Archive for category: Food & Hunger

Information and stories on food.

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How France’s Food Waste Law Helps Those In Need

How France's Food Waste Law Helps Those In Need
In July 2016, the French Parliament voted unanimously to fine supermarkets that throw away edible food (food that is almost expired or too ‘ugly’ or ‘misshapen’ to sell) or food that is usable as animal feed. France was the first country in the world to pass such a law during a time when food waste has become all too commonplace in first world countries. Supermarkets caught breaking those rules can be fined up to 75,000 euros or two years in prison. This unused food is donated to charities and distributed to those who are living in poverty. This is how France’s food waste law helps those in need.

Feeding Those In Poverty

Prior to this French law forbidding food waste, some supermarkets would deliberately spoil the food they could no longer sell in order to prevent “scavengers” from taking the food out of the trash. Some places would douse the edible or recently expired food in bleach to prevent people in need from going through their trash bins. This law forbids places from doing that.

A year after the law went into effect, over 10 million meals were shared with those lacking the necessary resources to purchase food, which is how France’s food waste law helps those in need. About 5,000 charitable associations work to distribute this food to those in poverty; food that would have, otherwise, been wasted. The St. Vincent de Paul charity in Paris relies heavily on donations from grocery stores. These food items go to churches where they are then distributed to families living in poverty.

Volunteers at the Paris Food Bank collect food from supermarkets and grocery stores every day. One of their locations in Paris handles thousands of tons of food to donate each year; all food that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. These donations are growing. Charities are seeing an increase of 8 to 9 percent in food donations each year.

France’s Food Waste Law Inspires Other Countries

Now, two years after the law went into effect, less than 2 percent of food produced in France has been wasted. People in France waste less than half of the food the typical American wastes. France has become a leader in attempting to eliminate food waste.

Italy has also recently adopted legislation about food waste, and other countries around the world are interested in adopting similar food waste laws, such as Mexico and South Africa. The best part about the law is that it does not cost the state or a taxpayer any money.

There is no hard, scientific proof that this law is helping lift French citizens out of poverty, but it is important to note that poverty rates, which had been climbing in France since 2000, have now been stagnating since 2016 (around the same time the law was implemented). In 2015, 14.2 percent of French citizens were earning less than 60 percent of the median income. In 2016, this number decreased to 13.9 percent. Food that would have otherwise been thrown out is now being given to those who are impoverished, which is how France’s food waste law helps those in need.

Yet, this law isn’t the only solution to ending food waste and solving world hunger. Supermarkets and grocery stores only represent 14 percent of the total food waste, so this law needs to be spread out to other sectors such as schools and restaurants.

In France, supermarkets are no longer just a place for profit; they are now a place for charity and humanity.

– Ariane Komyati
Photo: Flickr

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How Eating Less Meat Can Reduce Poverty

How Eating Less Meat Can Reduce Poverty
Many scientists have agreed that Earth’s maximum carrying capacity is between 9 and 10 billion people. The world is rapidly approaching this limit; the global population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050.

Poverty, water and food scarcity and environmental destruction are already major issues which an increase of nearly 2.5 billion people will severely exacerbate. How can the world cope with these crises? One solution is eating fewer animal products.

Eating less meat can reduce poverty and hunger, and benefit the environment. There are economic and health benefits to plant-based diets. The average American consumes 222.2 pounds of red meat and poultry a year; this is roughly double the amount the government recommends.

The amount of eggs and dairy being consumed is also much higher than recommended. Although becoming vegan or vegetarian are the most effective options, even lowering consumption to the recommended guidelines could have a huge impact.

The Negative Effects of Animal Agriculture

Agricultural production uses 38 percent of Earth’s land, or about 3.5 billion acres; nearly 80 percent of this is used for animal agriculture. These 3.5 billion acres can produce enough food for 10 billion vegetarians, but only 2.5 billion Americans who eat meat, as more than half of the world’s harvest is used to feed animals instead of people.

Though 800 million people do not have enough food, livestock are fed “more than 60 percent of [the world’s] corn and barley, and over 97 percent of [its] soymeal.”

Animal production is also incredibly inefficient. Livestock requires large amounts of land, food, water and energy to produce, yet “take more energy and protein from their feed than they return in form of food for people.” Ten pounds of grain are required to produce one pound of meat; in comparison, land used to grow rice can support 19 times more people than land used to produce eggs.

Though some agricultural land is too arid for plant agriculture, much of it could be used to grow plant-based foods for people instead of for animals. Even if only 10-20 percent of the land currently used for animal agriculture was converted to crop production for humans, this would more than make-up for the loss of meat.

Agriculture also uses great amounts of water — accounting for an astonishing 70 percent of global freshwater consumption — and livestock production accounts for the vast majority. According to the International Water Management Institute, 6000 liters of water is required to produce one kilogram of chicken, more than double the amount of water needed to produce one kilogram of cereals.

Benefits of Plant-Based Diets

Reducing animal product consumption worldwide could greatly reduce the amount of water used, and alleviate the ever-increasing water crisis that various countries face.

In addition, reducing meat consumption could improve the economy. If everyone became vegan, the world would save $1.6 billion by 2050. Industrial agriculture exacerbates poverty in developing nations as it is controlled by large corporations — such big organizations drive local farmers out of business.

In fact, local farmers are either forced to become contract growers for large corporations or move to cities, where they often must resort to working in sweatshops. Either path puts them at great risk of exploitation.

Overcrowding in the cities also drives down wages and leads to a rise in poverty and homelessness. A shift to local, more plant-driven production is more sustainable for local farms and can act to reduce poverty.

The Impact of How Eating Less Meat Can Reduce Poverty

Consuming fewer animal products could reduce world hunger and poverty. The United Nations World Food Council estimates that transferring 10-15 percent of cereals fed to livestock to humans is enough to raise the world’s food supply to feed the current population.

In addition, the International Food Policy Research Institute estimates that reducing the amount of meat consumed by 50 percent in high-income countries could result in 3.6 million fewer malnourished children in developing countries.

Eating less meat can reduce poverty and hunger. This is a choice that every individual can make, a choice that — particularly for middle and upper-class people in developed nations — isn’t too difficult. More stores are starting to carry a variety of plant-based products, many of which are less expensive than meat and dairy.

Small Steps for Great Gains

Scientific research and many doctors also agree that plant-based diets are oftentimes more healthful and nutritious than diets heavy in meat and dairy. Though becoming vegan or vegetarian may not be an option for everyone, reducing the number of animal products you consume could have amazing benefits for impoverished communities, for the environment and for the economy.

– Laura Turner
Photo: Flickr

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What Exactly is Hunger?

what is hunger
Hunger is an easy enough concept to imagine. Most people in the world have experienced it at some level or maybe even gone an entire day without food. But what is hunger at a global level? When starvation and malnutrition are discussed, there is a major gap between the conception of hunger and how those without access to food experience it. In the end, hunger is a systemic problem in people’s lives; those who suffer from it are unable to consistently achieve proper nutrition and face food insecurity.

Facts and Figures

Hunger still affects more than 800 million world citizens. This number reflects about one in every nine people worldwide. Starvation and malnutrition are most common in developing countries, where 12.9 percent of the population suffers from undernourishment. The continent of Asia contains the highest number of hungry people, while Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest prevalence of malnutrition – one person in every four faces undernourishment. 

Famine: Extreme Hunger

The most extreme cases of hunger on a public scale are famines, where an excess of deaths occurs as a result of starvation or hunger-induced diseases. These diseases are often preventable with a proper diet, but although there is an excess of food worldwide, starvation and malnutrition originate in that food being inaccessible. Lack of access is often caused by a insufficient funding and war within an area, as seen in the South Sudan famine declared by the U.N. in February of 2017.

In daily life for undernourished people, hunger takes the form of reduced meals. In 2011, a drought in a Kenyan herding community caused sickly animals. As a result of not being able to afford enough to eat, one woman’s family was forced to cut back to just one or two meals per day as opposed to three. They also could no longer afford “luxuries” like milk. Even with access to water, there is no money to buy food if crops and animals cannot produce. 

The Costs of Hunger

New research shows that generations down the line will also be impacted by the costs of starvation. While it is well-known that young children are often the most vulnerable to malnutrition, Columbia University’s 2014 study of genes in roundworms after an initial starved generation found that small changes in an organism’s molecular makeup due to its health can be passed on. This means that even after hunger has been reduced, future generations may still see its effects in their own lives.

Combating Hunger

Fortunately, famine and malnutrition rates have decreased. The Global Goals of Sustainable Development include ending starvation and creating food security and sustainable farming as its number two goal, set to be achieved by 2030. The best strategies for ending hunger are supporting small farmers, targeting infant nutrition and utilizing biotechnology in crop creation.

Additionally, legislative action in the United States Congress is working toward alleviating starvation worldwide. The Food for Peace Modernization currently seeks to make the Food for Peace program more efficient – at no cost to taxpayers – so that it can provide food to nearly nine million more people. Understanding what hunger is can create measures like this worldwide and offer new chances for those suffering from hunger to find relief.

– Grace Gay
Photo: Flickr

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The Continued Fight Against Poverty and the Food Crisis in Cuba

Food Crisis in Cuba

Many strides have been made in recent years to help poverty-stricken Cubans receive the basic necessities for life, but with a strenuous historical background and strict governmental policies, citizens are still in a fight for food. Missionaries and aid from other countries are currently offering assistance to help end the food crisis in Cuba.

The History of Poverty in Cuba

During the 1950s, Cuba was a small, third-world island country that was not big enough to produce its own goods and did not have enough farms to support the hungry population. Further complicating things was an enormous income gap between the rich and the poor.

In 1959, the country underwent a revolution during which Prime Minister and President Fidel Castro came to power, changing the state of the island’s economy for the worse. At this point, Cuba still relied mainly on imports from other countries for food and supplies. The Soviet Union was Cuba’s main supplier of food, but after the Cold War, the communist nation was no longer able to support Cuba’s hungry population, which made things even worse for hungry citizens.

Being one of the only communist countries in the world, the government in Cuba still has a tight hold on its citizens. Many of these same issues still exist today, making it difficult for people in poverty to obtain substantial food in Cuba.

The Food Crisis in Cuba Today

In 2018, Cuba still does not have enough land to grow agriculture to feed its population and does not produce enough of its own products. It relies on importing up to 80 percent of its food, according to the World Food Programme. The average diet of a Cuban household lacks an adequate amount of vegetables and protein-rich foods needed to promote a healthy lifestyle. Around 36 percent of infants suffer from anemia because of the lack of a proper diet.

In 1959, the Cuban government instituted a food rationing system that is still in use today, making households pay high prices for foods only sold in government-run supermarkets. The rationing system ensures enough food for families to just survive.

Each family receives a rations book that they take to the grocery store, allowing them to buy a certain amount of rice, sugar, coffee, cooking oil and chicken, according to The Guardian. Because of unemployment and low paying jobs, this system has made it even more challenging for citizens in poverty to pay for food in Cuba.

In the past few years, the U.S. has lifted some of its various bans on Cuba and has restored peace with the Caribbean nation, which means that more U.S. citizens are entering the country for leisure and vacation. The increase in tourism has had a negative impact on the food scarcity problem, according to The New York Times, as the food is now used for tourists instead of hungry citizens and has made the price of food in Cuba rise.

The Good News About the Cuban Food Crisis

During his presidency, President Obama loosened the U.S. ban on trading with Cuba, which has provided the growth of trade with Cuba and allowed the island nation’s farmers to obtain better farming equipment. American trade officials hope to create a food import market that could be worth billions if the Cuban economy boosts, which would help end the food crisis in Cuba.

Because of the recent peace between Cuba and the United States, missionaries have entered the country in the hopes of helping with the food shortage problem. A Georgia Southern University student, sophomore Olivia Folds, participated in a mission trip in 2017 to assist with the food crisis in Cuba. Folds’ group was stationed in the city of Camaguey and each missionary was assigned a family where he or she made supply bags for the family in need.

These bags included clothes, shoes, toiletries and food that Cuban citizens were not able to get for themselves. Children received bags filled with basic necessities along with crayons and candy, which were small luxuries they were not used to, Folds told The Borgen Project. She also commented that, if any of the missionaries offered the families money, they were “supposed to only give them like $50,” because “the government only allows them certain amounts of money each month.”

The Cuban government is still attempting to improve the food shortage problem for its citizens. With a new president that stepped into power this year, new policies being put into place and missionaries being able to come into the country more often, Cuban citizens are slowly but surely on a path to better nutrition.

– McKenzie Hamby
Photo: Flickr

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Malnutrition: The Consequences of Micronutrient Deficiencies

Consequences of Micronutrient Deficiencies
According to the Food Aid Foundation, 1/9 people on earth do not have access to enough food to ensure proper nourishment. Malnutrition is defined by the Oxford Living Dictionary as the “lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat.”

Defining Malnutrition

This definition, although correct, hardly captures the severity of its meaning. A clear scientific explanation of malnutrition better illuminates the severity of the pervasive issue that exists primarily amongst those who live in poverty. Micronutrients — which are vitamins and minerals — are non-energy yielding compounds which the body requires to run efficiently. For example, the water-soluble vitamins (all of the B vitamins) are coenzymes which facilitate all of the bodies’ metabolic functions.

In light of their vitality to physiological homeostasis, a deficiency in any one of the micronutrients causes a wide variety of negative side effects. Iodine deficiencies cause goiters, iron deficiency causes anemia and vitamin B12 deficiencies can cause a wide variety of neurological defects, including symptoms of psychological disorders (depression, memory loss, sense perception loss etc.). It is clear that the consequences of micronutrient deficiencies are quite dire.

Consequences of Micronutrient Deficiencies

Given the importance of consuming the adequate amount of micronutrients — and the results of not doing so with even one of them — imagine having a lack of most micronutrients. Most people living in developed countries have adequate food intake, yet they are still deficient in a variety of micronutrients due to poor dietary choices. The consequences of micronutrient deficiencies are much more severe in the case of developing countries, where rates of starvation are higher than those of developed countries.

Considering how easy it is to be deficient in certain micronutrients due to simple nutritional ignorance, the level of micronutrient deficiencies –which in turn cause very negative health consequences — in developing countries where poverty is high and nutritional adequacy is low is much higher than in western countries where the contrary is the case. At the very least, 795 million people in the world experience severe negative symptoms due to lack of food.

For example, 84 percent of children in Kenya and 64 percent in India have a Vitamin A deficiency, whereas in a western country like Poland deficiencies in children are at less than 10 percent. These figures illustrate how countries that have a lower GDP per capita — and thus higher rates of poverty — often experience a higher rate/severity of cases of micronutrient deficiencies.

To cover all the micronutrients would be tedious; however, reviewing the statistics regarding the consequences of being deficient — specifically due to lack of food — proves extremely beneficial. The problem is extremely pervasive as one fourth of children’s growth is stunted globally due to malnutrition, poor nutrition causes 45 percent of child deaths ages 5 & below and malnutrition causes the death of 2.6 million children annually.

The above information may be unsettling, but understanding such disturbing information is the first step to changing such occurrences for the better. With concerted effort, the consequences of micronutrient deficiencies need not be as severe as they currently are.

Current and Future Progress

Progress on micronutrient deficiencies has certainly been made — prevalence and number of children suffering from stunted growth due to malnutrition has been on a slow but steady decline. There are specific examples of this, such as in Uganda, where the rate of stunting due to malnutrition has decreased from 33 percent in 2011 to 29 percent in 2016. In fact, the government of Uganda and its allies (the U.N.) have a  goal to totally eradicate malnutrition by 2030.

U.N. efforts in scaling up nutrition interventions has been very effective in reducing the rate of malnutrition. However, according to the World Bank, efforts to reach the 2030 goal would need an additional $70 billion of funding by 2025. Funding itself is the evident driver of progress. For example, investing in Peru’s malnutrition problem reduced stunting rates by 20 percent over a 20 year period.  

Ways to Help Combat Malnutrition

Many may ask, what can be done to help prevent this crisis from getting more out of hand? First and foremost, more people from all walks of life need to invest in nutrition. It is calculated that each dollar spent on nutrition delivers between $8 and $138 of benefits, according to the Copenhagen Consensus Center.

For more broad ways to help fight against world hunger and its negative consequences, donating to charitable foundations such as the World Food Programme, UNICEF, Feeding America, Feed the Hunger Foundation and others is something anyone can do to support the cause. Something “small” can make a huge difference, so it’s up to every willing individual to help solve this crisis.   

– Daniel Lehewych
Photo: Flickr

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Humanity Helping Sudan Project & Refugees of South Sudan

refugees of South Sudan
On July 9, 2011, South Sudan was granted independence from Sudan and became the first African country to secede since Eritrea’s division from Ethiopia in 1993. This succession was the result of a 2005 peace deal that would end Africa’s longest-lasting civil war. As of December 2013, a civil war in South Sudan began when President Salva Kiir accused the previous vice-president, Riek Machar, of planning to overthrow him.

Violence and Insecurity in South Sudan

Once this accusation was made, Machar led a rebellion that took control of several towns and killed thousands. Those that were left in the midst of this civil war were forced to flee to surrounding nations for protection and aid.

In fact, the civil war has caused over 1.5 million South Sudanese to be displaced; in fact, approximately 63,000 people are forced to leave their homes per month. That being said, one of the largest problems South Sudan faces right now is food insecurity. According to World Food Programme statistics, 40 percent of the country’s population needs food assistance. Looking at the bigger picture, this can be credited to lack of land, resources and labor, as a majority of these assets go to defense systems.

The Humanity Helping Sudan Project

The Humanity Helping Sudan Project (HHSP) aims not only to raise awareness for the world refugee crisis but also to create and implement strategies for self-sufficiency and long-term sustainability. This includes, but is not limited to, access to clean water, small-scale farming and fishing and refugee education.

The founder, Manyang Reath Kher, a former refugee of the South Sudanese civil war, spent 13 years as a refugee in various camps between the borders of Sudan and Ethiopia. When he traveled to the United States, he began to raise awareness for the world refugee crisis, especially of the conditions of refugee camps.

HHSP is an organization that guides the refugees of South Sudan out of refugee camps and equips them with the necessary skills to rebuild their lives. For instance, refugees are given portions of land and taught how to farm crops, fish from the rivers and maintain livestock. In addition, this population is also encouraged to attend school to learn skills (including how to build wells and maintain irrigation systems) in hopes of self-sufficiency.

734 Coffee and Future Progress

On the other hand, 734 Coffee, also founded by Kher, aims to raise awareness of the faces and stories of the refugees of South Sudan that create its coffee by finding ways to display the commonly unnoticed refugee impact on its coffee.

When addressing those in poverty, it is important to remember poverty is not solely about money but is rather multi-layered with aspects such as food insecurity, homelessness and advocacy ability. HHSP conveys such facets by using several projects to help the refugees of South Sudan rebuild their lives. These people are given the skills necessary to become self- sufficient in both the short and long terms, and their inspiring and impactful stories now have more of a means to circulate the world as well.

– Jessica Ramtahal
Photo: Flickr

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Addressing Food and Water Shortages in the Dominican Republic

Food and Water Shortages in the Dominican RepublicNatural disasters are causing food and water shortages in the Dominican Republic, but the non-profit organization SERV International brings dry food goods and water filters to provide citizens with the basic necessities they need after severe storms hit.

Natural Disasters Bring Food and Water Shortages

Between 1980 and 2008, 40 natural disasters have affected 2.65 million people in the Dominican Republic, according to the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.

Hurricane season for the Caribbean Islands lasts from June to November, according to the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. Hurricanes bring heavy rains and high winds that can cause damage to infrastructure and crops. Flash floods and landslides are common aftereffects of these destructive storms.

Because agricultural jobs employ more than a fifth of the citizens in the Dominican Republic, the devastation of crops due to natural disasters not only destroys food for people to eat but also causes a loss of jobs. One of their most valuable crops, sugarcane, is the most affected by natural disasters, according to The World Bank.

Hurricanes and other tropical storms can also destroy pipes and sewage systems, leaving behind water polluted by fecal matter, which is where cholera thrives. The CDC defines cholera as an infectious bacterial disease that is contracted from drinking contaminated water. Side effects of this disease are vomiting, diarrhea and possible death. As of June 18, there have already been 56 confirmed deaths from cholera in the Dominican Republic this year.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, prolonged droughts are also frequent hazards that can cause food and water shortages in the Dominican Republic. UNICEF warns that droughts make finding clean water difficult and could potentially lead to malnutrition.

What is SERV International doing to help?

SERV International is a Christian-based organization that sends missionaries to deliver food and clean water to underdeveloped countries all over the world.

Katie Kasha, who is the daughter of the founder and CEO of SERV, talked to The Borgen Project about her experiences in the Dominican Republic in 2014 and 2015 after Hurricane Sandy had hit the previous year. “It all starts with food,” Kasha said. “As a result of going into communities and giving food, we have been able to build relationships and invest into those communities by planting wells and churches.”

Kasha and the rest of the SERV team have brought food to a small village called San Jose as well as a few other small sugarcane villages. Kasha described the food as a dehydrated blend of lentils, soy protein, potatoes, carrots and other vegetables.

Rachel Chapman, a sophomore at Brenau University, accompanied Kasha and the other missionaries on both trips in order to address the food and water shortages in the Dominican Republic. “When we got to the village the thing that was very interesting to me was that the people there were afraid of the rain and rainwater because of the storms they had experienced,” Chapman said. “I found it really ironic that water…the one thing needed to survive was the thing they were most scared of.”

“The villagers drank from a stone trough about 8 foot long and 4 foot deep,” according to Chapman. “There was a nasty lime green film covering the water and when you looked into the trough you could see the growth in the walls.” SERV brought water filters in hopes of providing the villagers with clean water. Chapman added that one water filter will last a family in the Dominican Republic for five years.

Kasha and Chapman will both return to the Dominican Republic in the future to continue giving out food to families and treating filthy water for those that have been affected by destructive natural disasters.

– McKenzie Hamby
Photo: Flickr

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The State of International Food Insecurity

State of International Food Insecurity
World hunger and food insecurity are on the rise. Food insecurity is defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as “a lack of consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life” — the number of malnourished people grew from 777 million people to 815 million in 2016.

State of International Food Insecurity

The world population is projected to rise to around 10 billion people by 2050, and according to the U.N.’s “Sustainable Development Goal 2,” food production needs to grow by 50 percent for everyone to have enough food to survive on a day-to-day basis. It was estimated that global food insecurity had declined over the last decade — so why is it slowly growing now?

While food insecurity is a difficult and complex situation to solve, there are several factors that created the current state of hunger and malnutrition of society.

Why Has Global Food Insecurity Increased?

In 2017, there were a number of famine incidents that struck parts of South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen. Al Jazeera, a global news network that covers news in the Middle East, reported that nearly two million Nigerians have been displaced, and “Northeast Nigeria now faces one of the world’s worst food security crises, with around 3.8 million people who will face critical food insecurity and around 7.7 million in need of life-saving humanitarian assistance this year” due to Boko Haram attacks in the region. Violent conflicts around the world have also created a shortage in food production and availability for those hit hardest by food security issues.

The state of international food insecurity is not an optimistic one, but it does require action. Groups such as the United Nations World Food Programme and the Zero Hunger initiative fight to provide much-needed assistance to those living in the hardest-hit areas. Much of their work to help worldwide food security consists of coordinating efforts between governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), corporations and individuals.

Aid Organizations and Opportunities

On-the-ground groups such as the Lutheran World Relief focus on bringing water to communities while building cheap irrigation systems that provide water for crops and livestock. Another organization, the World Hunger Relief, Inc., focuses on teaching communities sustainable farming techniques and bringing vegetables to communities in food deserts. There is also work done out-of-country to help fight global hunger.

The Borgen Project works to influence policy in the U.S. so that aid can be given to those in need at a lower cost and quicker rate. The combination of overseas organizations and on-the-ground efforts has proved to be important in fighting hunger worldwide. But even if one doesn’t have time to join an organization to fight world hunger, there are many things every individual can do to help.

Some ways include: volunteering at food drives that aim to send food abroad or to communities in-need, donating to a local food bank, signing up to help sort food within food banks or food drives or writing to, emailing or calling elected officials to support food aid reform.

The Importance of Everyday Effort

The Borgen Project uses the latter strategy to facilitate policy changes over the years that make aid to foreign countries an easier task for the U.S. Even taking a few minutes out of a day to write an article or two about world hunger can raise awareness and help stop the tide of food insecurity.

All in all, today’s world has a growing population still facing the problem of global food insecurity. With the state of international food insecurity at risk, it is up to us as a society to step up and help others have a secure food source.

– Michael Huang
Photo: Flickr

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Food Insecurity in Nigeria

Food Insecurity in NigeriaThe number of people who experience food insecurity in Nigeria is rising. Of Nigeria’s population of more than 160 million people, the number of undernourished people has increased from 10 million in 2010 to almost 13 million in 2012 and has been growing since.

Agriculture is the country’s main source of income, making up a staggering 40 percent of the country’s GDP. Yet, despite this, Nigeria is number 40 out of 79 on the Global Hunger Index. Though the country has grown its GDP from the six percent it was in 2008 to 8.4 percent in 2010, it remains that over 80 percent of the rural population in Nigeria live below the poverty line.

The Nigerian Government and Internal Programs

There have been various programs created by the country’s numerous governments to end food insecurity in Nigeria. Such programs are:

  • Operation Feed the Nation;
  • Green Revolution;
  • Lower River Basin Development Authorities;
  • National Agricultural and Land Development Authority (NALDA); and the
  • Directorate of Foods, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFFRI).

Unfortunately, these programs have all had dismal performances, and have all individually hindered – some have even contributed ­– to low agricultural and food production in Nigeria.

Because the government has consistently changed in Nigeria, there have been major policy changes regarding food and agricultural policies. These changes have caused major delays and have hindered agricultural production and distribution. Every new government that has come to power has abandoned the previous one’s agricultural policies. This has created mass instability in production and has blocked the progression towards ending hunger.

Gender is a Factor

Unsurprisingly, gender inequality in Nigeria can also be blamed as a major factor for the food insecurity in Nigeria. The women of Nigeria make up the majority of agricultural workers, though they are often underpaid if paid at all. Nigerian women have less and limited access to agricultural assets like inputs and service than their male counterparts. It is believed by analysts, that if women had the same access to productive resources as men, they could increase their crop production by 20-30 percent.

Continued Violence

The major cause, however, for much of the food insufficiency in Nigeria is the conflict and violence which has been largely due to ethnic and religious tensions in the northeast of the country. As of March 2018, the number of internally displaced persons has grown significantly. The displacement of people in Nigeria has increased to the concern of food insecurity. Over 650,000 people in the Borno State, alone, are at extreme, limited access to agricultural land and labor opportunities, and are thus, heavily dependent on assistance.

As seen in the Borno State, violence and displacement of people disrupts agricultural production and makes people dependent on emergency food assistance. The number of displaced persons is rising: as of April 2018, Boko Haram and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria was responsible for displacing more than 1.7 million people throughout Nigeria. Moreover, the summer months are the hardest for crops to grow in Nigeria. It is estimated that in the months of June through August of 2018, over 3 million people throughout the Northeast of Nigeria will face a food insufficiency crisis or worse.

Humanitarian Aid

International assistance is there. For instance, the USAID Office of Food for Peace (FFP) has provided emergency food assistance in Nigeria since 2015. The FFP works with non-governmental organizations to provide and distribute locally-purchased food, food vouchers, and cash transfers to over 800,000 people in dire need. Moreover, merged efforts between the FFP and the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) ensure that supplementary food supplies reach children and pregnant and lactating women to prevent acute malnutrition. Per month, this pairing of the FFP and WFP has helped provide over 1 million Nigerians with food since December 2016.

Almost all of the factors which create and add to the food insufficiency in Nigeria are man-made problems. Though Nigeria is not a poor country, its developmental management has been poor. It is believed that alongside the aid of international organizations like the FTP and the WTP, these problems need to be individually and properly addressed. If done so, then solutions will become apparent, and the problem of food insufficiency in Nigeria will quickly be resolved.

– Isabella Agostini
Photo: Flickr

Sack Farming in Kenya Is Tackling Food Insecurity

Sack Farming in KenyaAs of 2015, 153 million African citizens reported being impacted by food insecurity. Food insecurity is defined as a state of living where one is unable or has limited access to obtain consistent, nutritionally valued food to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Current Issues in Africa

The average per capita income of sub-Saharan African is approximately three times lower than that of the rest of the world. One of the main sources of income in Africa is agriculture which can easily be impacted by the quality of soil, a stable water source, temperature and use of fertilizer.

That being said, in areas such as Kenya, 42 percent of the population (44 million people) live below the poverty line. Agriculture is one of the top sources of income and a major boon to the nation’s economy. In fact, it gives work to 70 percent of the workforce and contributes to 25 percent of Kenya’s annual gross domestic product.

Kibera, Nairobi, one of Kenya’s largest slums, suffers from a lack of resources such as water, land space and labor. With a consistent rising population (4.1 percent annually in Nairobi), more food is needed to sustain life. An upcoming technique to combat this problem, being implemented not only in Kenya but in surrounding nations such as Uganda, is sack farming.

Combating Food Scarcity with Sack Farming

Sack farming is the process of utilizing ordinary scrap sacks as the foundation for producing crops such as potatoes, carrots and spinach. By implementing sack farming in Kenya, food insecurity throughout the country can be tackled. All that is needed for this form of planting is the sack, manure, soil, small stones for drainage and the desired seeds.

Beginning with the necessary equipment, sacks of any size and texture can be used, from burlap encasings to plastic bags. Fertilizer can be made from composted food and waste. As for labor, the younger communities in Kenya have stepped up to take responsibility.

Effects of Sack Farming in Kenya

Depending on the size of the sacks, one sack has the ability to grow up to 45 seedlings. In terms of income, if a household is able to afford three sacks with 30 seedlings each, the production would be substantial. This would increase the household’s income, therefore increasing the ability to purchase other products ranging from electricity to eggs and milk.

Sack farming in Kenya has the ability to produce crops such as spinach, lettuce, beets, arugula, potatoes, carrots and onions. Not only does this impact the economy, but families will finally be able to have access to a stable food source. This means fewer chances of developing nutritional deficiencies, especially in younger children.

Sack farming in Kenya is a more convenient and realistic way of feeding one’s family and community, especially when living in a rural or slum area. The process is an inexpensive, simple way to produce nutritious foods, combating the issue of food insecurity in areas throughout Africa.

– Jessica Ramtahal
Photo: Flickr