Few aspects of development policy are better furnished with empirical evidence than the interplay between support for agriculture in the context of rural development and the reduction of poverty and hunger. It is therefore surprising that German Development Cooperation has today largely disengaged from activities in this area: Despite the evidence that practically nothing is more effective and sustainable than combating poverty where it is most often found, namely in the rural areas of poor countries,we fail to take that route.

In November 2004, after a two-year drafting process, the FAO Council adopted the Voluntary Guidelines on the right to food - in effect, a new legal instrument for defending and enforcing the right to food.This article addresses the following questions:
What will this instrument be capable of achieving? Will the effort expended in creating the Guidelines prove to have been worthwhile? And, finally, will the implementation of this new approach to human rights contribute towards reducing the numbers of people suffering from hunger?

Negotiations to establish a set of Voluntary Guidelines on the human right to food, held under the auspices of FAO, were successfully completed in autumn 2004, with all 174 FAO member countries signing the final document. However, the negotiations proved to be far from straightforward, as many countries were anxious about the legally binding nature of the Guidelines.

The Voluntary Guidelines on the human right to food provide a further instrument of international law in the fight against world hunger.The Guidelines promise to be a powerful new weapon in combating malnutrition.They forge an alliance between development policy and human rights in the struggle for the right to food. The «human rights approach» has become the new watchword in the fight against hunger.

The Voluntary Guidelines to support the Progressive Realisation of the Right to Food have served the very useful purpose of placing the right to food squarely on the international development policy agenda.To avoid practice lagging behind theory, concerted efforts are required by governments, development agencies and donors to implement these Guidelines to accelerate the realisation of the right to food at country level. Lessons learned from such learning by doing will help show how to put the right to food into practice.

A lot is expected of poverty reduction strategies, and high hopes have been placed in the Voluntary Guidelines on the right to food. One question frequently raised is whether it is possible to integrate the right to food into the established instrument of poverty reduction strategies.The present article discusses to what extent the two approaches can mesh to make a significant contribution to hunger reduction.

Following unanimous approval of the Voluntary Guidelines (VGs) on the Right to Adequate Food by FAO member states, with civil society's broad support, the question of «next steps» arises. To explore how to put this important new tool to use, the German government, with support from FAO and German NGOs, organized its fourth International Workshop on «Policies Against Hunger», held in June 2005 in Berlin.

Life without liberty would result in some or the other form of slavery. Liberty cannot be there to a person having an empty stomach.The individual's right to life will have no meaning if the State fails to provide adequate food or food articles.The Indian Constitution provides «right to life» as a Fundamental
Right.That right is given a wide interpretation by the Supreme Court so as to include «right to food» so that democracy and full freedom can be achieved and slavery in any form is avoided.

Fragile states, posing a major challenge of our times, are increasingly becoming a focus of attention in international politics and development cooperation. But very often, the viewpoint of the people affected by fragile statehood is not sufficiently heard. Parts of the international community prioritize their own security policy interests, the motto being the «war on terrorism». People in fragile states, by contrast, are primarily concerned with their own survival and the quest for development opportunities for themselves and their communities.

Until 1978, the Afghan state was weak but stable. In contrast, rural regulatory structures that complemented the state have always been strong. It was only the attempt to establish a strong state on the basis of foreign ideologies and military over the heads of the rural population that ultimately led to chaos and collapse.Whereas the central state sometimes broke down, many state
institutions in the provinces demonstrated remarkable resilience, leading to a definite nation-state consciousness throughout large sections of the population.

Although «urban» and «rural» development are often considered as in opposition to each other and seen as competing with each other for investment and support, many urban centres owe much of their economic base to agriculture. Ironically, one of the best tests of whether rural development is working is whether local urban centres are booming - as increasing agricultural output is served by markets and producer services there, and as real increases in income for a wide range of rural households are reflected in increased demand for goods and services provided by urban-based enterprises.

Land is and will remain a primary asset for national development, performing multiple social, economic, ecological and cultural functions. In our vision, land, including both terrestrial and marine areas, will contribute to economic development in agriculture, fisheries, tourism, trade, manufacturing and other sectors. It will also provide the space for all Saint Lucians to live and shelter, it will contribute to food security for the nation and good nutrition for all its citizens.