Science and Achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals

M.S. Swaminathan, FRSPresident, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and

President, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs

The University of Western Australia

Perth, 12 September 2006

Goal 1:Eradicate extreme poverty and hungerGoal 2:Achieve universal primary educationGoal 3:Promote gender equality and empower

womenGoal 4:Reduce child mortalityGoal 5:Improve maternal healthGoal 6:Halt and begin to reverse the spread of

HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseasesGoal 7:Ensure environmental sustainabilityGoal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for

Development

Science and The UN Millennium Development Goals

Global Common Minimum Programme for Human Security

Percentage of population undernourished by region 2000-2002

Productivity Losses Associated with Malnutrition (%)

0

5

10

15

20

Protein energymalnutrition

(moderate stunting)

Protein energymalnutrition (severe stunting)

Iron deficiency (heavy labour)

Iron deficiency (blue collar labour)

Iodine deficiency

Current losses in Productivity(manual labour)Losses based on childhoodmalnutrition (cognitive)

Hunger–Poverty NexusSource: FAO 2004

Food Security for Africa

o Considerable diversity exists in Africa with reference to agro-ecological, socio-economic and socio-political conditions; generalisations in strategy formulation will hence be misleading and counter-productive.

o The untapped yield reservoir is high in several farming systems. In particular, the following farming systems constitute “Food Security Bright Spots”.

Multiplying Food Security Bright Spots

o Maize based Crop and Animal Production Systemso Cereal-Root Crop based Mixed Farming Systems

o Irrigated Farming Systems rooted in the principles of ecology, economics, employment and gender equity

o Tree-Crop based Plantation Crop and Agro-Forestry Systems – Cocoa, Coffee, Oil Palm, Rubber, Yam, Cassava and Maize

o Agro-aqua farms along coastal areas (Halophytes and Aquaculture)

Learning from Successes

o Soil fertility replenishment through nitrogen fixing shrubs and rock phosphate application

o Biological control of cassava mealy bug

o Quality protein maize

o Tissue culture banana

o The New Rice for Africa (NERICA)

HungerChronicHiddenTransient

Food SecurityAvailabilityAccessAbsorption

Awareness – Analysis – ActionMSSRF – WFP : Food Insecurity Atlas

Causes and Cures

Nutrition throughout the life cycle

Source: UN Commission on Nutrition

Neglected Crops: Enlarging the Food Basket

o Time-Tested production and income stability under marginal and high-risk farming

o Contribution to local and regional food and income security

o Many crops are nutritionally rich to redress ‘hidden hunger’

o Neglect leading to loss of genetic diversity and associated traditional knowledge

o Opportunity to enhance sustainable income, food and nutritional security

Fighting Hidden Hunger

HarvestPlus: Biofortification Challenge Program

o Interdisciplinary, global alliance of research and implementing institutions

o Six staple food cropso Iron, zinc, pro-vitamin Ao Conventional breeding and exploratory research

in developing transgenic varietieso $95 million over 10 years; $50 in the first four

years

Genetic Modification and Nutrition Security

Field grown potato lines Field grown potato lines

Transgenic Wild Type Wild TypeTransgenic

o AmA1 protein is non-allergenico Expression of AmA1 leads to

More than two fold increase in tuber number3-3.5 fold increase in tuber yield in terms of fresh weight35-45% increase in total protein content

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., USA, (2000) Vol. 97, 7, 3724-3729

Donor : Amaranthus hypochondriacus

Orange Fleshed Sweetpotato

The variety developed by CIP, Peru is being cultivated in Orissa and Kerala

Livestock and Livelihoods

Over 50 million women and

15 million men are involved

in Dairy Enterprises in India

Farming Systems Diversification and Value Addition

8% growth rate in horticulture and animal husbandry will be necessary to achieve 4% growth rate in agriculture as a whole

India : Largest Producer of Milk in the World

Biomass – an under-utilized resource for enhancing income and work security

“Biovillage” denotes a village where human development occupies pride of place, “Bios” means living; biovillage is therefore a term for human centred development. The people are the decision makers. Their felt needs are ascertained through participatory rural surveys. The activities taken up are demand and market driven. The beneficiary approach of development based on patronage gives way to an approach which regards rural women and men as producers, innovators and entrepreneurs. The enterprises are identified based on market studies and economic, environmental and social viability.

Sustainable Livelihood SecurityThe Concept of Biovillage

On-farm

Sustainable Sustainable LivelihoodsLivelihoods

Non-farm

Natural Resources Conservation and

Enhancement

Biovillage

oo LandLand

oo WaterWater

oo BiodiversityBiodiversity

oo Common PropertyCommon Property

oo ResourcesResources

oo Human CapitalHuman Capital

oo DiversificationDiversification

oo Value AdditionValue Additiono Market Driven

Enterpriseso SHGs

Credit

Sustainable Self-help Groups

Non-farm Employment

Paradigm Shift from Micro-finance to Livelihood finance

Management Market

Technology

Household Mushroom Production

Multiple Micro-enterprises for Livelihood Security

Self-help Groups for Trichogramma Production

Biological Software for Sustainable Agriculture

Strengthening the livelihood security of women living in poverty

Backyard Ornamental Fish Culture

Bridging the Digital Divide – a PowerfulTool for Bridging the Gender Divide

Literacy for All

1

12

723

11

Chh

attis

garh

6

2

10

2

3

20

5

12

18

2

2

21Manipur

Meghalaya

Mizoram

Nagaland

1

19

1

6

1

6

1

Sikkim

22

3

27 States

200 Districts

National Rural

Employment Guarantee

Scheme, 2006

Launching a Literacy and

Learning Revolution

Literacy for all - TCS Computer Based Functional Literacy Program

o Computer Based Functional Literacy (CBFL) software designed and developed by TCS using Multimedia features enabling illiterates to develop reading skills in 40 hours

o Material from National Literacy Mission (NLM) adopted for use in computers

o Uses a minimal set of words to train the students on all letters in the language

o Software has features for the user to create new words for display and teaching

o Designed to be user friendly for a teacher (facilitator) to operate the computer and software easily (The teacher can learn to operate in 1 day even without any prior computer training)

o Available in 6 languages (Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati); Being developed for other languages

o Requires only a low end PC so that many PCs can be deployed at low cost

National Level Hub (MSSRF)Data Managers (both connectivity and content)

Data Generators & Providers

Information Users (Rural families)

Village Knowledge Centres (VKC)

Block level hubsVillage Resource Centre

(VRC)

ISRO Uplink/DownlinkSatellite

Web based interactive

portalInternet

Hub and Spokes Model

Jamsetji Tata National Virtual Academy for Rural Prosperity (NVA) - 2003

Educational InstitutionsCommunity Radio

Internet Radio -SynergyM

SSRF

Cable Radio

Last Mile and Last Person Connectivity

Multiple Services provided by Gyan Choupal

143 Fellows from 15 States[Andrapradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh , Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal]

155 Fellows from 15 States [Andrapradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Pondicherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal and West Bengal]

Torch Bearers of the Rural Knowledge Revolution

Celebration of Rural Core Competence

Where there is a will, there is a way

Child Labour

More than 200 shop owners in Chennai permit the children working for them to attend informal schools in mobile vans

Source: Division of Nutrition, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand (1998)

Learning from Successes

Progress in reducing underweight in preschool children in Thailand from 1982 to 1995

Mortality in TB Patients Increases with Decreasing Body Weight

Tuberculosis Research Centre, Chennai2002

Mortality in relation to body weight

02468

10121416

>45 40-45 35-40 <35

Weight (kg)

%

19+2*20+422+419+3*21+323+4BMI

50+8*56+1162+1243+7*49+1052+11Weight kg

HIV+

TB+HIV+HIV Neg

HIV+ TB+

HIV+HIV Neg

Males(mean + SD)

Females(mean + SD)

* P < 0.001 (between groups)

TB Worsens Nutritional Status of HIV+ Persons

TB Hastens HIV Disease Progression and Increases Risk of Death

Impact of TB on Nutritional Status of HIV+ Persons, south India

Malnutrition↑ Susceptibility to

infectionsImpaired Immunity

HIV↓ Intake

↑ Energy ExpenditureNutrient Malabsorption

A Vicious Cycle

Poverty• Food and nutrition

insecurity• Migration• Vulnerability to Risk

factors

15,000 plus in India 15,000 plus in India ((~285,000 from all the 285,000 from all the affected countries)affected countries)

DeathsDeaths

9.39.3MagnitudeMagnitude

Sumatra Sumatra –– AndamanAndamanPlacePlace

December 26, 2004December 26, 2004DateDate

Tsunami and mangroves

Loss of lives5 (0.92%)Damage to

houses 136 (88.8%)

Loss of lives 0Damage to houses 0

Bioshield created by a mangrove species Excoecariaagallocha near T.S. Pettai village, where the impact of

tsunami was less

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment

o Overwhelming evidence that humans have caused biodiversity loss and the rates of loss have accelerated sharply

o 20% of all species in those groups that have been assessed (mammals, birds, amphibians, conifers, cycads) are believed to be threatened with extinction in the near future

o Substantial decline in population size of the non- threatened species

o Impending extinctions are particularly concentrated in tropical islands and montanesystems where there are dense human settlements

o Scale of loss increasing both on land and sea

Economics ofHuman Dignity

Hunger – free world : Coalition of the Concerned“Hunger allows no choiceTo the citizen or the police.We must love one another or die……Defenceless under the nightOur world in stupor lies;Yet, dotted everywhere,ironic points of light Flash out wherever the JustExchange their messages;May I, composed like themof Eros and of dust,Beleaguered by the same Negation and despair,Show an affirming flame ”

- W. H. Auden