Agriculture Moves Ahead with petition drive, 1 billionhungry.org  

July 22, 2010…. Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Housing & the Environment has joined forces with other  international bodies as part of the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nation -led effort/petition drive, 1 billionhungry.org  to reduce poverty as per the Millennium Development Goals. 

The main tool of the campaign is a worldwide petition drive.

The general public is being asked to log onto 1billionhungry.org and sign the online petition calling for investment in mechanisms to end this scourge. For those without internet access, paper petitions are being circulated so their voices will be counted in this effort. In late October, the results of the petition drive will be presented symbolically to world leaders during World Food Day Observances at UN headquarters in New York. Our goal is to collect 1 million signatures.

To this end the Ministry has began, its sensitization program, through the FAO Focal Point in Antigua & Barbuda, Dr. Janil Gore –Francis, plant protection officer. On Wednesday the Ministry distributed 250 T-shirts amongst front line staff, 4H Clubs and youth organizations, which will be worn, as a uniform, on Fridays, until the petition ends.

Additionally placement of the paper petition will be made available in the ministry’s reception area, encouraging visitors to sign. We will then collect the filled petitions.

The Ministry Of Agriculture has also moved ahead with the placement of the 1billionhungry.org web banner on the home page of the ministry’s website, www.agricultureantiguabarbuda.com.  This banner is available in a variety of sizes and formats.

1 billion people suffer chronic hunger – an estimated 10 million of them live in the Caribbean region. FAO wants to bring this problem into sharp focus and harness the growing frustration at the lack of progress on hunger especially in light of the looming deadline for Millennium Development Goal 1 – reduction of hunger by half by 2015.

The campaign undertaken by this ministry,  in the coming months, through FAO will be seeking to work with our partners in all the countries of the region to bring visibility to this grave situation, especially amongst young people, who will find the social media and viral marketing aspect of the campaign appealing.

The lead organization FAO, through the ministry will also be supplying audio and video clips for use by the media as well as launching various competitions and seeking to create public dialogue.

On Tuesday, 11 May, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations launched the 1billionhungry.org campaign amidst much fanfare in Rome.

for further information contact: Dr. Janil Gore Francis Plant protection officer

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