DIOUF: INEQUALITY IMPEDES DEVELOPMENT IN
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

FAO Director-General opens 28th FAO Regional Conference in Guatemala

Ciudad de Guatemala, 28 April 2004 - Social inequalities are impeding development in the Latin America and the Caribbean region, Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today in a speech delivered to representatives and senior government officials attending the 28th FAO Regional Conference. He said the agriculture agency would continue its support for governments and other partners in the implementation of "coherent and effective programmes" and for the mobilization of domestic and external financing.

"In the current context of globalisation, competitiveness is crucial for growth and development. However, productivity should not conceal the inequalities of access to economic factors and the inequalities of income that affect millions of inhabitants of Latin America and the Caribbean, especially those living in rural areas," Diouf said.

Diouf said that the inequalities in the region are among "the highest in the world", with the richest 5 percent of the population receiving 25 percent of income, as compared to 13 percent in the developed countries.

"There are currently 221 million people living in poverty in the region and the number of rural poor has increased by 21 million since 1990," Diouf said.

The latest figures show that poverty affects 44 percent of the region's inhabitants, rising to 64 percent in the rural areas. There are more than 74 million rural poor in Latin America and the Caribbean.

"It is however encouraging to note that the proportion of undernourished people fell from 13 percent in 1990-1992 to 10 percent in 1999-2001. If the countries continue their efforts to combat food insecurity, this proportion could fall to 6 percent by 2015. The initiatives undertaken by individual countries, notably the "Zero Hunger" programme of Brazil and the "Campaign Against Hunger" recently launched by Guatemala, are very encouraging developments," said Diouf.

Economic resources and political will

FAO regional conferences meet every two years to discuss with member countries development priorities in the region. The Guatemala Conference will examine the institutional and social conditions that are required for rural development projects to be integrated into a national policy capable of ensuring economic and social development.

"I am confident that with capable leadership and the necessary political will, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean will be able to rise to the challenges of hunger, malnutrition, inequality and economic stagnation," Diouf said.

In this sense, he announced the organization, within the context of this Conference, of a Round Table in cooperation with financing institutions such as the Inter-american Development Bank (IDB), on the subject of financing agriculture.

This Round Table will address subjects such as access of the various groups in society to financial markets and the conditions for credit in the informal sector as well as the importance of resources for agricultural development projects and essential measures to increase Agriculture's share in national budgets.

To improve food security, developing countries need to take up the challenge of agricultural productivity and market competitiveness, he added.

Participatory Development

Jacques Diouf concluded by insisting on the need to base development initiatives on the participation of all involved social agents and, most particularly, of those social sectors who have been excluded from progress achieved to date. In order to do so, he stated " it is of the utmost importance to strengthen training and enact integrated nutrition, health and education programmes, especially benefitting women, children and the less favoured groups, such as indigenous communities. These intitiatives must be directed at increasing their participation as full agents of social and economic development".