not just today but also in future.“
tainable development can, however, serve as a guide
in the search for solutions to conflict and paths to long-
run development.
The Five Principles of Sustainable Development
Based on the results of the Rio conference and its fol-
low-up conferences, five principles of sustainable de-
velopment can be derived which simultaneously pro-
vide directions for action and serve as a guideline. The
first three principles are: resource provision, efficien-
cy, and social justice. These are basic rules that must
be observed when using all types of resources. The
other two principles are those of partnership and co-
herence. They offer guidance on how contradictions
and conflicts in a society can be managed construc-
tively. These five principles provide information for
awareness, evaluation and organization, and struc-
ture for the continuous process of adaptation and
learning in organizational, regional and global devel-
opment.
1. Do not live at the expense of your grandchildren (re-
source provision principle). Provision should be made
to safeguard resources for future generations. The ob-
jective goes beyond conserving nature and keeping
landscapes intact. Provisions for satisfying work, health
and appropriate living space, as well as personal and
social security, also belong to this objective.
2. Manage efficiently (efficiency principle). Resources
must be utilized such that a defined effect is achieved
with minimum possible resource consumption or fi-
nancial outlay. Here, the market plays a key role. It
can take on a cost-reducing and innovating function
only if prices and competition are not distorted. At the
same time, the control of the use of resources cannot
(Agenda 21, Preamble)
be handed over unconditionally to the market, be-
cause the efficiency principle is directionless and the
market is blind to social and environmental aims.
3. Be socially just (social justice principle). Rights of
access to resources and information and decisions be-
tween countries and social groups must, like risks, be
allocated fairly. The most important concern of social
justice is the reduction of poverty. The establishment
of justice or equal opportunity is not only here a social
goal but also a prerequisite for long-term economic
performance and consequently, an economic goal.
4. Act on a partnership basis (partnership principle).
Partnership means sharing, in the sense of participat-
ing. Based on shared values, all parties involved
should share in preserving and developing further as
a whole. Cooperation is defined by respecting the
competency and culture of the partner and by the will-
ingness to enter into dialogue, as well as the openness
of the partners.
5. Think globally, act locally (coherence principle). The
crux of sustainable development is the principle of co-
herence. This entails lifting one’s gaze and seeing be-
yond one’s immediate surroundings. Constant chan-
ages of perspective are essential in order to grasp the
complexity of the development process. In particular, in-
coherence over time plays a major role. The aim is to
bring the occasionally rapid technological and econom-
ic changes into harmony with the much more slow-mov-
ing traditional socio-political and socio-cultural struc-
tures and natural environmental processes, which are in
turn governed by their own laws and speeds.
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 Sustainet – Sustainable Agriculture Information Network
The Pathway toward Halving Poverty
Hunger remains one of the most pressing issues of
our time. Every day, 25.000 people – most of whom
are children – die from hunger or malnutrition. One in
seven of the world’s population does not have enough
to eat. Of the 842 million people starving, about 800
million live in developing countries. Hunger and pover-
ty reduction, therefore, play a prominent role in inter-
national development cooperation.
After the United Nations had issued invitations to
the World Food Summit in Rome in 1996, 150 heads
of state and government gathered again in 2000 for a
meeting in special session of the UN General Assem-
bly in New York, to discuss the major development
policy challenges of the coming decades. At this sum-
mit, eight Millennium Development Goals were adopt-
ed within the framework of the Millennium Declaration.
The Millennium Development Goals contain inter-
nationally agreed targets that are of long-term global
interest. The first seven goals focus on reducing
poverty and hunger, while the eighth goal calls for the
establishment of a global partnership for development.
The parties to the treaty have undertaken to achieve
these goals by 2015. All countries are called upon to
develop, within the means and facilities available to
them, strategies for achieving the goals, and to imple-
4
ment these jointly with their global partners. Achieve-
ment of the Millennium Development Goals will con-
tribute toward sustainable development and the safe-
guarding of peace worldwide.
The Millennium Development Goals
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. The
goal calls for halving the proportion of people living in
extreme poverty between 1990 and 2015. Extreme
poverty is defined as having a daily income that
amounts to less than one US dollar. In addition, the
number of people starving worldwide is to be reduced
from 842 million to 400 million by 2015.
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education. Edu-
cation and poverty are closely interlinked. In 2000, 115
million children worldwide did not attend school. About
94 per cent of them lived in developing countries. The
goal is to enable all the world’s children to have access
to primary education by 2015.
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower
women. The aim is to eliminate the gender disparity in
primary and secondary education by 2005. It is also in-
tended to achieve parity between the sexes at all lev-
els of education by 2015. Increased education for
women goes hand in hand with the reduction of pover-
ty and the reduction of infant mortality.
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality. Poverty and mal-
nutrition are the main causes of child mortality. In the
ten poorest countries of the world in 2001, more than
20 per cent of newborn children died before they
reached the age of five years. The community of
states wants to cut this number by two thirds by taking
complementary multilateral measures.
Goal 5: Improve maternal health. Every year,
more than a half million women die from complications
during pregnancy or childbirth. This is due, among oth-
er reasons, to the fact that only 58 per cent of women
in developing countries bring their children into the
world under the supervision of a midwife or a doctor.
By 2015, the maternal mortality rate is to be cut by
three quarters relative to the 1990 rate.
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other dis-
eases. In 2002, 95 per cent of adults and children
worldwide infected with AIDS lived in developing coun-
tries. Tuberculosis and malaria still take the lives of
over three million people each year worldwide. The
aim of the community of states is to consistently com-
bat and thereby curb serious diseases like HIV/AIDS,
tuberculosis and malaria.
Goal 7: Ensure environmental stability. In order to
counter losses of natural resources, the signatory
states have undertaken to integrate the principles of
sustainable development into their policies and pro-
grammes. They also aim to halve the number of peo-
ple who have no access to drinking water by 2015,
and to improve the living conditions of slum inhabi-
tants.
Goal 8: Build a global partnership for develop-
ment. In order to achieve this goal, measures are
planned in a variety of areas: further develop an open,
rule-based, predictable and non-discriminatory sys-
tem of trading and finance; tackle the needs of the
least developed countries and judiciously handle their
debts; create dignified and productive jobs for young
people; increase the availability of medicines; promote
the introduction and use of new technology.
Poverty Concerns Us All
Just one year after the Millennium Summit, within the
framework of the National Sustainability Strategy, the
German Federal Government has adopted the Pro-
gramme of Action 2015 entitled “Combating Poverty –
a Global Task”. The Action Programme is based on the
eight Millennium Development Goals and specifies
“Germany’s contribution in the fight against poverty”.
As was previously the case in Agenda 21, much atten-
tion is being given to the worldwide achievement of the
right to food. Since combating poverty is a cross-sec-
tional function of German policy, the action programme
involves the Cabinet and all the Ministries.

A Selection of Points from the Programme of Action 2015:

Improve the Economic Motivation and Active Participation of the Poor
• Promote fair trading opportunities for developing countries in order to es-
tablish improved living conditions and to stimulate economic growth
• Demand good governance
• Establish an efficient financial system with easier access to small loans
• Create effective social, economic and environmental infrastructures
• Provide training for women and young people
Implement the Right to Food and Carry Out Agricultural Reforms
• Consistently push for the abolition of European and international agri-
cultural subsidies and, in particular, export subsidies
• Support developing countries in drawing up agricultural and land re-
forms
• Provide aid to farmers to better organise themselves
Create Fair Trading Opportunities for Developing Countries
• Involve developing countries in world trade (influence the WTO Negoti-
ating Round (“Development round”) in favour of developing countries)
• Open up international markets to products from developing countries
• Promote environmental and social seals of approval (e.g. TransFair)
Reduce Debt and Finance Development
• Arrange for further debt relief for the poorest countries (HIPC initiative)
• Foster efficient financial systems in developing countries in order to mo-
bilize internal and external private capital
• Provide special aid through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and
the World Bank in order to alleviate the effects of external shocks, e.g.
those caused by high oil prices
Guarantee Basic Social Services and Strengthen Social Security
• Guarantee basic education, health, food and water supplies
• Promote HIV/AIDS prevention and facilitate access to essential
medicines
• Operate family planning services
• Guarantee humanitarian aid and development-oriented emergency aid
Ensure Access to Essential Resources and Promote a Sound Envi-
ronment
• Pursue the sustainable use and the protection of natural resources
• Guarantee water and energy supplies for the poor
• Fight against bio-piracy and safeguard traditional knowledge
• Stimulate changes in economic and social activity in Germany
Put Human Rights into Action and Respect Core Labour Standards
• Abolish forced and child labour
• Abolish discrimination (e.g. in remuneration) against women
• Implement core labour standards and introduce the right to labour
unions
Promote Gender Equality
• Safeguard the basic education of girls
• Promote empowerment of women (e.g. through women’s networks and
women’s NGOs)
• Fight trafficking in women and children
• Support gender-oriented budgetary planning
Ensure the Participation of the Poor and Strengthen Good Gover-
nance
• Support human rights, democracy, and the rule of law
• Support national strategies to combat poverty
• Strengthen civil society
• Promote poverty-oriented budgetary planning and the transparency of
public accounts
• Strengthen the negotiating power, self-organisation, and mobilization of
the poor
• Fight corruption
Deal with Conflicts Peacefully and Promote Human Security and Dis-
armament
• Carry out crisis prevention and reconciliation work
• Promote mine-clearance and disarmament
• Eliminate the structural causes of conflicts, e.g. political and social im-
balance

Source: www.aktionsprogamm2015.de

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 Sustainet – Sustainable Agriculture Information Network
Combating Hunger through Sustainable
Agriculture
Hunger is predominantly a problem of rural regions.
Three-quarters of the people suffering from abject
poverty live in rural areas. What at first glance appears
surprising reveals itself upon closer inspection to be a
structural problem. Half of the rural inhabitants suffer-
ing from malnutrition live in family-run smallholdings
and engage in subsistence agriculture. The families
have no alternative sources of employment or income
available to them. The reasons for this lie primarily in
the fact that they possess too little fertile land of their
own, live in agriculturally disadvantaged areas, or are
denied access to credit for equipment. Population
pressure and rising costs of living frequently force
poor people to exploit natural resources beyond advis-
able limits.
Sustainable Agriculture
– A Selection of Possible Actions
• Improvement of existing production systems (e.g. altered crop rotations, intro-
duction of green manuring, use of plant species adapted to specific locations)
• Improved protection of natural resources (e.g. erosion protection)
• Increase in efficiency of existing resources (e.g. irrigation, use of technology,
basic and advanced training)
• Introduction of regenerative branches of business (e.g. horticulture or aquacul-
ture)
• Introduction of a new production element in existing enterprises (such as fruit
trees to stabilize terraced fields, fish-farming in rice fields)
• Optimisation of post-harvest systems (e.g. storage)
• Increase the value of agricultural products through further processing (e.g. pro-
duction of yoghurt from milk)
• Improvement of channels of distribution (e.g. market access, transport)
• Access to loans and other financial services
• Covering risk (e.g. through land law, support of producer groups)
6
By 2050, worldwide demand for food products will
probably have doubled. In view of the fact that agricul-
tural land is limited and the availability of water is ex-
pected to fall, this forecast represents a major devel-
opment-policy challenge.
Exhausting Unused Potential
Numerous examples of experience with sustainable
agriculture systems can be found on every continent.
They demonstrate that forms of land use which are
adapted to suit particular site conditions can make a
key contribution toward combating hunger. These are
forms of farming which are sustainable from environ-
mental, economic and social points of view. Tradition-
al forms of farming often satisfy these criteria.
Agricultural production systems are sustainable if
they maintain the income of the rural population and
the long-term productivity of the soil, without negative-
ly impacting the environment or people. The basis is
an integrated and open approach, which consciously
refrains from specifying binding cultivation guidelines,
so as to be applicable in various regions of the world.
The goals pursued by sustainable agriculture are:
the establishment of an adequate livelihood for the per-
sons involved, the prevention of soil erosion, the
preservation and improvement of soil fertility and
species diversity, and balanced water consumption.
The German Federal Government supports this ap-
proach in many ways, such as through the “Sustainet –
Sustainable Agriculture Information Network ” project.
Combating Hunger Together
For many years, German organisations in development
cooperation have been assisting their partners locally
with the further development and dissemination of sus-
tainable agricultural systems. Particularly for smallhold-
er farmers in developing countries, the systems provide
a realistic opportunity to secure food for their families.
Although sustainable agriculture demonstrates great
potential, its use often remains isolated. Factors such
as methodological and planning weaknesses, inade-
quate local expertise, or the general cultural context can
limit the introduction and implementation of sustainable
measures. Equally, the general political, social, environ-
mental, and economic conditions of the countries con-
cerned frequently stand in the way of implementation.
However, no adequate systematic studies of this have
been carried out.
The Council for Sustainable Development appoint-
ed by the German Government has therefore instigat-
ed a supra-regional joint venture among German
Sustainet Pilot Regions
development cooperation organisations. The project is
named Sustainet, which is an acronym for “Sustain-
able Agriculture Information Network”. The name re-
veals what the programme is about: Sustainet aims to
systematically evaluate, communicate and dissemi-
nate existing successful approaches and concepts of
sustainable agriculture in selected pilot regions. It is
intended to identify relevant factors for the dissemina-
tion of innovative models, and to promote the ex-
change of experiences and networking of public, civil-
society, and private partners in the area of sustainable
land use. Sustainet is part of the National Sustainabil-
ity Strategy and of the Programme of Action 2015
(cf. p. 4) of the German Federal Government.
Project Objectives and Project Structure
Participating as equal partners in Sustainet are the fol-
lowing development organisations: Bread for the
World, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusam-
menarbeit (GTZ) GmbH, German Agro-Action, Church
Development Service – An Association of the Protes-
tant Churches in Germany and Misereor. All partners
have many years of expertise in the area of sustain-
able agriculture in developing countries. The joint ven-
ture is financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic
Cooperation and Development. The Federal Ministry
of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture is in-
volved in giving Sustainet guidance on project content.
The project secretariat, based at GTZ in Eschborn,
plays a coordinating role within the project and han-
dles the networking of all the partners. The initial pro-
ject phase began in December 2003 and completion is
anticipated at the end of 2006.
Local partners who have collaborated previously
with German development organisations are also Sus-
tainet partners. Through self-evaluation, the local part-
ners record and evaluate the effects of their project ini-
tiatives towards poverty reduction, in terms of factors
promoting the scaling up of pilot approaches. Determin-
ing the general political, social and economic conditions
or requirements that are relevant to the successful
transfer of the models to other levels of activity play a
key role. The promotion and practical implementation of
the projects are carried out by the actors involved in the
process – governmental and non-governmental organi-
sations, local partner organisations, private businesses,
basic and advanced training centres, and scientific in-
stitutions. All partners undertake to transfer their knowl-
edge.
Pilot Projects
As a first step in the dissemination of sustainable agri-
cultural systems, Sustainet plans to restrict itself to spe-
cific, particularly successful examples of sustainable
agriculture, and to bring together the institutions in-
volved at the local, regional and international levels.
The pilot projects selected are located in India, Kenya,
Tanzania, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil.
The success of the individual projects will be mea-
sured by the degree to which the methods and models
are used by the local population beyond completion of
the project, and by the degree to which persons who
were not directly linked to the project use them. This
should result in the dissemination of ideas and methods
and make a contribution toward combating hunger
worldwide.
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 Sustainet – Sustainable Agriculture Information Network

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) –

Indo-German Bilateral Project (IGBP), India

Secure Harvests through Consistent

Watershed Management
A watershed is a topographically limited region above a certain
point, from which all water flows down in a system of rivers and
streams to that point. A watershed is also used as a socio-economic,
political or administrative unit for managing natural resources.

Watershed management is the term used to designate the process

by which the use of land and other resources in a watershed is
planned and regulated, without damaging the resource base. When
alternative uses and guidelines on the use are drawn up, it is not just
technical parameters (hydrological, ecological and climatic factors,
soil characteristics, etc.) that have to be observed. It is rather impor-
tant to adapt technical solutions to the socio-economic conditions of
the resource users and to take into account the – often conflicting –
interests of neighbouring land-users in the upper and lower-lying
parts of a watershed, and to ensure that benefits are balanced.

Hunger is widespread in India; about 350 million Indi-
ans and more than half of all children under five
years of age are undernourished. Nine out of ten
pregnant women suffer from malnutrition. This is de-
spite the fact that India’s granaries are full. Access to
food and production resources is distributed un-
equally – in part, because of the social structure
which is, through the caste system, organized in a
rigidly hierarchical way. Other severe problems are
the inappropriate management of scarce water re-
sources and declining soil fertility. “Watershed man-
agement” comes in at this point.
Initial Situation
As in other countries, agriculture is the major con-
sumer of water in India. While demand for food grows
continuously, water resources are constantly declin-
ing. The blame for this lies with rising consumption,
the pollution of water bodies, climate changes and
growing competition between agriculture, industry
and households. Added to this is the fact that, be-
cause of the heavy monsoon rains, large amounts of
agricultural land are being lost as a result of erosion.
In the watersheds, soil fertility is also often impaired
as a result of inappropriate cultivation techniques.
India’s government has recognized the problems
and has been working on soil- and water-conserving
measures for many years. Despite the investment of
extensive financial resources, implementing these
measures has shown limited success. The key rea-
sons for this have been rigid and centrally estab-
lished implementation guidelines that were poorly
adapted to local conditions, the inadequate involve-
ment of the local population, and the concentration
on erosion-protection constructions whose operation
and maintenance were not assured. Because of
these failures, in 1989 the Government of India de-
cided to cooperate with Deutsche Gesellschaft für
Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH in water-
shed management.
Project Objectives and Project Structure
At the heart of German-Indian cooperation on the re-
habilitation of degraded watersheds lies the “Indo-
German Bilateral Project” (IGBP), launched in 1989.
The aim of the IGBP is to develop model technical in-
novations and social approaches for rehabilitating
watersheds that can be implemented countrywide in
government programmes.
The project operates on three levels. Jointly, with
the population concerned, erosion-protection and wa-
ter-conservation measures are developed and imple-
mented at the local level and procedures for jointly
solving technical and social problems are tested. The
promotion of self-help methods and the testing of new
forms of self-government play a significant part.
At the state level, the project supports a realloca-
tion of responsibilities: government administrative
units are responsible for infrastructure-related and
construction measures in the watersheds; non-gov-
ernmental organisations (NGOs) are involved in social
mobilization and self-help activities. This new form of
cooperation and division of labour is designed to in-
crease the effectiveness of implemented measures.

8
 India
Population: 1 065 070 607
Area: 3 287 263 km2
Languages: 16 national languages
At the national level, the findings are fed into cen-
tral guidelines and implementation orders, so that
they can be used within the framework of national
programmes. In order to achieve this objective, par-
ticular importance is given to careful analysis and
documentation of the findings and results gathered
during the course of the project. To monitor their ef-
fect, special monitoring procedures were developed.
Together with a description of technical innovations
and of procedures, the results are made available to
government decision-makers and to a broad special-
ist public.
The Indian Ministry of Agriculture is responsible
for the IGBP. Measures are implemented in the
states by the state’s agriculture and forestry adminis-
trations, in cooperation with NGOs. The project’s ser-
vices consist in certifying and providing technical ad-
vice to partner specialists in order to carry out
measures in a participatory, technically correct,
transparent and innovative manner. To a limited ex-
tent, financial support is given to self-help groups,
e.g. revenue-generating activities, agricultural pilot
schemes and erosion protection.
Target Group and Project Duration
The solutions tested in the project are designed to be
usable throughout the country. The project operates
in nine selected small watersheds in the states of
Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Andhra
Pradesh, which are representative of the whole of
India. Here, the target group is the rural population
which uses the resources of the watersheds. More
than 65 per cent of households live below the pover-
ty line. The project has a total duration of approxi-
mately 16 years and will end in 2005.
Project Results
So far, the project has already provided evidence
that food security and the supply of water can be in-
creased substantially in small watersheds through
the use of innovative technical solutions, the in-
volvement of the population, and an appropriate di-
vision of labour between the various actors – and
even remain within the framework of government
budgetary targets. Environmental awareness and
the ability to solve problems jointly, as well as the
ability to discuss conflicts of interest have increased.
Degraded agricultural areas are again being man-
aged successfully and new sources of income (e.g.
cultivation of fruit, medicinal plants) are improving
the living conditions of smallholder farming families.
The project has proved that it is possible to reduce
soil erosion and maintain or improve soil fertility. The
quality of drinking water has risen considerably, and
the seasonal rural exodus of people has diminished.
Significantly more children are attending school than
was previously the case. Basic and advanced train-
ing and group activities are motivating people to use
their knowledge and skills to develop the country to-
gether. The involvement of NGOs and the new divi-
sion of labour between governmental and non-gov-
ernmental actors was significant in producing these
successes and has in the meantime become stan-
dard countrywide in the rehabilitation of watersheds.
Since the start in 2004, a working party of the
Centre for Advanced Training in Rural Development
of the Humboldt University in Berlin has been devel-
oping on Sustainet’s behalf a self-evaluation method
in India. Here, the aim is to record and evaluate
proven development-policy measures to combat
hunger. Local cooperative partners include the IGBP
and Navdanya.
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 Sustainet – Sustainable Agriculture Information Network
Bread for the World and Church Development Service – Navdanya, India
Food Security through Diversity
Measured in terms of its enormous species diversity,
India is one of the richest countries in the world: rough
estimates have indicated that there are over 81,000
different animal species and 47,000 plant species in
India. However, nearly 15,000 plant species are
threatened with extinction. Included among these
plants are the native varieties of seed for crop plants
that are highly tolerant of unfavourable environmental
conditions. Many of the traditional indigenous varieties
were lost in the course of the Green Revolution.
The disappearance of species has accelerated
rapidly worldwide over the last few decades. The rea-
sons for this lie particularly in the industrialisation of
agriculture and the introduction of uniform, high yield-
ing varieties. The introduction of industrialised agricul-
ture goes hand in hand with the destruction of small-
holder farming methods and ways of life, and pollution
of water, air and soil.
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has
existed since 1992. It was created at the World Sum-
mit in Rio de Janeiro, and has now been signed by 187
states. The CBD constitutes the first internationally
binding agreement to preserve biodiversity. The sig-
natory states commit themselves both to the protec-
tion of biodiversity in their own countries and to the
sustainable use of the diversity of species in other
countries. It is intended that particularly industrialised
countries respect, preserve and promote wider use of
the knowledge and practices of indigenous and local
communities.
Initial Situation
In the last five years, 25,000 farmers have committed
suicide in India. These acts of despair are caused by
the high level of indebtedness through the purchase
of seed and fertilizers, and the collapse in the prices
of agricultural products, which was accelerated by
the liberalization of global trade.
In order to secure their food, two-thirds of the In-
dian population are dependent on subsistence agri-
culture. Simply preserving species diversity and sus-
10
tainably managing natural resources contribute to-
wards preserving the livelihood and thereby to the
food security of present and future generations.
Project Objectives and Project Structure
The non-governmental organisation (NGO) Nav-
danya was founded in 1987 by the internationally
known feminist and environmental activist, Vandana
Shiva. (For her services, Vandana Shiva was award-
ed the “Alternative Nobel Prize” in 1993).
Translated, “navdanya” means “nine seeds” and
represents a countrywide network of grass-roots
movements. The NGO is a trust company and con-
cerns itself primarily with seed conservation and the
exchange of indigenous seed varieties by local
groups and communities.
Navdanya wants to establish awareness among
India’s population of the risks of genetic engineering
and to protect traditional knowledge, and calls for the
human right to food and food sovereignty in the age
of globalisation. The focus of its activities is the
preservation of agricultural biodiversity. Navdanya’s
aim is to restore diversity in production in order to
counteract globalised, centralised and homogeneous
systems of production. The NGO therefore supports
the introduction of organic farming methods and
shows farmers ways out of the debt trap. Politically,
Navdanya fights to free farmers from the claws of
agro-business (catchwords: expensive pesticides,
genetically modified seed, low producer prices). The
NGO has also taken up the cause in the fight against
bio-piracy.
Navdanya has long supported the implementa-
tion of organic farming in practice through basic and
advanced training measures at various levels. The
movement provides, particularly for women, organi-
sational and financial support (e.g. in the form of mi-
crocredits or grants).
Navdanya is supported in Germany by Bread for
the World and Church Development Service - An As-
sociation of the Protestant Churches in Germany.
 India

Population: 1 065 070 607

Area: 3 287 263 km2
Languages: 16 national languages

Navdanya cooperates closely with relief organisa-

tions in lobbying, advocacy and campaign work, at
the national and international level.

Target Group
Navdanya’s research and advisory work is concen-
trated in the northern half of India. In the south of In-
dia, Navdanya has set up a sister organisation,
which is now competently implementing independent
projects. Its agricultural advice is targeted at farming
population groups, particularly women, who have
gotten into economic difficulty as a result of the mod-
ernisation of India’s agriculture. More than 60,000
farmers belong to the movement.
The movement’s network is based on collabora-
tion between regional coordinators and people in in-
dividual villages at the local level. The local groups
are primarily responsible for protecting, maintaining
and regenerating the diversity of varieties. In addi-
tion, the organisation focuses on consumers and
their consumption behaviour. In its lobbying work,
Navdanya concentrates its efforts on political deci-
sion makers at the national and international levels.

Project Results
Navdanya provides basic and advanced training
courses for farmers, students, teachers, NGOs and
public authorities, and for government officials. The
participants receive a variety of information on sus-
tainable land-use management. In addition, the Gov-
ernment of India has asked for Navdanya’s support
in introducing sustainable agriculture countrywide.
In the last 16 years, Navdanya has set up 20
communal seed banks in which traditional seed is
preserved, described and categorized. Based on
participatory analyses, the demand for selected
seed is determined and the seeds are multiplied ac-
cordingly.
An agricultural research and training centre has
been set up at the agricultural enterprise of Ramgarh
Dehradun in Uttaranchal state. The organic produc-
tion of 265 rice varieties, 20 wheat varieties, 10 bar-
ley varieties, 7 mustard varieties and of many other
fruit, vegetable and medicinal plant species is car-
ried out there. In order to preserve endangered
species, Navdanya organizes their cultivation on se-
lected farms. The farmers receive the seed free of
charge. This method matches traditional smallholder
farming practice and ensures that knowledge about
cultivation methods and experience of handling the
varieties concerned is not lost. Furthermore, the vari-
eties can undergo further appropriate breeding in the
region in the long run.
The long-term preservation of the diversity of the
indigenous varieties can, however, only be sustain-
ably assured if opportunities for selling the traditional
products exist. Therefore, Navdanya has introduced
the first system for the direct marketing of organic
farming products in India. At the Dilli Haat market in
New Delhi, grain, vegetables and fruit are offered,
supplemented by a catering service and a vegetable
box ordering service.

11
 Sustainet – Sustainable Agriculture Information Network
German Agro-Action – Pocoata and Colquechaca, Bolivia
Working Together to Establish New
Distribution Channels
Bolivia has the highest levels of infant and maternal
mortality in the world. Two-thirds of the population live
in poverty. Only twelve per cent of families have enough
to eat. More than half of the population is employed in
agriculture. However, they contribute only 16 per cent of
gross domestic product.
More than half of the 5.8 million adults in Bolivia are
non-Spanish-speaking Amerindians with a traditional
economy and social order.
Initial Situation
The province of Chayanta is one of the eight poorest re-
gions of the 111 rural provinces of Bolivia. The majority
12
of the local population belongs to the indigenous
Quetchua cultural group (“Llameros”). The region is
characterized by cool, high plateaux (3,600 m – 4,800
m) and 80 - 90 days of frost annually. Only ten per cent
of smallholder families own land. Most of these families
own less than one hectare of arable land. Life ex-
pectancy in Chayanta is 47 years, while the figure for
Bolivia as a whole is 60 years. Infant mortality is also
very high.
Average annual income in the province of Chayanta
is 60 US dollars. Families engage predominantly in sub-
sistence agriculture and have poor links with markets.
The main income-generating activity for farmers in
Chayanta is stock farming. The animals produce ma-
nure for the fields, provide a source of cash in emer-
gencies (when sold), supply raw materials for clothing,
serve as a means of transport and, above all, feed the
people. The province’s arable areas grow mainly pota-
toes, grain, legumes, quinoa and other Andean field
crops. These days, a family’s agricultural production
can scarcely satisfy its basic needs. Clear symptoms of
undernourishment can be seen in around ten per cent
of the total population and in 18 per cent of children un-
der the age of five.
Problems are caused by the progressive exhaustion
of the feed base, increased soil degradation through
overgrazing, low crop and livestock yields, inefficient
marketing systems, and unfavourable market condi-
tions for agricultural products. The interaction of these
factors increases the risk to the entire smallholder farm-
ing production system in the region and poses a con-
stant threat to the continued survival of subsistence
farmers.
Project Objectives and Project Structure
The “Pocoata and Colquechaca” project is located in
the province of Chayanta, in the districts of Pocoata
(area: 1 319 km2) and Colquechaca (area: 1 505 km2).
It seeks to integrate all the social, political, economic
and cultural components of the existing smallholder
farming production system, and to bring about an im-
provement in the income of local farmers, for example,
through advice on livestock breeding and the improve-
ment of arable practices. Another important goal is the
strengthening of smallholder production organisations
in order to make them more competitive. All project ac-
tivities are planned and carried out in collaboration with
local farmers’ organisations, because the groups are to
be responsible for continuation of a large proportion of
the project measures after completion of the project. In
 Bolivia

Population: 8 586 443

Area: 1 098 581 km2
Languages: spanish and two indian languages

particular, the founding of a rural women’s association

is planned (to date, 52 women have taken part in the
project).
The project measures are aimed at producing a
substantial improvement in the production conditions
of the smallholder farming population and at providing
economic backup for the farmers’ organisations. The
measures benefit women farmers and families as a
whole, and match the knowledge level and needs that
have been articulated by the target group.
The communal approach and individual responsibil-
ity of the target group play a prominent role. The partic-
ipants are involved as equal partners in the planning of
all project activities and in the evaluation and imple-
mentation of the project.

Target Group and Project Duration

Under the “Pocoata and Colquechaca” project, inten-
sive work is being carried out with 495 families (1,980
persons) from 33 village communities, who were active-
ly selected from the local population by communal bod-
ies. Also actively involved in the project are five produc-
er organisations and the local governments of the local
authority areas of Pocoata and Colquechaca. Local
government administrations participate in the planning,
implementation and internal evaluation of the project
and are also involved in financing the project. The pro-
ject holder is the Instituto Politècnico Tomàs Katari (IP-
TK), which was founded in 1976 as a non-profit-making
non-governmental organisation. Through its activities,
the IPTK wants to stimulate economic development that
will enable families to secure their own subsistence and
to achieve surpluses. Collaboration between IPTK and
German Agro-Action began in 1983. The “Pocoata and
Colquechaca” project began in January 2002 and will
terminate in December 2005.
Project Results
Previous project results show that the food situation for
the local population has improved significantly through
the construction of greenhouses, as these have helped
to eliminate the shortages of fresh produce which are
typical in mountainous regions. Success has been
shown by the training programmes in resource man-
agement and the advice given at enterprise level on the
diversification of agricultural production primarily aimed
at safeguarding food production. The project helps
farming families to install production infrastructure
(small irrigation systems, silos, hay and feed stores,
stock waterers, dips for controlling animal parasites,
small greenhouses for vegetables).
Farmers’ production organisations have increased
their capacity to market and process their products
(drying of fruit and meat, jam production, biscuit pro-
duction).
Drying facilities have been installed, abattoirs in-
cluding meat-marketing facilities have been construct-
ed, and the production of handicrafts (ponchos, blan-
kets etc.) has been expanded. Under the project, it has
been possible to increase agricultural production by 15
per cent. The advice given to organisations is also pro-
ducing an impact: the production organisations are now
influential actors in the local authority areas and have
significantly improved their negotiating position vis-à-
vis the local government administrations and other bod-
ies.
In addition, the development concept of ”Municipio
Productivo/Competitivo” (productive = competitive local
authority area) has been introduced in rural districts. As
part of seminars and workshops held over several
days, participants learn about public participation and
the administration of local authority areas.
Fundamental to the sustainability of the project is
the training of farmers (both men and women) as pro-
ject promoters with the aim of continuing key project ac-
tivities independently in the long term.

13
 Sustainet – Sustainable Agriculture Information Network
Misereor – Pelum Tanzania
Preserving Resources
through Local
Networking
Measured in terms of its annual pro-capita income
(270 US dollars) and in terms of its purchasing power,
Tanzania is the second-poorest country in the world. A
Tanzanian household has to spend up to 70 per cent
of its income on food. Using the Human Development
Index (HDI) of the United Nations as a scale, Tanzania
comes in 160th place out of 175 countries. Per-capita
debt amounts to the equivalent of 234 US dollars. 19
per cent of the population of Tanzania is assessed as
being “food poor”, while 36 per cent cannot meet their
basic needs. While poverty in urban areas has exhib-
ited a declining trend in recent years, measures under
the programme to combat poverty have not been able
to achieve a substantial reduction in poverty in rural ar-
eas to date.
Initial Situation
More than 70 per cent of the inhabitants of Tanzania
live and work in rural areas. Accounting for approxi-
mately 46 per cent of gross domestic product, 52 per
cent of export earnings and 85 per cent of the labour
force, the agricultural sector is the backbone of the
economy in Tanzania. At the same time, only 10 mil-
lion hectares, corresponding to approximately six per
cent of the country’s land and 23 per cent of the arable
land, are used for crop cultivation. Smallholder farming
enterprises (less than two hectares) dominate agricul-
ture, together with a small number of large export-ori-
ented farms. While maize, rice, wheat and vegetables
are cultivated for subsistence and to meet domestic
demand, the main crops grown for export are cashew
nuts, coffee, tobacco, cotton, tea, sisal and cloves, as
well as flowers, fruit and vegetables.
In many parts of the country, smallholder farming
enterprises face the problem of steadily declining soil
fertility, usually the consequence of inappropriate
land-use patterns such as “slash-and-burn” or uncon-
trolled deforestation. Every year, around 400,000
hectares of forest are lost. Many smallholder farmers
have suffered massive revenue losses in recent years
as a result of the collapse in the prices of coffee and
cotton. Growing alternative crops or diversifying the
range of crops is often difficult because of inadequate
distribution channels. Food insecurity and a lack of
market access are major problems for many small-
holder farmers. The Tanzanian government’s policy is
based on conventional agriculture, which obliges farm-
14
ers to buy external inputs like seeds and chemical fer-
tiliser and which can lead to the dependency of farm-
ers. In the view of non-governmental organisations
(NGOs), this has proved to be unsuccessful for small-
holder farmers. Methods of sustainable agriculture, by
contrast, represent an effective means of sustainably
securing the food supply and of raising the living stan-
dards of poor rural households.
Project Objectives and Project Structure
Pelum Tanzania is a network of 29 Tanzanian organi-
sations (NGOs and church development agencies) in
rural areas. It is represented in 14 of Tanzania’s 21 re-
gions. “Pelum” is an acronym for Participatory Ecolog-
ical Land Use Management. Pelum Tanzania is a
country work group, one of twelve Pelum country net-
works now working in Southern and Eastern Africa.
Pelum Association maintains a regional office in Lusa-
ka, Zambia. It covers, among others, the following
fields of activity:
• Training of country working groups and member or-
ganisations in their basic work, as well as in the area
of lobbying,
• Dissemination of appropriate land-use methods,
• Lobbying of important issues facing smallholder
farmers in national and international decision-mak-
ing processes.
The goal of Pelum Tanzania is to put Tanzanian
farmers in a position to manage their natural re-
sources sustainably and to strengthen their capacity
to help themselves so that they can solve their prob-
lems themselves using locally available knowledge
and resources, and so that they can identify and make

full use of any potential. Organisations of smallholder
farmers are also strengthened in such a way that they
can actively table and represent their interests at the
local and the national levels. The major focus of Pelum
Tanzania’s work is the dissemination of sustainable
agriculture as the most effective means of achieving
sustainable rural development. Here, particular con-
sideration is given to local knowledge and local inno-
vations. The network collects, evaluates and makes
examples of successful initiatives available to all
members of the network.
Another important area of activity for Pelum is sup-
porting farmers in organising themselves and forming
farmers’ organisations. To coincide with the World
Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in 2002
in Johannesburg (South Africa), Pelum Tanzania, to-
gether with the Pelum regional network, organised a
caravan of smallholder farmers from Zambia overland
to Johannesburg. The demands of the smallholder
farmers were formulated at an international farmers’
forum and fed into the WSSD debates. After taking
part in the farmers’ forum in Johannesburg, the 30
Tanzanian farmers’ delegates founded 200 new local
farmers’ groups and 20 farmers’ networks. As a result,
the national farmers’ association Mviwata gained
enormous importance.
Lobbying is another important aspect of Pelum
Tanzania’s work. One issue of current concern is the
problem of food and seed security for farming house-
holds. Data was collected on 360 households in a sur-
vey conducted by the member organisations. The pro-
cessed data and results will be discussed with
farmers’ organisations countrywide in order to formu-
Tanzania
Population: 33 518 000
Area: 945 234 km2
Languages: 120 national languages
late policy demands
at the local and na-
tional levels. National-
ly, Pelum Tanzania is
increasingly involved
in the policy dialogue
on rural development
issues. This is shown
by the various invita-
tions by the Tanzani-
an government to at-
tend national forums
and workshops or
conferences.
Target Group and Project Duration
The Pelum Tanzania network operates nationally. It
began its work in 1997 with seven member organisa-
tions and has grown continuously ever since. Since
2002, Pelum Tanzania has been supported financially
by the Catholic development agency, Misereor.
Its target groups are smallholder farmers and their
families who work directly with the Pelum member or-
ganisations, and those who are organised through the
Tanzanian national farmers’ organisation, Mviwata.
Project Results
Since 2002, representatives of smallholder farmers
have regularly taken part in the national “Green
week”, Nane Nane, which is held annually. They use
this forum to both present their products and to table
important political demands by smallholder farmers on
issues such as seed security, market access, agricul-
tural prices and national agricultural policy. Pelum
Tanzania has in recent years developed a programme
to promote seed security at the household and com-
munity levels. Many farmers had – urged by govern-
ment policy – given up local seed varieties in favour of
“modern” seed varieties. These “improved” seeds fre-
quently turned out to be inappropriate for local condi-
tions and, as prices escalated, were increasingly un-
affordable for the farmers. In the course of this
development, many locally suitable varieties were
lost. The programme for seed security is designed to
restore access of farmers to, and control over, appro-
priate seeds. Eleven member organisations of Pelum
are assisting their target groups in the production of
seeds at the local level.
15
Contacts
Sustainet Project Secretariat
Helga Stamm-Berg (Project Manager)
Tel.: ++49/(0)6196/79 -14 76
E-Mail: Helga.Stamm-Berg@gtz.de
Jenni Heise
Tel.: ++49/(0)6196/79 -14 72
E-Mail: Jenni.Heise@gtz.de
Imprint
This brochure is a supplement to the
politische ökologie (political ecology)
No. 90: „Hunger im Überfluss“(Hunger in a
world of plenty), September 2004
Edited by
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Division 45 (Agriculture, Fisheries and
Food)

Editorial office
Fax: ++49/(0)6196/79 -61 03 Anke Oxenfarth, Julia Kugler (oekom)
Internet: http://www.sustainet.org
Publisher
oekom verlag
Waltherstr. 29
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation D-80337 München
and Development (BMZ) Fon ++49/(0)89/544 184 -0, Fax -49
www.oekom.de
Division 314, Rural Development; Global Food Security
Dr. Christoph Kohlmeyer Layout / Design
Tel.: ++49/(0)228/535 37 35 Sandra Filic (oekom)
E-Mail: christoph.kohlmeyer@bmz.bund.de Printers
Laub GmbH und Co,
D-74832 Elztal-Dallau

Paper
Envirotop 120 g

Images
Title: H. Stamm-Berg, J. Heise;
H. Stamm-Berg: p. 3, 4, 6, 8, 9;
J. Heise: p. 3, 16; Navdanya project:
p. 10, 11; IPTK: p. 12, 13; Pelum Tansa-
nia: p. 14, J. Beck-Engelberg: p. 15;
oekom: p. 6.

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