December 04, 2020

Championing food security as Nobel Peace Prize Celebration Partner 2020

The World Food Program winning the Nobel Peace Prize is a timely reminder of the vital role food systems and food security play in creating stable and prosperous societies. The topic of food security for peace will be the Nobel Peace Center’s main topic until November 2021, and Yara has joined as the Nobel Peace Prize Celebration Partner for this period. The goal for Yara is to help keep food security at the top of the global agenda to rebuild more resilient food systems after the pandemic, a central condition for peace.

Covid-19 is a health crisis, but it is also a food crisis. In many parts of the world, supply chain disruptions, unemployment and virus safety measures have added more pressure on already strained food systems, causing 265 million people to face severe food insecurity. Bearing witness to how hunger and conflict feed each other in dozens of countries, the WFP has always been an advocate for the critical role of food as a tool for peace. As said by WFP Executive Director David Beasley, “food is the best vaccine against chaos.”

Acknowledging this, Yara has worked to contribute to making this time of crisis a catalyst for transformation in rural communities in East Africa through its Action Africa initiative. Through Action Africa, Yara donated 40,000 tonnes of fertilizer to 250,000 farmers who can now provide food for one million people in East Africa for one year, while 2 million more are connected to agronomic advice through Yara’s groundbreaking digital platform.

“Action Africa isn’t a charity program. It’s all about creating stability. We want to ensure the safe operation of markets and form long-term relationships throughout the food system,” says Svein Tore Holsether.

Avoiding a food crisis requires system-wide collaboration. Making a positive impact on these farmers’ lives beyond a single harvest requires collaboration between governments, local communities, and dedicated public and private partners to increase access to a range of critical resources.

In Malawi, Action Africa collaborated with the World Food Program to distribute premium fertilizer to 26,000 subsistence farmers. With the improved crop nutrition, they will provide food for over 150,000 people. In Rwanda, Action Africa and WFP collaborate to make 2,500 tonnes of fertilizer available to 30,000 farmers. Yara also works with the World Food Program in the Farm to Market Alliance, seeking to empower farmers to increase their yield, income and resilience by making markets work better.

Yara congratulates the World Food Program for being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, and looks forward to strengthening the collaboration with the WFP, the Nobel Peace Center and other partners to keep food security at the top of the global agenda to achieve lasting change in global food systems.

Together we grow peace.

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Join us in a virtual event on December 11, focusing on the role of food in enabling lasting peace. The event will feature WFP Director David Beasley, Executive Director of the Nobel Peace Center, Kjersti Fløgstad, Yara’s CEO Svein Tore Holsether, among others.