Archive for category: Food Insecurity

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Ukraine’s Invasion and the Food Crisis in Egypt

Food Crisis in Egypt
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 unleashed numerous consequences on the global economy, the domino effect of some of them still playing out. The increase in fuel prices in the wake of the invasion has received much media attention. However, a more overlooked consequence of the disruption of exports from both Russia and Ukraine is the detrimental effect on global food security, causing a global wheat shortage. The food crisis in Egypt has been a particular challenge.

Invasion and Wheat Exports

In 2019, Russia was the largest exporter of wheat in the world. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Russia and Ukraine together produced 25.4% of global wheat exports. In addition to wheat, the Russian and Ukrainian markets are vital global sources for other essential food items such as corn, sugar and oil. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, the invasion could reduce wheat exports from Russia and Ukraine by 12%.

“Exports are lowered for Ukraine by four million tonnes to 20 million, as the conflict in that country is expected to disrupt exports from the Black Sea region,” according to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.

Food Prices Inflation

Global food prices had been already steadily inflating since the beginning of the pandemic due to disruptions to supply chains. The sudden blacklisting of Russian exports and the disruption of the Ukrainian economy have spiked this inflation in recent months, with the stock market value of global agricultural commodities sharply increasing. This sudden wheat shortage in an already inflated economy is beginning to detrimentally affect food security in many developing countries reliant on Russian and Ukraine exports, such as Egypt, Sudan and Kenya.

The Egyptian Wheat Shortage

Egypt, where bread is a staple food with almost every meal, is the world’s largest importer of wheat, spending $5.2 billion in 2020. In 2021, 80% of Egyptian wheat imports came from Russia and Ukraine. The war between the two countries has therefore had a massive effect on the Egyptian economy and food security. The price of wheat has increased by 44%, compounding the price hike to the subsidized cost of bread the government had announced only weeks prior to the start of the conflict.

Subsidizing Dilemma

The subsidizing of bread costs has long been an economic staple of successive Egyptian governments, and its price increase represents an existential shift for Egyptians, resulting in a food crisis in Egypt.

“Keeping bread affordable to the poor has for 60 years been something of an informal social contract between citizens and the political authority,” said Egyptian sociologist Ammar Ali Hassan. “The symbolism associated with the loaf of bread goes well beyond it being just a consumer item. In reality, it defines the bond between people and the state.” Indeed, many analysts point to the rising cost of food, particularly bread, as the breaking factor that sparked the Egyptian revolution of 2011. Therefore, the question of food security is also one of political security for both the Egyptian people and the government – and the global wheat shortage is pushing it into the forefront of Egyptian policy in 2022.

In the aftermath of the invasion, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly stated that the government will go ahead with the price raise despite the global wheat shortage’s impact on imports. Madbouly pointed to the five-month worth of strategic wheat reserves as a stopgap measure. However, with the conflict not deescalating since it began, the Egyptian government is beginning to explore new alternatives to, in the short term, brave this global wheat shortage, and in the long term, lessen this dependence on food imports.

The Path to Self Sufficiency

On March 28, the Minister of Agriculture Ali Moselhi announced that the Egyptian government will seek to procure 6 million tonnes of wheat from local farmers during the upcoming wheat season between April and June, offering incentives to sell to the government rather than to the private sector. However, resolving challenges to wheat self-sufficiency in Egypt is not possible overnight.

The main challenge for the domestic agricultural industry to meet Egyptian demand and counter the current global wheat shortage is water scarcity. According to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, 97% of Egypt’s water is sourced from the Nile at 54 billion cubic meters, well below the 114 billion annual demand of the country’s fast-growing population of 100 million.

Therefore, for Egypt to be able to develop the means to domestically produce wheat for its population, it must address its long-standing water scarcity issue – and it is here where international efforts and expertise can aid Egypt in its endeavor to combat food insecurity and poverty. “The water issue is a pivotal issue in the field of achieving sustainable development, which requires increased cooperation and exchange of experiences between different countries of the world in the field of water,” said Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atti.

The World Food Program (WFP) and the Food Crisis in Egypt

One existing avenue to aid in alleviating the food crisis in Egypt is through the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). Operating in Egypt since 1968, “the U.N. agency’s operations in Egypt are designed to respond to the country’s long-term food and nutrition insecurity.” In recent years, it has been collaborating with the Sisi government in achieving Egypt Vision 2030, a 10-pillar strategy toward sustainable political, economic and social development. Food security is to be a crucial factor to achieve in this 2030 vision and the WFP in Egypt currently collaborates with the Egyptian government to strengthen these public institutions.

The Future

First, the COVID-19 pandemic and now the sudden events in Ukraine have shown that developing countries cannot rely on supply chains for crucial commodities such as basic foodstuffs. In fact, this has long been an issue exacerbating world poverty and food insecurity even before the pandemic. While the Russian invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated food shortages around the world, it also presents an opportunity for countries long reliant on food imports to develop sustainable domestic resources to build new self-sufficient agricultural infrastructure and economic systems.

The United States and other global leaders in the international community must also seize this opportunity, providing financial aid and expertise to nation-building projects such as Egypt Vision 2030. In the short term, the immediate expansion of WFP operations in Egypt and other countries it operates in detrimentally by the Ukrainian conflict can allow these countries to set off on the path of food security while also mitigating the short term poverty and hunger the global wheat shortage could cause in 2022.

– Majeed Malhas
Photo: Flickr

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Fighting Food Insecurity by Decreasing Food Waste

Decreasing Food Waste
Food waste is any food fit for human consumption that one disposes of or uses for a differing purpose either due to choice or circumstances such as food expiry. In a 2014 report, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that food waste compounds the severity of poverty because it negatively impacts hunger, “nutrition, income generation and economic growth.” An essential point of the report is that the need for decreasing food waste is a global issue and food waste occurs at every level of the food supply chain.

The Global Issue of Food Waste

In lower-income countries, the barriers to decreasing food waste include, “managerial or technical limitations in harvesting techniques, storage, transportation, processing, cooling facilities, infrastructure, packaging and marketing systems.” For middle-income to higher-income countries, food waste often occurs on the consumer side, for example, improper meal planning that leads to food wastage. In addition, policies, such as agricultural subsidies, can lead to the excess production of certain crops. Food safety regulations may also lead to the wastage of food that is still fit for human consumption.

To visualize the dizzying scale of food waste, the FAO reported in 2021 that “17% of total global food production” goes to waste. The UNEP Food Waste Index Report 2021 confirms this, highlighting further that in 2019 global food waste equated to 931 million tonnes of food waste, 61% of which occurred at the household level. The report finds that “household per capita food waste generation” is similar across all nations, developing and developed. In brief, food waste is an issue that spans across class and country lines — a global crisis that requires a global solution.

How the FAO is Fighting Food Insecurity

The FAO is fighting food insecurity through education and collaboration with other governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and private partnerships. Among these educational endeavors, the FAOs’ SAVE FOOD initiative aims to reduce food waste in SAARC countries (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) by educating smallholder farmers on proper post-harvest management practices. Post-harvest loss occurs at high rates of 20%-40%, mainly due to a lack of awareness and knowledge, which can affect “food availability, food security and nutrition.” Especially in countries with “traditional fruit and vegetable supply chains,” namely Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, the SAVE FOOD initiative prioritizes post-harvest management training.

How the Private Sector Fights Food Insecurity

Private sector partners are addressing food waste-created food insecurity at all levels, from the production of food to its consumption. One of these partners, GrainPro, is decreasing food waste through its high-tech “GrainPro Cocoon” in Bangladesh, one of the FAO’s prioritized SAARC countries. The GrainPro Cocoon decreases food waste because it preserves dry grains, spices and seeds “in an airtight and moisture-tight container.” The containers are uniquely suitable for Bangladesh and other countries prone to flooding. GrainPro containers are easily transportable and can protect contents from flooding up to as high as a meter.

Under a Bangladeshi Department of Agriculture Extension project in partnership with the official GrainPro partners of Bangladesh, Allied Agro Industries and ACI Motors, 800 units of the GrainPro Cocoon went out to Bangladeshi farmers. Farmers who used the GrainPro Cocoon to store paddy seeds saw a “20% increase in production” due to improved seed quality, which positively impacted farmers’ income. For a country with about 48% of the population economically relying on agriculture, this continued collaboration will enable people to escape extreme poverty.

10x20x30 Initiative

The World Resources Institute’s (WRI) 10x20x30 Initiative is a compelling development in decreasing food waste. The initiative began in 2019 by the WRI Champions 12.3 coalition, which is a joint team of “executives from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farmer groups and civil society” all committed to reducing food waste. This coalition aims to reach U.N. Sustainable Development Goal 12.3, namely to reduce by 50% “global food waste at retail and consumer levels” while minimizing “food loss during production and supply.”

In 2020, the WRI rallied 12 food retailers and foodservice providers, including “six of the world’s largest food retailers” and secured commitments from these providers to recruit 20 of their own respective suppliers to focus on achieving SDG 12.3. The commitments led to nearly 200 food suppliers globally committing to cutting their food waste in half by 2030.

A remarkable amount of progress is visible in decreasing food waste as a result of the commitments of the international community. Going forward, global participation in decreasing food waste must continue in order to reach the global goals of combating hunger and achieving zero poverty.

– Chester Lankford
Photo: Flickr

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Turning Plastic into Protein Powder

Plastic into Protein Powder
A team of biologists, chemists and engineers have developed technology that can turn plastic into protein powder. The team is aiming to create a system that can help solve two of the world’s most pressing problems: hunger and plastic pollution.

BioPROTEIN

The title of the plastic to protein powder project is BioPROTEIN (Biological Plastic Reuse by Olefin and Ester Transforming Engineered Isolates and Natural Consortia). Assistant professor of biological sciences at Michigan Tech, Stephen Techtmann, leads the team behind this project. The team includes Ting Lu, professor in bioengineering from the University of Illinois, Rebecca Ong, assistant professor of chemical engineering at MTU, David Shonnard, professor of chemical engineering and Joshua Pearce, electrical and computer engineer.

The process of turning plastic into protein powder begins by putting plastic material into a reactor that breaks down the structure of the plastic and transforms it “into an oily substance.” Bacteria then consume this substance and multiply speedily, creating “more bacteria cells, which are about 55% protein.” According to Techtmann, “the end result” looks similar to “a yeast byproduct that comes from brewing beer.” The scientists then dry out this byproduct, leading to the creation of an edible protein powder.

Plastic Pollution and Poverty

Plastic is a very durable substance; it can take hundreds of years to break down ‌after humans discard it. Most plastics become microplastics, which are tiny pieces of plastic material that scientists have found nearly everywhere, including in human organs.

Humans have created approximately seven billion tons of plastic products and have recycled less than 10% of them. Humans produce about 330 million tons of plastic waste annually. Approximately 50% of all plastic goes toward the making of single-use products, which means humans use these plastic products for one purpose and then discard them.

The effects of plastic pollution are harshest for developing countries, which have the least capability to handle the consequences. The most impoverished countries have the least developed and most mismanaged waste management programs. Ways that poor waste management, including plastic, negatively affects peoples’ health and livelihoods include:

  • Waste blocks waterways, leading to the development of more waterborne illnesses.
  • Waste buildup becomes a breeding ground for disease-carrying organisms.
  • The burning of waste releases pollutants into the air that harm people.
  • Mismanagement of waste creates informal dump sites that are hazardous to traverse and can lead to mudslides.
  • Waste buildup pollutes water and soil that people use for drinking and cultivation.
  • Animals consume waste, which causes livestock mortality or illness.

Hunger and Poverty

Although the overall rate of hunger worldwide has reduced since 2000, it has been steadily rising since 2014, with a predicted spike because of the COVID-19 pandemic. About 750 million people in the world experienced severe food insecurity in 2019.

Even more extreme than the lack of access to food for people experiencing extreme poverty is the lack of ability to maintain a healthy diet. A healthy diet is about five times more costly than diets that meet basic energy requirements “through a starchy staple” and far exceeds the amount of money people earn while living under the international poverty line.

Goals of BioPROTEIN

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initially financed the BioPROTEIN project with funding of up to $7.2 million. The first idea behind the project was that military forces could use a plastic-to-protein powder machine that will fit in the back of a military vehicle and can turn plastic waste into a food source when out in remote areas.

However, the team wants to develop beyond this goal; Techtmann wants nonprofits and communities around the globe that are experiencing food poverty to have access to BioPROTEIN machines. He hopes the invention will turn into a solution that can help impoverished communities manage plastic waste while addressing food insecurity.

– Melissa Hood
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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Sea Rice Boosts Food Security in China

food security in ChinaFor about 65% of the Chinese population, rice is the most essential part of a good diet. In fact, rice is a key part of food security in China. For thousands of years, families in China have farmed rice in large fields called paddies.  Surprisingly, the methods for growing and harvesting have remained the same for thousands of years with farmers still using hand cultivation and livestock-drawn plows. In recent years, soil salinity and overuse of fertilizers have presented challenges to rice production, and thus, food security in China. Fortunately, a Chinese scientist has discovered a way to revolutionize food security through a type of grain called “sea rice.”

How Does Rice Grow?

Fresh, clean water is absolutely essential to rice cultivation and farmers construct rice paddies with that in mind. The rice paddies are made with a relatively watertight subsoil on the bottom and at the borders. This allows for the paddy to hold around five inches of water for most of the growing season. Because the rice-growing field must stay flooded for months on end, if it is not naturally filled with rain or floodwater, it must be irrigated. Rice is also very sensitive to soil salinity (salt content) and pH (acid/base content), and as such, rice cannot grow in what agronomists refer to as saline-alkali soil — earth that is too salty and chemically basic.

Why is Rice Farming in Trouble?

Unfortunately, China has a large amount of this saline-alkali land that cannot be used for agriculture, spanning about 100 million hectares. That is a little more than 386,102 square miles; roughly the size of Egypt.

There is currently a lack of food security in China. According to the World Food Programme, around 150.8 million people endure malnourishment in China. Further, more than 186 million people face the impacts of floods and other crop-destroying national disasters.

Additionally, Chinese farmers have dramatically. increased the amount of fertilizer use in recent decades. As of 2014, the average application rate was 434.3 kg/hectare, which is almost twice the internationally recognized safe upper limit. This plays into a vicious cycle; such excessive long-term use of fertilizer turns previously fertile land saline-alkali, providing an incentive to use even more fertilizer to meet previous productivity levels.

Discovery of Sea Rice

Since the 1950s, there has been a consensus among scientists that these problems could be fixed if farmers could grow rice in saline-alkali soil. In 1986, a Chinese scientist named Chen Risheng finally had a breakthrough. While studying mangrove trees at a beach, he stumbled across a single green stalk sticking out of the ground.

Against all odds, there was a wild rice plant actually growing in saline-alkali soil. Chen collected around 500 grains and began a painstakingly precise breeding process. By 1991, that breeding resulted in about 3.8 kg of precious salt-tolerant grains. Chen named his cultivar “sea-rice 86” and continued selecting, planting and harvesting the seeds for years.

The result? A variety of rice with remarkably valuable characteristics. Chen’s research confirmed that sea-rice 86 (also called SR86) can be planted in heavily saline-alkali soil for six years. Not only does the rice survive but it also improves the soil quality in half that time. This variety of rice can withstand up to three times the amount of salt than other strains.

SR86 is also more resistant to flooding and waterlogging, and in strong conditions, the stem does not break as easily. Thus, the strain is less delicate and more resistant to natural disasters in comparison to regular rice varieties. This rice does not require fertilizer, it is naturally resistant to pests and disease. Furthermore, it is significantly more nutritious than other major rice strains.

Recent Progress with Sea Rice

Since the discovery of SR86, scientists have been working to identify the exact genes that make it so desirable. These efforts have been largely successful, and now, the scientific community has a starting point for future projects involving genetic rice modification as they now know the precise genes that give SR86 its astounding properties. In this way, sea-rice 86 has the potential to strengthen food security in China.

Currently, SR86 and other salt-resistant rice strains have yet to be introduced into the mainstream farming community and market, although rapid progress is in motion. In the autumn of 2021, the Chinese district of Jinghai (a location filled with saline-alkali soil) was able to harvest more than 100 hectares of salt-resistant rice.

The research team that led the harvest has since received 400,000 hectares for the purpose of continuing farming and observation. Additionally, the team is confident that it will be able to cultivate salt-resistant rice across 6.7 million hectares by October 2031.

Risheng, the original pioneer of SR86, has also expressed a desire to turn the area where he found the original rice plant into a preserve where SR86 can be grown all over the beach as a permanent commemoration of the advent of sea rice.

500 Grains Toward Food Security

It is strange to think that a single stalk of rice could provide such a natural solution to enhance food security in China. Because of one plant, the Egypt-sized portion of Chinese land now has agricultural potential. In the future, people will have access to a grain that does not waste freshwater, improves the quality of the soil it grows in, stands strong against the elements, needs no fertilizer and is very nutritious. SR86 provides agronomists today with the tools necessary to solve tomorrow’s problems regarding food security in China.

– Mia Sharpe
Photo: Flickr

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Food Systems in Puerto Rico

Food Systems in Puerto Rico
A World Central Kitchen agricultural assessment discovered that Puerto Rico imports 85% of its food from the mainland. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico only produces 15% of its products, with natural disasters constantly inhibiting the structures in place to produce these food items. A George Washington University survey showed that around 40% of Puerto Ricans reported food insecurity in 2020. The problems in food systems in Puerto Rico were a constant for many years in 2015, a study showed that 22% of adults on the island skipped meals or ate less as they could not afford to buy food. The Urban Institute projected a rise of 46% in poverty on the island due to the salary cuts and firing due to the pandemic.

Federal Assistance to Food Insecurity

In 2018, the government scrapped a law that allowed farmers to receive subsidies for their work and replaced it with an incentive-based production system. The Center of Investigative Journalism in Puerto Rico found that out of 5,439 acres of public land that Puerto Rico saved for leasing and farming, 2,544 acres were not available for rent due to their dire conditions. After Hurricane Maria, a USDA report showed that Puerto Rico had lost 37% of the farms it previously had.

The federal assistance by the government has failed to help alleviate the food insecurity on the island as citizens cannot benefit from programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Program, a program that focuses on healthy food budgeting for families in need in the United States.

PRoduce and Other Programs in Puerto Rico

During the pandemic, the Puerto Rican government forgot school-based cafeteria programs as it left $290 million in federal funding untouched. Nonprofit organizations sued the Department of Education in response to the lack of use of these programs, which led the government to reopen cafeteria operations in many different public schools.

Different organizations have begun working to create a new agricultural culture in Puerto Rico as they look to increase food production by 25%. An example is PRoduce, an app on the island that looks to connect consumers directly with their producers to create sustainable food systems in Puerto Rico. According to an article by NextCity, the app saved more than 10,00 plantains after Hurricane Isaiah in 2020 as they purchased from 15 producers and sold the plantains at 30 cents each.

PRoduce was originally created to bring locally sourced ingredients to different chefs and cooks around the island, but the small scale and disorganization of the local food systems on the island led to the app not working. Around 40,000 users interact with the app with around 600 local producers to shop from as of 2022.

Looking Ahead

Nonprofit organizations around the island pave the way for more local food systems in Puerto Rico, hoping to decrease the dependence of the island on imports. These organizations look to slowly build a self-reliant food production system that will last through hurricanes and other natural disasters.

– Nuria Munoz
Photo: Flickr

Impact of COVID-19 on Burkina Faso

Impact of COVID-19 on Burkina FasoBurkina Faso is a former French colony in the Sahel region of Africa. Burkina Faso has an estimated population of 21 million people. The country shares borders with five francophone-speaking countries — Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Ivory Coast to the southwest and Togo to the south. Here is some information about the impact of COVID-19 on Burkina Faso.

About the Situation in Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is an agrarian society. In fact, more than 80% of the nation’s households depend on income from agricultural products. Cotton is one of the major exports and sources of revenue for the country. The country is endowed with natural resources including gold, limestone, marble and salt. Burkina Faso’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.9% from $16 billion in 2019 to $17.9 billion in 2020.

Burkina Faso has experienced political unrest in the past decades. The incessant regime changes among government officials have led to leadership crises that have contributed significantly to the poor economic and security challenges that Burkinabe people experience. Regional alliances of the Economic Community of West Africa States and the African Union suspended the country due to political instability. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened living conditions in Burkina Faso, severely affecting the nearly 40% who live below the poverty line. Inflation has risen by 3.2% in 2020, which has driven up food prices.

COVID-19 Cases

In 2020, due to rising cases of COVID-19, Burkina Faso closed its air, land and sea borders to control the spread of infection. Border closure restrictions occurred in response to the country’s weak health infrastructure and resources stretched thin and overwhelmed by the pandemic. While the interventions showed efficacy in limiting the spread of coronavirus, the social and economic impact of restrictions takes a toll on Burkina Faso. By February 22, 2022, Burkina Faso noted more than 20,751 confirmed cases and 375 deaths and the nation administered more than 2.3 million vaccines.

Rising Unemployment

At the height of the pandemic, some of the lockdown restrictions, among which were the closure of markets, schools, tourist centers and other places of economic activity in the country, were effective against COVID-19’s spread but negatively impacted the workforce. The restrictions affected production, resulting in loss of employment, supply shocks and a decrease in economic growth.

International border closures and supply chain disruption led to a sharp decrease in economic activity for the country as Burkina Faso could not export most of its products. These factors significantly affected trade in Burkina Faso, leading to shocks in household income and plunging families into poverty.

Diaspora Earnings

The country is among the top four countries that depend heavily on diaspora earnings. The effect of COVID-19 globally has affected foreign remittances from abroad to families back home. Burkina Faso’s earnings have reduced by 10% and these have affected vulnerable households whose mainstay income depends on these remittances. These diaspora remittances have become insufficient due to rising food prices from a 3.2% increase in inflation.

 Food Insecurity

The combined impact of the pandemic, coupled with security unrest, has resulted in more than 1.4 million Burkinabe citizens facing internal displacement. Civil unrest and the climatic drought challenges the country faces worsen food insecurity. The humanitarian crisis, exacerbated by COVID-19, has reached alarming levels. Estimates from the World Food Programme (WFP) determine that about 2.1 million people are in need of food in Burkina Faso.

Alleviating the Impact of COVID-19 on Burkina Faso

The global impact of the pandemic has been far-reaching. The WFP has continued to play a leading role in fighting global hunger. The organization deployed resources to mitigate some of the challenges in Burkina Faso by providing school feeding programs to support the education of children. Internally displaced Burkinabe receive support with a monthly food ratio, equivalent to $8 per person. About 700,000 of the population have benefited from the food and cash assistance program of the WFP, but more resources are necessary to abate hunger and poverty and stabilize conflict in the region.

– Sylvia Eimieho
Photo: Flickr

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Food Insecurity in Ghana

Food insecurity in GhanaMany consider Ghana “one of the most stable and democratic countries in West Africa.” However, poverty rates are high, standing at 25.5% in 2020, according to the World Bank. In the last 30 years, Ghana has made great progress in reducing poverty from a 49% poverty rate in 1990 to a 13% poverty rate in 2018. Still, inequalities exist between the north and south of the nation as well as between the urban and rural populations. During the lean season in 2020, the World Food Programme noted that more than 21,000 people suffered from food insecurity in Ghana, particularly in the northern region.

Difficulties in Northern Ghana

Food insecurity in Ghana is more severe in the north of the country largely due to climatic issues. In the northern region, 90% of Ghanaian households depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, however, this region only has one rainy season in comparison to the south, which has two rainy seasons. This climatic difference impacts food production and worsens both poverty and food insecurity in Ghana’s north. Farmer also face other issues such as “low [market] prices, poor road infrastructure, lack of access to finance, inadequate markets, post-harvest losses, insufficient education and knowledge[and] unsustainable farming systems.” Due to an agricultural dependence among rural people, food insecurity and poverty largely affect rural populations.

The World Food Programme (WFP) Combats Food Insecurity in Ghana

The WFP’s work in Ghana, in general, focuses on four key areas to fight food insecurity in Ghana.

  1. Private Sector Collaboration. To address stunting and nutritional deficiencies, the WFP provided support to the private sector to supply and promote “affordable and safe fortified nutritious foods.” For example, the WFP gave technical and financial assistance to two companies and linked these manufacturers to local small-scale farmers. The two Ghanaian companies manufacture Tomvita and Maisoya, which are fortified foods that improve the nutrition of pregnant and breastfeeding women. The companies aim to extend production to supplemental foods for children.
  2. Nutritional Assistance. The WFP partners with various government institutions to fight against food insecurity in Ghana and address nutritional deficiencies. The partnership aims to ensure citizens consume nutritious local-based diets and learn behaviors conducive to good health. The WFP also supplies electronic vouchers to supplement the nutrition of pregnant or breastfeeding women and children younger than 2.
  3. Food System Resilience. The WFP connects small-scale Ghanaian farmers to local markets “to increase the availability, access and utilization of staples foods” such as “maize, millet, cowpeas and soybeans.” So far, the WFP has connected “10,000 smallholder farmers to two industrial agro-food processing companies that produce specialized blended nutritious foods.” The WFP also aims to strengthen the food supply chain and ensure proper “post-harvest facilities, technologies and services” to improve the quality and safety of foods.
  4. Policy-Making Assistance and Capacity Expansion. The WFP is offering its support and services to improve Ghana’s existing programs and develop policies that focus on combating malnutrition and establishing adequate food systems. This involves connecting Ghana’s national school feeding initiative to the country’s agricultural arena. The WFP helps Ghana to implement food security monitoring measures and establish guidelines to “improve food quality and safety and emergency preparedness.”

Impact in Numbers

According to a WFP Ghana Country Brief published in August 2021, for the year 2021 overall, the WFP aimed to help 45,000 people through nutritional assistance. In August 2021 alone, more than 4,500 people “received direct food assistance through vouchers.” If one looks at the gender proportions of beneficiaries, women formed 72% of the beneficiaries while men accounted for 28%.  Moreover, in 2021, the WFP helped 22,020 small-scale farmers to increase their capacity and connect to markets.

Even though the WFP is seeing success in improving food insecurity in Ghana, worsening environmental conditions like drought stand as additional barriers to food security. Through ongoing support in strengthening the country’s food systems and resilience overall, Ghana can remain out of famine.

– Ander Moreno
Photo: Flickr

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Examining USAID Programs in South Sudan

USAID Programs in South SudanSouth Sudan is an East African nation with a population of more than 11 million people. After decades of civil war, South Sudan declared independence in 2011 and is now a war-torn nation with failing institutions, a corrupt and violent security force and a population in abject poverty. The fledgling nation quickly descended back into civil war, further hindering any efforts at reconstruction. Since South Sudan’s independence, USAID programs in South Sudan have been providing humanitarian aid to alleviate human suffering, foster sustainable economic growth and mitigate conflict.

Food Security in South Sudan

Food security is one of the largest issues plaguing South Sudan, and as of February 2022, 8.3 million South Sudanese out of a population of 11 million are severely food insecure. To address the crisis of food insecurity, USAID launched a program initially to operate between 2017 to 2020, which was then extended to August 2022, called Sustainable Agriculture for Economic Resiliency Program in South Sudan (SAFER). The SAFER project ultimately seeks to increase the productive capacities and sustainability of South Sudan’s agriculture sector.

In 2018, the SAFER program promoted sustainable crop production by conducting “community-based participatory planning” exercises to identify production constraints and propose interventions to remedy those constraints. During the same reporting period, the SAFER also provided technical assistance and training to lead farmers, village facilitators and NGOs in micro-irrigation, water management and seed production.

In addition to providing direct agricultural assistance, this program also trains local farmers in basic financial literacy, bookkeeping and marketing plans. In 2021, the SAFER program helped facilitate 25 agricultural enterprise groups to develop business plans regarding leadership structure, finances and marketing strategies.

Conflict Mitigation in South Sudan

South Sudan is a remarkably diverse nation with 64 different ethnic groups. Since 2013, South Sudan has become a nation embroiled in civil war and violence with different groups of people taking different sides for different goals. With a precedence of violence and civil war, USAID programs in South Sudan need to mitigate communal conflicts and rising tensions in order to promote stability, thereby also reducing South Sudanese poverty.

The active USAID Viable Support to Transition and Stability (VISTAS) program is a conflict mitigation program that started in 2013 “to promote peaceful coexistence,” foster “a more informed community” and facilitate a greater degree of trauma awareness to advance reconciliation between diverse communities. In 2018, the program hosted a conference in Jebel Boma County with traditional authority representatives, women leaders and youth leaders from Jie, Murle, Kachipo and Toposa to converse on key issues plaguing South Sudan regarding child abduction, gender-based violence, cattle raids and road ambushes.

Dissipating Ethnic Conflicts and Misinformation

Despite the remote locations and conflicts between the Jie, Murle, Kachipo and Toposa ethnic groups, the conference did lead to the development of resolutions and action plans to address inter-community conflicts. VISTAS has also provided technical assistance to media outlets to decrease potentially conflict-inducing miscommunication and misinformation while promoting interdependency through livestock and trade and conducting 196 trauma awareness sessions in 2018.

One of the most important facets of VISTAS is promoting a more well-informed society to prevent conflict through decreasing information asymmetry. To this end, VISTAS has assisted the development of independent media outlets, trained local journalists and set up community learning centers. USAID supplied these community centers with laptops, books and internet access to allow people with little formal education to educate themselves. While the independent media environment continues to face setbacks from the government and security forces, VISTAS has enabled the Juba Monitor and Radio Tamazuj to continue operating as the media outlets both represent large independent media networks designed to deliver information in an objective manner.

The Necessity of USAID Programs

With a poverty rate of 82%, according to the World Bank, today, more than 50% of South Sudan “still depends on emergency aid to survive” and millions are now displaced from the ongoing violence. USAID programs in South Sudan, while not enough to address the root causes of South Sudanese poverty, are necessary to alleviate abject poverty, ensure the survival of millions and develop a plan for long-term stability.

– Alexander Richter
Photo: Flickr

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Food Systems in Afghanistan

Food Systems in Afghanistan
In the wake of Afghanistan’s government collapse in August 2021, the nation’s humanitarian crisis has plunged to new depths and will continue on this path if Afghanistan does not receive the necessary aid. Of the total population, 41.7 million, about 23 million Afghans, are experiencing food insecurity due to the failure of food systems in Afghanistan. However, organizations are making efforts to combat the hunger crisis and strengthen food systems in the nation.

The State of Food Systems in Afghanistan

About 8.7 million Afghans currently endure “emergency levels of food insecurity,” and according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), without urgent action, Afghanistan could see a 97% universal poverty rate by mid-2022. The loss of more than 500,00 Afghan jobs since August 2021 and the steep incline of food prices leave Afghan families depleted of food with no income to purchase more. The Afghan people have no way of obtaining a sufficient supply of food nor can they harvest sufficient crops due to the harsh winter and severe drought.

The World Food Programme (WFP)

Since the start of 2021, the World Food Programme has assisted “15 million Afghans with food and nutrition support” while prioritizing the most vulnerable population segments such as young children and pregnant/breastfeeding women. The WFP’s “targeted supplementary feeding [program]” has addressed the nutritional needs of more than “500,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women” and more than 1 million malnourished children younger than 5. The WFP aims to “reach 23 million Afghans in 2022,” including 1 million children through its school feeding program.

The organization works with the Afghan government and commercial partners to strengthen the food systems in Afghanistan by supporting local small-scale farmers  as well as “building local milling and fortification capacity and strengthening value chains and food safety measures.” The WFP assists the Afghan government and humanitarian organizations “in beneficiary management, supply chain, information and communication technology and facilities and information management” to ensure a targeted response to citizens’ needs.

USAID Assists Afghanistan

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has been taking measures to improve food systems in Afghanistan for the last two decades and has vastly strengthened Afghanistan’s agricultural sector. This is crucial work because about 80% of all Afghans depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. USAID’s efforts intend to scale up Afghanistan’s agricultural exports, expand “the reach of Afghan agricultural goods to bolster job creation” and distribute more agricultural goods throughout the country.

In 2010, USAID created a $100 million Agricultural Development Fund to supply credit to Afghan farmers and small-scale agricultural businesses to help them accumulate resources such as seeds, fertilizer and equipment. As of 2021, this fund has distributed “$132.7 million in loans to more than 43,600 Afghan farmers.” USAID has also assisted in creating more than 657,000 full-time agricultural-related employment opportunities, which has contributed to reducing poverty in the nation and strengthening food systems in Afghanistan.

Programs that are geared toward improving food systems in Afghanistan are essential in fighting the nation’s hunger crisis. Implementing these programs will increase food distribution throughout the country and strengthen Afghanistan’s agricultural sector.

– Isabella Elmasry
Photo: Max Pixel

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Food Vulnerability in West Africa During COVID-19

Food Vulnerability in West AfricaAt the beginning of 2022, the United Nations reported a near 3% increase in extreme poverty in West Africa due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Evidence shows that while worldwide regulations are beginning to loosen, the pandemic continues to impact food resources for West Africans. More than 25 million people in West Africa are currently struggling to meet their basic food needs. At the same time, financial strategies and partnerships aim to combat the exacerbated poverty and food vulnerability in West Africa.

West Africa and COVID-19

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported in January 2022 that 30 African countries detected the highly contagious Omicron variant and 42 African countries detected the Delta variant. West Africa has accumulated about 10.2 million COVID-19 cases and Africa, in general, notes a fully vaccinated population of only 10%. Starting in the early days of the pandemic, West African nations responded to COVID-19 through lockdowns, traveling restrictions and curfews.

Food Vulnerability in West Africa

Many food production systems in West Africa are already facing issues regarding their reliability and affordability. A 2020 report from Nature Food found that rural farming regions in West Africa have unreliable food storage means and many West Africans rely on their daily income to pay for food.

COVID-19 has likely increased food prices for West African regions as access to markets, implementations of lockdowns and trading restrictions reduce food access for West African families. Nature Food reports that prices in food imports for cereals and rice for West African regions have risen by 11% to 17%.

Schools in West Africa account for a significant amount of household food supplies by providing food for nearly 7 million West African school children through school feeding programs. Due to the pandemic, school closures strain the already minimal access to food for children in low-income families while increasing food vulnerability in West Africa.

West African Food Investments and Partnerships

Multiple international organizations are pledging significant funding to support West African efforts to address COVID-19. While efforts in aiding food vulnerability are short-term, the commitments open the doors for governments to increase agriculture investments with positive long-term effects.

In April 2020, the African Development Bank pledged $10 billion in support of African economies and to protect against issues such as food vulnerability in West Africa amid the pandemic. This creates a possibility for improvements in West Africa’s financial stability through the strengthening of public-private partnerships.

Financial Inclusion and Mobile Money

Other developments include financial inclusion through mobile money services (MM). MM is a progressive method toward handling finances that allow rural and urban regions in West Africa to have efficient access to financial services and the ability to receive payments via mobile phone.

A 2020 Wilson Center report indicates that MM services saw an increase from 34% to 43% from 2011 to 2017 throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, adults in the region using MM doubled from 12% to 21% from 2011 to 2017 in comparison to the steady number of adults using other financial institutions. However, the progression of financial inclusion through mobile money came to a halt when the pandemic hit.

In response, multiple reforms and policies are in place to continue financial inclusion progress. Central banks encourage digital payments to curb the spread of COVID-19 while keeping banks up and running. Countries ranging from Ghana to Liberia have increased access to MM accounts without extra fees or documentation for transactions reaching a set amount. Regarding low-income homes or families in poverty, West African governments have mobilized direct cash transfer programs to lessen the weakening economic effects of COVID-19 lockdowns.

With partnerships and financial strategies to address West Africa’s food and financial issues amid the pandemic, efforts will continue to improve the lives of low-income households.

– Michelanie Allcock
Photo: Flickr