Are multinational companies the solution to food security?

I recently participated in a discussion on food security that was hosted by the World Bank. The event was televised on regional networks as well as in Timor Leste and PNG.

It was an important and timely discussion given that there are currently 1 billion people (close to a sixth of humanity) who go to bed hungry each night.

As you’ll see in the video below, the panel didn’t always agree on the way forward and much of the disagreement seemed to be on the role of the private sector and multinationals in enabling people to claim their right to food.

The private sector is multidimensional and it does include small and medium enterprises, such as smallholder farmers in addition to large companies.

My comments really focused on large national and multinational corporations. These actors may have a role in assisting smallholder farmers in launching themselves out of poverty and feeding the world. What I’m less sure about is whether multinational companies, and particularly those peddling genetically modified seed and abusing intellectual copyright, have a role to play.

However it is essential that governments are able to regulate their activities to ensure that people’s human rights are not violated, which is difficult when multinationals have more power than the government in many countries.

We are best guided by the findings of the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on Business and Human Rights, John Ruggie who has delivered a report recommending that all business ventures must respect human rights. This report has since been accepted by the UN which reaffirms our belief that the human rights of smallholder farmers need to be at the centre of the debate on the right to food.

I hope you enjoy the video. Please let me know how you think I went…