The
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) country representative, has said over a
billion of people depend on the forest for their livelihood.
Perpetua
Katepa-Kalala made this statement during a six-day meeting on exchange visit of
smallholder and community-based Forest and Farm produce organisations between
the farmers of Liberia and The Gambia. The occasion was held at the Paradise
Suites Hotel.
She
said wild foods from dense forests, open woodlands, and trees on farms provide
nutritional food supplements to millions of rural people.
Wild animals and edible insects from forests
are often the main source of protein, she continued, adding that forest foods
are a regular part of rural diets and serve as safety nets in periods of food
scarcity.
According
to Kalala, a large share of forests in the world is still not sustainably
managed.
She
added that the recognition of the importance of forest for food security and
nutrition could ensure that more attention is paid to sustainable forestry.
FAO
country representative Kalala also talked about the Forest and Farm Facility
(FFF) project, funded by FAO since 2013, noting that FFF is supporting the
national Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) policy through the
multi-sectoral and multi stakeholders platform, which highlights the importance
and builds synergies between community forests and the agricultural sector,
such as the rice and cashew growers.
FFF
also believes that helping community forestry practitioners and other forest
and farm producers, in forming functioning producer organisations, could help
to strengthen their livelihood and develop small-scale enterprises increasing
incomes and maintaining their natural resources.
“These
are both critical elements in food security and nutrition,” she went on.
The
FAO country representative expressed hope that during the six-day visit, the
Liberian participants would be exposed to The Gambia’s experience on
multi-stakeholder platform for coordinating ANR issues at national, regional
and districts level, as well as to promote mechanisms for networking and
solicit support in scaling up support to smallholders forest and farm producer
organisations.
“The
Gambia has achieved remarkable success in the area of sustainable forest
resource management, through the empowerment of communities to own and manage
both forest plantations and natural forests known as community forests.”
She
applauded the Gambia government for their demonstrated leadership in the
sustainable fight against hunger- one that marries the preservation and
restoration of forests and natural resources with food security.
