(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Just a day before World Food Day and while the challenges of providing food to the growing numbers of the world's population are heightening, Doha will host today the Global Dryland Alliance (GDA) Founding Conference, with the participation of 25 delegations representing countries from the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel, Central Africa, Central and East Asia, and South America and a number of international organisations.
The conference will witness the signing of the foundation treaty of the new organisation, established to face food insecurities in areas with dryland and will be headquartered in Doha.
GDA is an initiative put forward by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani at a speech he addressed at the 68th UN General Assembly in 2013.
The GDA foundation treaty was proposed to the countries that supported the initiative during a ministerial conference in Marrakesh on May 29-30, 2015.
The GDA initiative complements the global efforts to guarantee food security for a population of 3bn in more than 50 countries around the world.
The initiative is of great importance as the world population grows exponentially, with it expected to reach 9bn by 2050 and as the global temperatures continue to rise and the ongoing threat of climate change making it more difficult to meet the required food needs.
International reports indicate that global food production must increase by 70% in 2050 with dryland nations being vulnerable to food crises and will face harsh cycles of drought, desertification, poverty and hunger.
GDA aims to find sustainable solutions for food insecurities and exchange help at tough times in order to achieve international peace and security.
The alliance also aims to establish wide co-operation with local, regional and international partners to find solutions, spread them and implement them to face obstacles found in agriculture, water and energy in dryland nations.
The alliance also aims to facilitate partnerships between the private and public sectors to finance and implement programmes and projects for member states in all fields related to food security.
GDA is expected to follow complementary new approach based on integrated treatment to all aspects of food securities facing dryland nations, and will depend on strong private and public partnerships.
It is also expected to find crafty financing methods that lessen the burden on member states' budgets with regards to programmes and projects of food security.
The alliance will also facilitate the development of state-of-the-art food security policies among member states and use latest technologies in agriculture, irrigation, seeds, fertilisers, early warning of natural disasters and climate change as well as effective partnership during emergencies and crises, and will face food price fluctuations in global markets.
Food security is a growing obstacle to most of the dryland nations and has deep impact on them, and if the efforts are not unified to face these obstacles, sustainable development will become unachievable and, most importantly, regional and international political stability will be nonexistent.
Drylands make up 40% of the Earth and house nearly 3bn people, two thirds of whom rely on agriculture to secure their lives.
Food security in drylands remains the main concern for inhabitants of poor rural areas who face fragile environment systems due to water scarcity, soil deterioration, extreme temperatures, droughts, floods, poverty, migration, undeveloped markets, poor governance and lack of agricultural investment.
Drylands produce less than their dependents' needs to secure their food.
Due to decline in agricultural production, dependence on food imports and the rise in food prices are increasing, which puts the poor in dryland countries at risk of food insecurity.
Hence, these lands urgently need integrated and sustainable strategies for agriculture, water use, imports and food reserves.
These strategies must be based on innovative technological and scientific research and development-aimed investments.
Some 70% of the poor or those living under food insecurity live in rural areas, mostly depending on agriculture for food supplies.
Improving food security and nutrition in dryland countries will undoubtedly contribute to reducing poverty and promoting sustainable agricultural development.
The relationship between poverty and food insecurity is evident as most of the poor are either undernourished or suffer food insecurity.
Low-income households spend a large share of their income on food purchases and are affected by food price fluctuations as well as scarcity of food in times of conflict, political turmoil and natural disasters.
Lack of nutrition is an obstacle to economic growth and hinders access to modern energy resources in drylands as less than 20% of the population have access to electricity, which is a major obstacle to the development of agriculture, livestock production, food security, socio-economic development, and diversity of livelihoods.
Food production is expected to decline by 12% over the next 25 years, food prices will rise by 30% globally, and soil degradation threatens to provide food to the world's population, which is increasing year by year.
By 2030, food demand is expected to rise by 50% compared to current rates.
Meeting these needs requires increasing the area of arable land from 175 to 220mn hectares.
There are 950mn hectares of saline land in arid and semi-arid regions, which accounts for 33% of the world's arable land.
The figures clearly show the risks facing the planet as drylands have 50% of the world's livestock, account for 44% of arable land, and have 46% of the world's carbon reserves.
The challenges facing drylands are part of the agenda of a number of initiatives on food security, sustainability, hunger and poverty.
Several institutions across the world are carrying out valuable research and development programmes in drylands.
These efforts are supported by dryland countries and, thus, the Global Dryland Alliance will not be a repetition of past efforts, but instead it will work with partners locally, regionally and internationally to find, spread and implement solutions to address the challenges facing agriculture, water and energy in dryland countries.
Global Dryland Alliance will help countries facing the challenges of drylands co-operate to identify effective food security policies.
The ultimate goal of these efforts will be to contribute to making dryland countries have food security, leading to more stability and peace all over the world.
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