Philippine E-Journals

The Role of Education Sector in Achieving Food Security: Experiences from Some Developing Countries

Maria Ana T. Quimbo

 

Abstract:

Reducing food insecurity has been identified as a major strategy in reducing poverty and hunger in most developing countries. It is therefore not a choice but a path for these nations to take so that they will be liberated from the bonds of poverty and achieve sustainable access to safe and nutritious food. This paper focuses on experiences drawn from developing countries that looked up at the education sector as an important partner in achieving sustainable food security for all. Where poverty and hunger strike hardest in the rural areas, the paper looks into how the government has implemented development strategies and advocacy campaigns to reduce food insecurity in these areas through the country’s education sector. The strategies forwarded by the education sector are initiated mostly at the primary level, which has been deemed as the most vulnerable sector in the education ladder as far as food security is concerned. The paper also uses as a backdrop the theoretical framework that a strong correlation exists between poverty and hunger on one side and lack of education on the other. Some relevant public policies governing partnership between the agriculture and education sectors are also presented