Archive for category: Food & Hunger

Information and stories on food.

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How India is Serving the Growing Delhi Slum Population


As the population in India continues to increase steadily, so does the number of people living in slums. The country’s 2011 census revealed that the slum population currently stands at 65 million people, up from 52 million in 2001. 2,613 of India’s 4,041 towns are classified as slums. In the territory of Delhi, where capital city New Delhi is located, 1.8 million of the 22 million residents live in 22 slums.

The India census defines the term “slum” as an area resided in yet unsuited for human habitation. These places are deemed unfit if they are a hazard to human health and safety due to lack of space, ventilation, cleanliness and other factors. These areas also lack hygienic drinking water facilities, functional bathroom areas and plumbing.

The Delhi slum population lives day-to-day without the basic amenities of electricity, plumbing and gas. Most of the residents are unemployed or daily wage workers, making less than the equivalent of one U.S. dollar a day.

In the 2011 census, slums are categorized in three different subgroups – notified, recognized and identified. Notified and recognized slums are legally established, while identified slums do not hold official slum status by the Indian government. The residents living in identified slums do not have access to legal protection and civic services.

Identified slums must have a population of at least 300 people with 60-70 tenements. Over one million of the growing Delhi slum population reside in identified slums and receive no aid from the government.

With the drastic population increase of the slums, the few resources these areas have are becoming even more depleted and run down.

However, not all of the census’ findings are negative. During the 10-year period under review, the Indian slum population grew at a rate slower than the general urban population. The average household size in slums is no larger than the average household size of urban areas. Slum literacy rate rose from 72.2 percent in 2001 to 77.7 percent in 2011. This is still below the overall Indian literacy rate of 84.1 percent.

WaterAid India is an organization that works to help some of the main issues the growing Delhi slum population is facing: lack of water, sanitation and hygiene, abbreviated as WASH. WaterAid aims to increase Delhi’s access to WASH through deliveries, supporting communities to manage and monitor their own services and advocating for improved WASH conditions from the government.

Asha is another organization seeking to aid Delhi’s slum residents. Asha provides many services for slum dwellers such as access to healthcare, financial services and education. They seek to meet basic environmental and healthcare needs of the population and empower and educate slum dwellers to change their own futures. These are just two of the many organizations seeking to improve the lives of the growing Delhi slum population.

– Hannah Kaiser

Photo: Flickr

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Efforts to Improve Abysmal Water Quality in Bahrain


The Kingdom of Bahrain is a group of islands located in the southern waters of the Persian Gulf in the Middle East. Comprising 40 islands, Bahrain was ranked as the second-largest user of water per square centimeter of land in the world, according to the Bahrain Economic Development Board, which is a disproportionately large level of water consumption for its size. Water quality in Bahrain continues to be a prominent problem despite efforts toward water security.

In the early 1900s, a majority of Bahrain’s water came from freshwater springs that flowed through the northern part of the country. After 1980, freshwater stopped flowing while the demand for drinkable water increased alongside population size.

Bahrain was listed among the top 10 countries that are the most likely to suffer from a water crisis in the next 25 years in a report released by the World Resources Institute. According to the study of 167 countries, 33 countries, half of which are in the Middle East, are at risk of facing a severe water crisis by 2040.

Water quality in Bahrain is further affected by the extremely high salinity of its accessible water. In 2008, AQUASTAT, a program measuring water quality within the U.N. Food and Agricultural Organization, reported that “over-utilization of the Dammam aquifer, the principal aquifer in Bahrain, by the agricultural and domestic sectors has led to its salinization through water coming from adjacent brackish and saline water bodies.”

Salinization refers to the toxic buildup of salt content within a natural resource. Bahrain relies heavily on unconventional sources of water, including its four desalination plants. Water desalination plays a crucial role in water security for the nation. A possible solution to a lack of freshwater would be to extract it from the surrounding sea.

According to a study done in 2013, records reveal that the rate of growth of water demand has been on average four percent per year. Despite the implementation of increased desalination efforts, the Kingdom of Bahrain continues to suffer from the water shortage due to population increase, industrial development, commercial growth and tourism projects.

One solution appears to be the creation of water storage facilities throughout the country. As a large part of its water security system, storage tanks of potable water are used to ensure supply during crisis situations. In 2013, the storage tanks held a water capacity that could ensure the survival of the nation for two days in case of extreme emergency conditions, leading to improvement of water quality in Bahrain.

Ninety percent of water in Bahrain is secured through desalination processes. Water security remains a high priority, with the government seeking the aid of the Water Resources Council of the Kingdom of Bahrain. In the council’s most recent meeting in February, Abdul Rahman Al Mahmoud, Water and Science Technology Association (WSTA) President, briefed Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, the Deputy Prime Minister of Bahrain.

The council encourages interest in the science of water, training programs, the development of local capacity and contribution to public awareness programs that achieve the optimal use of water. It also encourages the use of scientific methods for the development of various water sources, according to a press release by the WSTA. Despite current efforts, improving water quality in Bahrain remains one of the country’s top national concerns.

– Riley Bunch

Photo: Flickr

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5 Ways Technology Reduces Food Waste in Developing Countries


A third of all food produced globally is wasted. Up to 40 percent of that food waste is produced by developing countries. Great quantities of food are lost for various reasons such as inadequate harvest techniques, poor post-harvest management and lack of suitable infrastructure and marketing. However, the waste is mainly due to inadequate cooling facilities as well as lack of efficient transportation equipment. Modern technology has allowed solutions to fix these problems and decrease the amount of food being wasted. Listed below are five ways technology reduces food waste in developing countries.

5 Ways Technology Reduces Food Waste in Developing Countries

  1. The lack of access to cold chain technology is one of the reasons food waste is abundant in tropical areas. For example, even though India is the top leading producer of bananas, it only holds 0.3 percent of the world’s market. Some of this gap can be attributed to lack of refrigeration and reliable energy sources. By providing a better system of refrigeration, the food loss would be cut by 25 percent.
  2. Improving packaging to maintain freshness of products during transportation and decreasing the number of insects found would also greatly reduce food waste. An example of such technology is the Modified Atmosphere Packaging. This technology increases freshness by substituting the atmosphere within the packaging system with a protective gas mix, usually consisting of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.
  3. Technologies have been created to convert food waste into renewable sources of energy. This is done through the use of anaerobic digesters that break down the waste into large amounts of carbon which can then be converted into biogases or organic fertilizers. This process preserves the nutrients from the food and recycles the nutrients back into the farming system as a clean energy source.
  4. Increasing communication during the transport chain increases overall product awareness. For example, Israel has developed the Xsense system, which uses wireless sensors to monitor storage conditions second by second. The technology is able to identify problems in the transportation process and allows for supply-chain management to improve any problems sensed.
  5. Microfinancing initiatives that invest in small-scale farmers can greatly alleviate the waste load. Through education of how food waste occurs and what is being done to prevent it, small farmers can gain a better grasp on the solutions being implemented. Educated farmers can greatly benefit from increased access to waste-reducing technology and equipment.

There are many ways technology reduces food waste in developing countries. Implementing such technologies can not only reduce waste but give developing countries an opportunity to flourish and thrive.

– Taylor Elgarten

Photo: Flickr

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10 Questions About Desertification Answered

Desertification
According to the U.N., desertification is one of the greatest environmental challenges people face today. Often a poorly-understood phenomenon, desertification can mean hunger, economic crisis or death for those living in poverty. Below are the answers to common questions about this challenge.

Desertification FAQ’s

  1. What is desertification? This refers to the process of fertile land becoming unproductive. This means that the land struggles to grow any type of vegetation due to lack of minerals and nutrients in the soil.
  2. What causes it? Desertification can be caused by many factors, including deforestation, overpopulation, poor agricultural practices or climate change.
  3. What are some misconceptions about it? Although the word “desert” is normally associated with sand, desertification does not necessarily mean the land is becoming sand-covered. Instead, this occurs when a dryland ecosystem, or ecosystem that lacks water, becomes unproductive due to the tolls of the environment or human beings.
  4. Where does it happen? This can happen anywhere as long as there is land with soil. Typically, the phenomenon is seen in drylands that suffer from droughts or heavy amounts of migration.
  5. How are is this related to poverty? According to the U.N., there are roughly two billion people who live and depend on dryland ecosystems, and up to 90 percent of those live in developing countries. These dryland ecosystems are prime environments for desertification to occur.
  6. How does it affect poverty? A population in poverty that suffers from desertification can become further impoverished due to the lack of sustainable land. It can lead to starvation in developing countries.
  7. What does it mean for everyone else? When desertification threatens those in poverty, it also threatens global security. It can influence war, political unrest and mass migration.
  8. What can be done to prevent it? To prevent desertification caused by humans, it is beneficial to work with farmers to apply sustainable farming practices before it occurs. Preventing overpopulation is also important.
  9. What can we do to aid those in poverty who suffer from desertification? According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the most efficient way to aid those in poverty is to work with them to restore their own land. This restoration includes three approaches: resting, reseeding and planting.
  10. Can it be reversed? Reversing desertification is challenging, but it is possible with dedication. In 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) was established in order to manage and develop land that has succumbed to desertification. Strategies such as reforestation, soil hyper-fertilization and water management have been implemented in order to begin salvaging lands affected by it.

In 2003, then-U.N. secretary-general Kofi Annan declared desertification to be “both a cause and a consequence of poverty.” Using sustainable farming methods, we can fight the consequences of desertification and work to end poverty around the globe.

– Morgan Leahy

Photo: Flickr

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The Impact of Weather Forecasting on Poverty


In developed countries, checking the weather forecast is important when planning a weekend trip, but to rural farmers in poor regions, it can make the difference between putting food on the table and going hungry. The impact of weather forecasting on poverty is notably strong, and new tech solutions are being implemented across the globe to ensure food security for farmers and communities.

Estimates indicate that a surprising 70 percent of the world’s food supply is created by small, independently owned farms less than two acres in size. Yet this backbone of agriculture can be easily devastated by droughts.

For example, the eastern region of Africa known as the Horn, which is home to Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya, has experienced at least one drought per year for over a decade, causing more than 25 percent of the population to suffer from hunger. This weather has drastic economic consequences as well since the Horn is heavily dependent on its major exports of coffee and bananas.

In an effort to reverse this trend, Satellite Technologies for Improved Drought Risk Assessment (SATIDA) was created by a partnership between Vienna University of Technology and four other organizations, including Doctors without Borders and the Austrian Central Institution for Meteorology and Geodynamics.

SATIDA shows how positive the impact of weather forecasting on poverty can be with its multifaceted research approach. The four major components of the study are a complex drought indicator, regular forecasts, a mobile application and a database linking all other elements together.

“The goal is to know whether a drought is going on,” Markus Enenkel, lead researcher of the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University told CNN in February. “We can give a seasonal summary to help people prepare.”

SATIDA’s research team is actively working on two projects using satellite and smartphone technology. One marks official confirmation of droughts when they occur to enable insurance payments to farmers in the event that their crops fail. The second project enables farmers to prepare for droughts ahead of time by providing more precise forecasting with smaller intervals.

Though similar efforts have been made in the past, such as when the World Bank pledged $213 million for anti-poverty weather forecasting tech in Bangladesh in 2016, the distinction of SATIDA is its keen focus on community-based improvement.

Shailaja Fennell, Cambridge University’s coordinator of the Global Food Security Initiative, summarized the importance of the users and their families in the impact of weather forecasting on poverty:

“The world of IT is fantastic, but to truly deliver, the products must be owned and analyzed by the community.”

– Dan Krajewski

Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in Guyana Halved


Hunger in Guyana has improved exponentially over the past decade as the number of people who suffer from hunger has been halved.

According to the U.N., Guyana is one of 38 countries that have met internationally established targets in the effort to eliminate hunger.

The country was recognized by the World Food Summit (WFS) for more than halving the absolute number of undernourished people between 1992 and 2012. The number reduced from more than 19 percent to just over five percent in that 20-year time span. The number lowered from 143,000 to 38,000 undernourished people.

Reflected in the WFS report are the implications of poverty, food insecurity and hunger in Guyana. Extreme poverty in Guyana has declined from 28.7 percent in 1993 to 18.6 percent in 2006. In order to reach the U.N.’s Millennium Development Goals, that rate must have fallen by four percentage points by 2015.

The report raised concern not about the availability of food in the region, but rather the ability to make food widely accessible. Guyana has remote rural regions of underdeveloped communities to which it is difficult to distribute quality, nutritious meals. Raising agricultural productivity is the key in this regard because remote rural areas are largely dependent on their own crops and livestock.

Sixty percent of the country’s gross domestic product is represented by six exports: sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber and rice. Guyana was once a powerful producer of sugar, yet its production sunk to an all-time low in 2014. However, more recent crop production numbers have shown improvement.

To limit malnutrition, assuring the right food choices is important. In 2008, less than one percent of children under five suffered from extreme malnutrition. In addition, less than six percent experienced mild to moderate malnutrition.

The country’s minister of agriculture Leslie Ramsammy produced a food security report in July 2012. The report stated that an increasing population and the adverse of effects of climate change were the drivers of food insecurity. The U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently established a National Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Plan for the agriculture sector.

Ramsammy noted that a high food import bill and high national debt were the two biggest threats. At that time, debt levels were at more than 45 percent of Guyanese Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The minister of agriculture concluded that Guyana must reaffirm its commitment to the science of crop management and agriculture practices.

Hunger in Guyana has improved greatly over the past 20 years. The country has resolved to work with international organizations to reach global goals to develop locally groundbreaking agriculture advancements.

– Shaun Savarese

Photo: Flickr

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UN Helps Battle Food Insecurity in South Sudan

South Sudan_Food
A recent report from the U.N. indicates 5.5 million South Sudanese people are facing food insecurity. Approximately 100,000 of those are in immediate danger of starving.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is stepping up to address the crisis. It is fast-tracking plans to deliver more than 150,000 fishing kits, consisting of lines, hooks and nets, to those in need.

A Multi-Faceted Problem

Nearly 95 percent of South Sudan’s population depends on farming, fishing or herding to meet their needs. Unfortunately, a drought plunged multiple parts of the country, already torn by a civil war that started in 2013, into famine and food insecurity.

The conflict forced approximately 2.4 million people to move from their homes. It has also prevented many farmers from harvesting their crops. Some were able to shelter in neighboring countries, but other families were not so lucky. Driven into the bush, those unable to flee the country resorted to eating weeds and water lily roots.

To complicate matters even more, poor roads are disrupting some routes in South Sudan and negatively affecting critical supply lines. Coupled with an 800 percent hyperinflation rate, the supply chain issues are making it impossible for many to purchase food.

Life-Saving Equipment

FAO representative Serge Tissot knows the virtues of the simple hooks, lines and nets in mitigating food insecurity. “Fishery equipment is the best tool for them to catch something to eat quickly,” he said.

Terekeka state, near South Sudan’s capital city of Juba, shows promise for the hungry people. The region lies close to the Nile and includes five lakes that are home to Nile Perch, Tilapia, Catfish and Mudfish.

Terekeka Fishing Cooperative Chairman, Clement Sebit, reports that previously distributed fishing kits are have already been put to good use in the stocked waters. “We have had more people come to this area seeking safety…they are now fishing together with the other fisher folk.”

The fishing kits are part of the Emergency Livelihood Response Program, which receives its funding through the Common Humanitarian Fund Norway, UKAID and USAID.

– Gisele Dunn

Photo: Flickr

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Armyworm Infestation May Cause New Food Crisis in Southern Africa

Southern Africa_Food
Particular regions of southern Africa are currently grappling with food crises caused by record-setting droughts. On top of this, a new crop-eater is singling out these vulnerable areas. In doing so, the crop-eater’s presence causes concern for a new food crisis in southern Africa.

The pest is called a “fall armyworm,” though it is far more caterpillar-like than that of a worm. The first report of an infestation came from South Africa’s agricultural department in early February, when they noted its arrival and unfamiliarity.

The fall armyworm does not originate in Africa and is instead proven to come from the Americas. Experts believe the invasion may have arrived on ships of maize imported from the Americas during the El Nino between 2015 and 2016. The same El Nino jumpstarted the droughts that southern Africa is still currently wrestling through.

Farmers have likened the infestation of this new, strange pest to “one of the 10 plagues in the Bible […] It’s widespread and seems to be spreading rapidly.”

Indeed, there are several problems caused by the fall armyworm that may induce a new food crisis in southern Africa.

The Dangers

  1. While the fall armyworm feeds off of a variety of crops, such as cotton, soybean and tobacco, it is primarily targeting southern Africa’s primary food staple — maize.
  2. An armyworm-infested crop is not noticeable until it’s too late. The pest conceals itself from farmers by digging straight into the stem of the maize. Up to three-quarters of the crop can be destroyed without visibility.
  3. The worm has spread to six countries in eight weeks. The armyworms eventually develop into moths that are capable of traveling long distances. Each moth can lay up to 2,000 eggs, and each egg has a rapid life cycle.
  4. The fall armyworms are invading right on the heels of a horrific drought. A food crisis in southern Africa on top of an already-existing food shortage could be catastrophic.

Currently, the fall armyworm has traveled to South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia, Namibia and Mozambique. New reports are currently developing in Nigeria and Ghana. Unfortunately, the Americas—where the fall armyworm originates—first reported infestations in 1957 and have still been unable to find solutions to eradicate them. They are considered second only to the red locusts in terms of the amount of damage they are able to inflict.

The most farmers can do now is try to control the invasion through pesticides and careful watch for larva in the leaves of their crops.

In the meantime, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization is holding an emergency meeting on this matter later this week in Zimbabwe.

– Brenna Yowell

Photo: Flickr

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Averting Global Food Shortages with New Fertilizer

Food
A team of scientists from Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom recently collaborated to study nanotechnology-based fertilizer delivery to crops. What they discovered has the potential to revolutionize farming worldwide, reduce environmental impact and mitigate future global food shortages.

The study, which was published in the Jan. 25, 2017 edition of American Chemical Society Nano (ACSNano), acknowledges that fertilizer prices in developing countries are substantial, and the costs often negatively impact food supply. Scientists determined that developing technology to reduce fertilizer costs was necessary, and began testing a trial fertilizer on rice farms in Sri Lanka.

The results were nothing short of impressive. Initial trials showed a 20% increase in production using about half the amount of fertilizer. These findings are a boon for future generations. The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that crop production needs to increase by approximately 60% by 2050 in order to supply the world’s population and avoid global food shortages.

The Science Behind the Results

The scientists in this study didn’t reinvent the wheel. They focused their attention on urea, a common fertilizer. Although urea has been used for decades, it has major weaknesses. When urea comes in contact with water, it breaks down prematurely and cannot be efficiently absorbed by crops. Farmers then have to use more fertilizer — if they can afford it. Calling this issue a “major challenge for global agriculture” that “threatens future food security,” the team settled on a nanotechnology-based principle for fertilizer delivery. This method has wide applications in pharmaceutical delivery, and the scientists thought it showed promise.

The team combined Hydroxyapatite nanoparticles with urea to create nanohybrids. Then, they applied the mixture to crops at test farms. It pleased them to discover that the nanohybrid fertilizer decomposed the urea at a slower rate than urea alone. The scientists reported that they reduced the amount of fertilizer application by 50% while increasing crop yield by more than nine percent.

Larger Harvests with a Smaller Footprint

Money isn’t the only thing saved when nanohybrids are in play. Less fertilizer applied to crops means that less washes away into bodies of water, avoiding unnecessary pollution. Gehan Amaratunga, one of the scientists on the team, says “this goes a long way to reducing the environmental footprint of agriculture…It is a Green Revolution.”

– Gisele Dunn

Photo: Flickr

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Cutting Iraq WFP Aid

Cutting Iraq WFP Aid
The United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP) began providing food aid and humanitarian assistance to Iraq in 1991. In October 2016, 1.2 million Iraqis received food assistance from the WFP. However, a staggering 4.4 million across the nation are still in need.

Due to cuts in funding from donor states, the WFP has reduced food rations in Iraq by 50%. The move will leave 1.4 million displaced Iraqis without assistance, although the agency is negotiating on how to regain full funding from donors such as the United States, Germany and Japan.

Occupation of the region by Islamic State facilitated the destruction of massive annual barley and wheat harvests, destroying an annual one-third of the nation’s crop yields. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace also attributes increasing influxes of internally displaced persons and Syrian refugees, inefficient supply chains, lack of governing infrastructure and cash shortages to be at the root of Iraq’s food supply crisis.

Agencies active in providing assistance include Iraq’s Ministry of Displacement and Migration, United Nations organizations and the WFP. These actors constitute the foundation of social protections and safety nets for Iraqi citizens through food distribution, development and financial support.

According to an Iraq WFP aid study on social protections from the Centre for Social Protection at the Institute of Development Studies, Iraq’s Ministry of Displacement and Migration granted financial aid of 300,000 dinars (USD$255) to 9,373 families displaced among a dozen countries. This ministry also runs a “human stability” program.

Although cornucopias of vulnerable populations, an absence of adequate legal statutes and corruption are all hurdles to food assistance, there are steps that can be taken to improve Iraqi social protection systems. For example, the WFP recommends “building the capacity of social protection research, increasing the number of beneficiaries and demanding inclusion of the unemployed in social welfare systems.”

– Amber Bailey

Photo: Flickr