Can this end world hunger?

We can only benefit from technical progress if we have a solid legal framework. So far, none is in sight. Instead, international corporations grow ever more powerful.

Ich bin ein Alternativtext
Somalia, Mogadishu: Refugees in camp Sagaal are waiting for their daily portion of rice. Photo: Christoph Püschner/Zeitenspiegel

By Stig Tanzmann

Stig Tanzmann ist Landwirt und Agrarwissenschaftler und arbeitet seit 2010 als Referent für Landwirtschaftsfragen bei Brot für die Welt.

Stig Tanzmann is a farmer and agricultural scientist and has been working as a consultant for agricultural issues at Brot für die Welt - Evangelical Developmental Service since 2010.

All contributions

Brot für die Welt (BfdW)

Brot für die Welt

Many see the digital transformation of agriculture as a beacon of hope in the fight against world hunger and poverty— including the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development. In their brave new world, drones will help us record plant stocks, pests and crop yields more effectively, while the optimised application of chemical fertilisers and pesticides will boost the latter. Apps and chat groups will close the gaps in specialist agricultural consulting that opened due to the dismantling of governmental consultation structures carried out within the scope of structural adjustment programmes. Expectations in digital price information services and marketing management systems are similarly high: those advocating the digital transformation hope that it will rapidly solve structural agricultural and infrastructural problems in developing countries, setting off a development boom. Many private-sector players, especially digital and agricultural corporations, eagerly fan the flames of that hope. The Bayer-Monsanto corporation and others like it drive the development process forward and have designed their long-term business model with a digitised agricultural sector in mind.

 

Does the digital transformation of agriculture actually reach people suffering from poverty and hunger?

Oligopolistic structures already exist in many agricultural sectors that are the focus of the ongoing digitisation efforts—efforts that are promoted by corporations with an inherent interest in profits. This process is best known in the context of seeds and pesticides. Thanks to the digital transformation, these oligopolistic structures are ever closer intertwined and grow ever more powerful. The new, digital devices record the farmers’ every activity with timestamps: sowing, any application of pesticides and fertilisers, harvests, storage and distribution.  Based on the data collected, many corporations endeavour to offer comprehensive solutions for the entire production chain. Wherever that is not an option, they collaborate with one or two other major corporations from other sectors. A partnership between a seed and pesticide producer, a manufacturer of agricultural machinery and a major dealer of agricultural commodities can be very profitable, for instance.

 

(c) (c) Christoph Püschner/Magazin Focus
Kongo, Aveba: Refugees have sought temporary refuge near to a MONUC unity. Photo: Christoph Püschner/Zeitenspiegel
Ich bin ein Alternativtext
Somalia, Mogadishu: As a result of a severe drought, these refugees live in the ruins of the cathedral "Southern Cross". Photo: Christoph Püschner/Zeitenspiegel

Considering the substantial market power that corporations such as Bayer, John Deere, Cargill and Amazon already wield, it seems unlikely that any profits will trickle down to the poor population and the farmers themselves: they are, quite simply, the weakest links.  Farmers also run the risk of being locked into the business models of the players that run these digitisation efforts: their access to consultation effectively becomes limited to services offered within the corporate frameworks. A Bayer app is unlikely to promote agroecological crop protection methods. The United Nations and the affected countries themselves must step up regulations for the digital transformation of agriculture in order to protect farmers from such risks and give them access to digitised structures in a way that strengthens their rights against corporations and national governments. The following section discusses a number of important regulatory approaches. They are issues that cannot be solved without first determining who currently benefits from digitisation.

 

Leave no one behind: digital transformation and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

The current hype around the digitisation of agriculture in international development seems to suggest the emergence of a new phenomenon. That is not the case. Certain studies on the current state of the digital transformation in the agricultural sector, including some commissioned by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), have produced worrying results: far from bridging it, digitisation deepens the gap between the industrial and developing nations, between urban and rural areas, men and women. In order to use the new, digital structures in the first place, people need a basic infrastructure and a compatible device. This, in turn, requires considerable financial resources and reliable access to electricity and a network connection. Rural regions of developing countries, in particular, have struggled (and failed) to meet these requirements for decades. Women frequently lack access to money. This complicates their independent access to the digital world or prevents it entirely. As a result, the digital transformation simply does not reach many female farmers in rural areas. Considering the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their mantra, “Leave No One Behind”, however, they are a particularly important target group.

 

It is important to keep in mind that 50 per cent of the global population do not have access to the internet. In the least developed countries, only 17.5 per cent of citizens use the internet at all. These figures should be enough to make us pause and think about the conditions that must be put in place to create a digitised agricultural sector that can genuinely help people living in poverty and suffering from hunger. We must ask ourselves: does the digital transformation worsen social inequality? What relevant insights do we already have in the context of international development?

 

Ich bin ein Alternativtext
Kongo, Aveba: displaced families, fled in fear of the government troops and heavily armed guerilla groups. Photo: Christoph Püschner/Zeitenspiegel.

A British study from 2018 explores that very topic. Its conclusion: far from reducing inequalities, digitisation in its current form reinforces them. The authors list a large number of problems that cause disadvantages for people living in poor, rural areas.

In light of those problems, it is crucial that we find a way to help disadvantaged communities exercise their rights. This explicitly applies to the project of digitising agriculture.

The digital economy revolves significantly around the corporate utilisation and evaluation of data. Digital applications developed by corporations to provide farming and marketing advice (fertilisation, crop protection etc.) are often free or nearly free to use; in turn, they feed the corporate programmes with relevant operating data. The providers use these data as a basis for expanding and optimising their programmes and services and, ultimately, gain more and more influence on the market. They then hope to sell their applications for ever-increasing profit. The data produced by agricultural businesses, then, constitute a future financial asset for corporations. Before using the digital products, farmers are asked to consent to their general terms and conditions—and to the processing and further utilisation of their data. They effectively give up the rights to their own data. What exactly the acceptance of said terms and conditions may entail is yet to be seen. In a worst-case scenario, corporations might copyright certain peasant practices, such as the traditional treatment of seeds with cow urine, thus preventing the farmers from using their traditional knowledge without restrictions.

 

Human rights and the law in the digital transformation of agriculture

This is highly problematic from a human-rights point of view. A lot of the data collected about seeds and growing techniques constitute traditional or peasant knowledge, which various legal contexts deem especially worthy of protection. The data also form the basis of the farmers’ entire production systems, and they are given up to corporations that embody an industrial, rather than agricultural, production system. This could create another gap to the detriment of farmers. Digital applications are developed primarily with industrial systems in mind, which prescribes a certain development to the farmers using them. This lock-in effect, of course, largely benefits the corporate players behind the applications.

 

The United Nations has established legal frameworks for the protection of peasant and traditional knowledge. If these frameworks were to be made concrete and adopted as national laws, they could curtail the corporations’ currently unrestricted access to the peasant data they so crave. Both the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (e.g. Article 8) and the FAO International Seed Treaty (Article 9: Farmers’ Rights) demand that all signatories develop and pass legislation to protect peasant and traditional knowledge. Their purpose is to prevent the abuse and commercialisation of said knowledge by third parties without the explicit consent of those affected. Consequently, the general terms and conditions of digital applications should be phrased completely differently and revolve around the protection of peasant knowledge.

 

The purpose of the aforementioned treaties is to ensure that said knowledge remains a common resource available to all. Both aim to achieve that goal by means of regulations governing access to (digital) resources and benefit sharing. In this system, it would be up to farmers to decide whether to grant access or use the application without consenting to the utilisation of their data. For the providers, this would mean offering multiple options. If they do grant access, they would be required to share the benefits in turn, ensuring that peasant knowledge is preserved and strengthened as a common resource. Unfortunately, the competent legislators have failed to develop such laws in the past years.

 

At the same time, both treaties have unleashed a fierce argument between the Global North and the Global South: does the established mechanism governing access to genetic resources and benefit sharing (ABS) also apply to digital sequence information (DSI), i.e. digital information derived from analogue genetic material? The heated disagreement between the signatories emphasises the close relationship between the two treaties, the digital transformation and its legal frameworks.

 

Many nations have acknowledged their failure to protect traditional knowledge sufficiently. In 2018, the UN Peasant Rights Declaration once again underscored the necessity to protect said knowledge. Both the German government and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, in particular, must respond by stepping up their implementation of the legislative duties laid down in the International Seed Treaty—and helping other countries follow suit.

 

Ich bin ein Alternativtext
Kongo, Kinshasa: Growing techniques and traditional cultivation method are considered as worthy of protection. Photo: Christoph Püschner/Zeitenspiegel

A valid first step would be for the Ministry to commission a study that includes political recommendations. It should focus on ways of implementing the duties laid down in the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Seed Treaty for protecting traditional and peasant knowledge in a legally binding manner that can be applied to the digital transformation. The 2015 study “The UPOV Convention, Farmers' Rights and Human Rights” by the GIZ could provide a useful model or guiding framework. This would be an important step towards implementing laws that can protect peasant knowledge in the context of the digital transformation.

 

But legislation is lagging far behind on other issues, too. Many African countries, including Kenya, lack data protection laws for personal data. Even the collection of data by the state is extremely controversial there. To complicate matters further, it is often impossible to guarantee that the data are stored in the same country where they were collected. At the moment, 90 per cent of data about Africa are stored in Europe or North America, i.e. in different legal frameworks. This is a major crisis of sovereignty for countries as well as peasants. How can they exercise control over their own data if said data are stored in other countries, under different laws?

 

Digitisation can and must contribute to eradicating poverty and hunger

The opportunities inherent to the digital transformation of agriculture are doubtlessly significant, and we must use them in a meaningful way that reduces poverty. This requires us to evaluate current development critically and tackle the problems discussed in this article. Examining the effect of our own projects on poor and disadvantaged communities is essential.

 

If we want the digital transformation of agriculture to take place in a constitutional manner and prevent farmers’ data and their rights to that data from falling into the hands of corporations, solid data protection laws are required as a minimum standard. We also need laws that protect peasant knowledge. There must be sufficient capacity to store data in the countries where it is collected, and that capacity may need to be established first. The same demand has been voiced by sections of Africa’s civil society already. Only if the data stay in their country of origin can we ensure that the right to those data can be exercised.

 

These fundamental frameworks are necessary to ensure that the digital transformation of agriculture can be implemented in a way that benefits farmers and poor and disadvantaged communities.

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Five Questions for Dirk Meyer

An Interview with Dirk Meyer (BMZ)

Development cooperation needs to place good governance and a sustainable agri-food systems transformation at its center: After the first 100 days in office have passed, Dirk Meyer from the German Development Ministry (BMZ) spells out the goals, guidelines and priorities of the Ministry’s new lead.

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The Rice Sector in West Africa: A Political Challenge

New insights on trade and value addition in the rice sector in West Africa

Low import tariffs, smuggling activities, unpredictable tax exemptions and weak enforcement of food safety standards: The potential of local rice value chains is undermined in West African countries.

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The fight against illegal fishing

A Report

The oceans are important for our food supply, but they are overfished. To halt this trend the global community is now taking action against illegal fishing. Journalist Jan Rübel spoke with Francesco Marí, a specialist for world food, agricultural trade and maritime policy at "Brot für die Welt," and others.

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Nutrition is not just a women’s issue

A contribution by GIZ

When women have control over the resources of a household and manage the income, it usually leads to a more balanced and healthier diet for the family. But often the decision-making power lies with the men. How can this gender inequality be addressed? The GIZ global project Food Security and Resilience provides insights into project work on gender-transformative approaches finances by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

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“More of the same is not enough - we need to rethink”

An interview with Dirk Meyer

Four interviews kick off the relaunch under the new name „Food4Transformation“, asking the same questions from different perspectives. Dirk Meyer, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, thinks: less individual solutions are needed, but more systemic approaches. Because in addition to the goals for food security, the issues of climate and biodiversity must also be taken into account.

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Partners for change - Network meeting on transforming agricultural and food systems

A Contribution by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

At the network meeting "Partners for change - Transformation to a food secure, resilient and sustainable future", almost 250 participants from over 20 countries came together to exchange experiences and ideas on the transformation of agricultural and food systems. The final product, joint recommendations to transform agricultural and food systems, can now be read online.

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Just change starts with listening

A Contribution by Jan Rübel

Halfway through the 2030 Agenda, the BMZ invited participants to a network meeting entitled "Partners for change - Transformation to a food secure, resilient and sustainable future". Experts from around the world developed recommendations in a consultation process and then consolidated them in Berlin. A site visit.

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The UNFSS Stocktaking – shadow and a little light

A Contribution by Harry Hoffmann (TMG) & Nathalie Demel (WHH)

At the halfway mark of the 2030 Agenda and two years after the UN Food System Summit 2021, a stocktaking moment was held in Rome to analyze the progress of countries on the commitments to action in transforming food systems. Dr Harry Hoffmann, TMG Think Tank, and Nathalie Demel, Welthungerhilfe, were on site and take stock as well.

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Innovative donor approaches and sustainable finance – A Review of UNFSS+2

A contribution by the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development

Two years following the UN Food Systems Summit, the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development and the Shamba Centre for Food & Climate hosted an official side event at the UNFSS+2. The event explored how public donors can increase the impact of their investments.

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The common thread is the importance of collaboration

A contribution by Scaling Up Nutrition Movement

It takes the joint efforts of diverse actors to achieve a transformative impact on the global food system. Barbara Rehbinder, Scaling Up Nutrition Movement (SUN), discusses four people-centred principles to get closer to this goal.

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Podcast: Fighting world hunger together

Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Podcast of the Federal Government

At the start of World Food Week around World Food Day on 16 October, Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed that the fight against global hunger will only be successful with international responsibility and solidarity (german only).

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Together for food security in Zambia

A Contribution by Claudia Jordan (GIZ)

The Agriculture and Food Security Cluster of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in Zambia shows how synergies among different projects and partner organisations can help people to eat healthier, diversified food. A delegation of the Bonn based Division of Agriculture and Rural Development learned this in a field visit in the Eastern Province of the Southern African country.

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(c) Christoph Püschner/Zeitenspiegel

Slaves do not produce quality

By Tilman Wörtz

Every child in Germany knows Ritter Sport – but most of the children harvesting cocoa on western African plantations have never even eaten chocolate. Can a chocolate manufacturer change the world? Conversation with Alfred Ritter about the power and powerlessness of a businessman.

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Reference values: A building block on the road to social equality

A contribution by Friederieke Martin (GIZ)

A quick and cost-effective method calculates living wages and incomes for many different countries. The GIZ together with Fairtrade International and Richard and Martha Anker have developed a tool that companies can use to easily analyse income and wage gaps.

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Quinoa could have a huge potential in Central Asia, where the Aral Sea Basin has been especially hard-hit by salinisation.

Supermarket Scorecard on Human Rights

A contribution by Dr. Franziska Humbert (Oxfam)

Oxfam’s supermarket scorecard, which is in its third year, shows one thing in particular - it works! Supermarkets can change their business policies and focus more on the rights of those people around the world who plant and harvest food. However, this does not happen without pressure. 

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Ms Rudloff, what are the benefits of a supply chain law?

By Jan Rübel

The Federal Government is fine-tuning a law that would require companies to ensure human rights – a supply chain law. What are the consequences for the agricultural sector? Dr Bettina Rudloff from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) discusses linking policy fields with added value.

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Uli Reinhardt/Zeitenspiegel

Bitter fruit

A contribution by Frank Brunner

Why aren’t bars of chocolate made where cocoa is grown? Author Frank Brunner analyses the industry’s fragile value chain from the plantation to the supermarket

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Freed from trade? Towards a fairer EU Trade Agenda

A contribution by Dr. Jan Orbie (University Gent)

‘Fair’ and ‘sustainable’ are key words in Germany’s EU Council Presidency. At the same time, Germany pursues ‘modernization’ of the WTO and ‘rapid progress’ on free trade agreements. Are these goals really compatible? Can we be concerned about fairness and sustainability while continuing with ‘business as usual’?

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“They said: You can do it”

A contribution by Bread for the World

As President of the IABM cooperative in Muhanga, Alphonsine Mukankusi is not simply focused on the figures. She has learned how to deal with people and how to take on responsibility. At the same time, her work helps her to come to terms with the past

 

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© GIZ

Actual Analysis: The locusts came with the crises

A report by Bettina Rudloff and Annette Weber (SWP)

The Corona-Virus exacerbates existing crises through conflict, climate, hunger and locusts in East Africa and the Horn of Africa. What needs to be done in these regions? To face these challenges for many countries, all of these crises need to be captured in their regional context.

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No rainforest for our consumption

A contribution by Jenny Walther-Thoß (WWF)

In the tropics rainforests are still being felled for the production of palm oil, meat and furniture. It is high time to act. Proposals are on the table.

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Successful Blueprints for African Agriculture

A Contribution by GIZ

At the 8th German-African Agribusiness Forum (GAAF) representatives from business and politics discussed successful investment models to improve living conditions in Africa.

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Our Food Systems are in Urgent Need of Crisis-Proofing: what needs to be done

An Artikel by TMG

Based on a scientific study by TMG Think Tank, the authors highlight various challenges in the fight against the hunger crisis. The findings show that climate change, conflict and covid-19 are increasing food and energy prices.

 

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2022, a year of crisis – What does it mean for African trade and food security?

A Contribution by Ousmane Badiane

The Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor 2022 (AATM) was published by IFPRI and AKADEMIYA2063. The report analyses the short- and long-term trends and drivers of African agricultural trade flows, including regional policies and the role of global markets.

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David versus Goliath: Consequences of mainstream agricultural export commodities and niche products

An Artikel by the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA)

A study published by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) examines the differences between globally traded agricultural commodities and domestic niche products in terms of economic, environmental and social impact on the region of origin. The results provide new evidence to make supply chains more sustainable.  

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COVID-19 and Rising Food Prices: What’s Really Happening?

A Contribution by IFPRI

Taking a look at the data (as of February 11th 2022) what the current price hike means for world hunger and what can be done to prevent from another food crisis.

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Côte d’Ivoire: Sweet Temptation without a Bitter Taste

A Story by GIZ

Until Easter 2022, GIZ publishes a new episode every fortnight introducing people who are committed to fair and sustainable cocoa in Côte d'Ivoire and Germany.

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Fair Trade and Climate Justice: Everything is Conntected

A Contribution of the 'Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains' (INA)

Fair Trade organisations and the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA) have launched the #ichwillfair campaign during COP26 to highlight the link between global supply chains and climate change.

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Controversy: Do supply chains need liability rules?

Discussion about the potential supply chain law

The German government is struggling to pass a supply chain law. It is intended to address violations of human rights, social and environmental standards. What would the consequences be for business? A double interview with Veselina Vasileva from GEPA and economics professor Andreas Freytag.

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Agricultural prices and food security – a complex relationship

A Contribution by Dr. Fatima Olanike Kareem and Dr. Olayinka Idowu Kareem

High agricultural prices affect developed and developing countries alike, but the problem is aggravated for the latter through the lack of or inadequate resilience measures. Dr. Fatima Olanike Kareem, AKADEMIYA2063, and Dr. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, University of Hohenheim, explain what can be done to mitigate the negative effects on food security.

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The Principle of Sharing

A contribution by gebana

gebana, a Swiss fair trade company, follows the principle of "sharing" with its corporate philosophy: farming families in the Global South participate directly in the sales of their online shop. Caroline Schaar, Marketing at gebana, explains the company's approach.

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Earth’s well, all’s well!

A Contribution by Fairtrade Germany

With the annual topic "Earth’s well, all’s well!", Fairtrade Germany is focusing on the concept of agroecology at all levels - and is thus taking the next step towards achieving greater global sustainability. At the Green Week trade fair, Fairtrade Germany will show how this can be achieved taking the cocoa supply chain as an example.

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