Harvesting Peace: Food Security, Conflict, and Cooperation
Publisher: Woodrow Wilson international Center for Scholars
Author(s): Emmy Simmons
Date: 2013
Topics: Livelihoods, Renewable Resources
Countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda
Combating hunger can help prevent conflict, according to a new report from the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program, which recommends that food assistance and peacebuilding programs work together to better accomplish their goals.
“Conflict and food are intertwined in ways that affect the lives of millions of hungry and disenfranchised people,” says Roger-Mark De Souza, Director of Population, Environmental Change, and Security at the Wilson Center. “Harvesting Peaceprovides a framework and analysis for understanding and addressing these dynamics in hunger and conflict hotspots and provides an opportunity for informed dialogue to make a difference in the lives of those most affected.”
Drawing insights from scholars and humanitarian organizations, the report recommends more collaboration between peacekeepers and food programs. “With acute food insecurity as a key element of conflict, long-term perspectives must accommodate short-term solutions as well. Both humanitarian assistance and development tools must be wielded with skill and sensitivity – and in tandem,” writes Emmy Simmons, author of the report.