Rebuilding livelihoods and setting foundations for long-term development and resilience
FAO Representative in Colombia, Alan Bojanic, spoke to Member States and food security actors in New York on Colombia’s complex drivers of displacement and how it is accentuating risks of hunger.
Ahead of the High-level Week of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly, today saw a roundtable discussion entitled ‘The Global Food Crisis, a Global Protection Crisis: its impact on Refugees, Internally Displaced People and Host Communities.
Co-organized by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations, the event gathered regional perspectives on how a combination of factors – from conflict, to climate disasters, to poverty and inequality, among others – are propelling food insecurity, making it both a driver and an outcome of forced displacement.
Discussions also centered on the extent to which displaced and host communities alike stand to face increasing hunger risks. This may especially be the case in the absence, or insufficient scale, of multisectoral humanitarian response that can save lives today and invest in and safeguard livelihoods for tomorrow.
A needed paradigm shift in understanding, assessing, and responding to food crises
Connecting virtually from Bogota was Alan Bojanic, the FAO Representative in Colombia, who underscored the intricate and interconnected food security challenges facing Colombia, with rising hunger and food insecurity not only a looming reality for Colombians – especially in rural areas – but also among refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and their host communities.
More than 50 years of conflict have left Colombia struggling with violence, a lack of sufficient public and social services and infrastructure, millions of displaced people, and high levels of poverty.
In response to this complex backdrop, FAO, in close collaboration with UN, civil society and local government partners, believes that fostering inclusive economic growth in rural areas is critical to tackling sources of conflict and stemming renewed or prolonged risks of food insecurity ahead.
“For FAO, emergency agricultural assistance and investment in lifesaving agricultural livelihoods is critical to meeting the specific food and nutrition needs of IDPs, returnees, and migrant populations,” Bojanic added, echoing FAO’s call for a paradigm shift in humanitarian response – one that recognizes the vital role of ensuring time-sensitive emergency support to agriculture and livelihoods, complemented by emergency food and cash assistance.
Migration, climate disasters and deeply rooted social inequalities
Colombia currently has some 7.35 million people in need of food security assistance – equivalent to just over 14 percent of the total population. Persistent levels of violence perpetrated by non-State armed groups and criminal organizations in rural areas, in addition to irregular migration, internal displacement, restriction to people’s movement, and climate-related disasters, have fashioned a complex situation where displacement and food insecurity are unquestionably interlinked.
Compounded by rooted social inequalities, moreover, a multisectoral response spanning a host of actors is not only strategic – it is critically necessary.
Bojanic shared with participants that while Colombia may not get the same attention as other displacement crises, it is undoubtedly one of the most affected countries by displacement worldwide – it currently hosts some 5.2 million IDPs and approximately 2.48 million Venezuelan migrants.
“FAO, together with local governments, civil society, and other key territorial actors strives to reduce the vulnerability of displaced populations and their rural hosts’ populations,” pointing to how investing in durable solutions to forced displacement is both a short-term necessity and a strategic approach to building long-term, sustainable development and social cohesion.
Worth noting is that Colombian Afro-descendants and Indigenous Peoples have historically suffered disproportionately greater impacts from decades of armed conflict and violence. It is often these same rural communities who host the also highly vulnerable IDPs and returnees, in addition to hosting Venezuelan migrants.
Durable and permanent solutions to a historically complex displacement crisis
Reinforcing humanitarian and development cooperation interventions along the humanitarian-peace-development nexus has never been more necessary. FAO’s work in Colombia is a testament to this.
FAO is building on synergies with multisectoral interventions, encompassing agricultural and food security and nutrition support with water, sanitation and hygiene, protection, and health-related interventions, Bojanic explained. This response stands a superior chance at addressing the underlying vulnerabilities of migrants and displaced populations, as well as those of their rural hosts, strengthening their shared resilience over time.
“When timely emergency agriculture assistance is people-centered and focused on supporting and rebuilding rural livelihoods it not only saves lives, but also lays the foundations for longer-term development, which is inclusive and peace sustaining, Bojanic said.
This is why working hand-in-hand with partners is essential. In Colombia, FAO is currently scaling up its presence in forced displacement contexts and is strengthening its partnerships with key displacement actors, such as UNHCR, to incorporate livelihoods and nutrition, as a critical elements of emergency agricultural assistance, Bojanic remarked.
Related links
- Watch the recording.
- Stay informed on the latest news and updates on FAO’s work in Colombia here or follow @FAOColombia on Twitter.
- Read more about FAO’s vision and work on migration and rural development here.