Growing a Better Future - Oxfam International

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3.1Growing abetter futureWe know from experience that a more equitable andsustainable kind of human development is possible.Now, from the failing food system to wider social andecological challenges, the dominant model ofdevelopment is hitting its limits. The prospect ofhundreds of millions more hungry people and billionsforced closer to the breadline in the coming years area wake-up call to us all: it is time to change course.‘More-of-the-same’ development demands ever moreof our small world’s ultimately finite resources. It takes alaissez-faire approach to markets, expecting them todeliver social progress in a way they never can withoutbig shifts in public incentives, regulation and investment.It permits global systems to spin out of control, andvested interests to privatize benefits and socialize costs.More-of-the-same development obsesses about anarrow notion of economic activity, ignoring the stock ofhuman, social and natural assets. It leans heavily on thefalse hope that corporations will somehow magicallydeliver technological fixes to all the challenges weconfront. And it fails to see the practical and democraticpromise of shared solutions with a human face.Some elites will be the last to acknowledge thebankruptcy of a model whose benefits they havemonopolised. But growing numbers are waking up tothe challenge of our generation, and to the excitingopportunities of a transition to a new prosperity.44
In this age of interdependence, more efficient, equitableand resilient forms of human development are for the firsttime not only desirable. They are essential.We face three interlinked challenges in an age of growingcrisis: feeding 9 billion people without wrecking theplanet; finding equitable solutions to enddisempowerment and injustice; and increasing ourcollective resilience to shocks and volatility. No ‘silverbullet’ technology or policy will make these challengesvanish.The good news is that practical solutions are both urgentand available – from simple common sense acts we canall take, to bold shifts in how we manage sharedresources and value social progress. They are good forproducers, good for consumers, and good for the planet.Their benefits can be shared by the many, not just thefew, and they are built to be resilient in the long run.Growing a better future will take all the energy,ingenuity and political will that humankind can muster.If the best solutions are to win out, we must mountpowerful campaigns to win significant reforms in howour societies manage common threats and resourcesand create platforms for opportunity. From globalnegotiations to national decision making, we mustwork for three big shifts:• First, we must build a new global governance to avertfood crises. Governments’ top priority must be to tacklehunger and reduce vulnerability – creating jobs andinvesting in climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction,and social protection. International governance – oftrade, food aid, financial markets, and climate finance– must be transformed to reduce the risks of futureshocks and respond more effectively when they occur.• Second, we must build a new agricultural future byprioritising the needs of small-scale food producersin developing countries – where the major gains inproductivity and resilience can be achieved.Governments and businesses must adopt policiesand practices that guarantee farmers’ access tonatural resources, technology and markets. And wemust reverse the current gross misallocation ofresources which sees the vast majority of public moneyfor agriculture flow to agro-industrial farms in the North.• Third, we must build the architecture of a newecological future, mobilising investment and shifting thebehaviours of businesses and consumers, whilecrafting global agreements for the equitable distributionof scarce resources. A global deal on climate changewill be the litmus test of success.Growing a Better FutureChapter 3: The new prosperity45
Page 1 and 2: Growing aBetter FutureFood justice
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Page 5: List of figures12 Figure 1: Real fo
Page 8 and 9: Niger is the epicentre of hunger. H
Page 10 and 11: A new prosperityThis future is not
Page 13 and 14: 2The age ofcrisis:a skewed andfaili
Page 15 and 16: Figure 2: The challenge of increasi
Page 17 and 18: At present, higher incomes and incr
Page 19 and 20: Figure 4: The share of land devoted
Page 21 and 22: Box 1: A new breed of land investor
Page 23 and 24: Figure 6: The proportion of househo
Page 25 and 26: Figure 8a: Comparative growth rates
Page 28 and 29: Figure 11: The predictedimpact of c
Page 31 and 32: Meeting the sustainable productionc
Page 33 and 34: Figure 15b: The food system is ridd
Page 35 and 36: Box 4: Guatemala tries and fails: t
Page 37 and 38: Access to technologyCorporations ex
Page 39 and 40: Box 5: Profits from volatility and
Page 41 and 42: Government failuresFaced with this
Page 43: Box 7: A tale of two BRICSThey may
Page 48: 3.2A newgovernancefor foodcrisesAs
Page 51 and 52: 2. Expand social protectionAt the h
Page 53 and 54: Figure 21b: Who are the food superp
Page 55 and 56: Large-scale agriculture also has a
Page 57 and 58: Figure 22: Investment in agricultur
Page 59 and 60: Figure 23b: Who is investing in agr
Page 61 and 62: An equitable transitionGlobal agree
Page 63 and 64: To help guide this transition, we n
Page 65: --Advocating for donors and financi
Page 68 and 69: Our global food system works only f
Page 70 and 71: Notes1 http://data.worldbank.org2 I
Page 72 and 73: 79 Based on 2007 sales figures in g
Page 74 and 75: 146 UNEP (2010) Africa Water Atlas:
Page 76: The global food system works only f

Growing a Better Future - Oxfam International

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