Carter Center works to reduce hunger in developing world

During the last decade, the world has witnessed horrendous starvation in Ethiopia, Somalia and other African countries. A key aspect of The Carter Center's work in global health is to reduce hunger in developing countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where food production is failing to keep up with population growth. "Village farming with hand-held hoes and sickles still accounts for more than 75 percent of Africa's food production," said William Foege, the center's fellow for health policy. "One-fourth of its people are underfed, while the population is doubling every 24 years."

Since 1986, The Carter Center's Global 2000 program has collaborated with the Sasakawa Africa Association. Together they are known as SG 2000. Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug, senior consultant to Global 2000, noted that the essence of the problem is to transfer existing technologies for increasing food crops from research facilities to village plots. "Our job is to show farmers what is possible," Borlaug said.

First, SG 2000 and each country's ministry of agriculture assemble "packages" for staples such as corn, sorghum or wheat. These packages include high-yielding seeds, fertilizer and information on improved farming and grain storage methods. Government extension agents work with farmers, who in turn agree to share their experiences with at least 10 neighbors throughout the growing season.

"Before, I was harvesting no more than five bags of corn," said Loi Bangoti of Ngiresi, Tanzania. "Now I'm expecting more than 15 bags. The others want to copy what I'm doing..." To an Iowa farmer, these methods are elementary, but in Tanzania, they're radical. According to Dixon Akyoo, secretary of Mbuguni, Tanzania, "The farmers were amazed to see what could be done."

SG 2000 also is working in Ghana on a nutritional advance called Quality Protein Maize (QPM), a strain of corn to which two amino acids, lysine and tryptophane, have been added. "Many of the world's children are heavily dependent on a single staple food to eventually replace their mother's breast milk," Foege said. "QPM could contribute immeasurably to the growth and well-being of infants and children in the developing world. It contains all of the essential amino acids and is safe without refrigeration." Al-though the QPM program is currently under way only in Ghana, it soon may be expanded to include other maize-eating nations. "Widespread acceptance and use of QPM, combined with increased crop yields, could finally abolish Africa's grim triad of malnutrition, disease and poverty, and dramatically improve people's lives," Foege said.

The Carter Center is guided by the principle that people, with the necessary skill, knowledge and access, can improve their own lives and the lives of others. "Reducing hunger and preventing disease will increase economic productivity, and in turn, will increase our chances for a peaceful world," said former President Jimmy Carter.

-- Michelle Riley