On Vulnerability, Asset Poverty and Subsidiarity

Abstract

Meeting the 1996 World Food Summit goal of halving chronic hunger in the world by 2015 will require more than 75,000 persons each day exiting the ranks of the food insecure. Is this feasible? Yes. Is the task simple? No. Widespread vulnerability is the complex product of asset poverty, rudimentary food production technologies, weak markets and social support networks, and misdirected formal assistance programs. Combatting vulnerability manifest as food insecurity will require sustained and substantial commitments on each of these fronts in the coming decades.