FAO paints bleak food security picture

Background

Climate change is the difference in statistical distribution of weather patterns that lasts for an extended period of time. Global warming is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system and its related effects. Climate change poses a fundamental threat to places, species and people’s livelihoods. Sea levels are rising and oceans are becoming warmer. Longer, more intense droughts threaten crops, wildlife and freshwater supplies.The Paris Agreement was a momentous step towards a serious effort to tackling climate change. 

War is an ancient manifestation of human interaction that continues to beset mankind today. It represents an armed conflict between states, governments, societies and paramilitary groups causing extreme violence and destruction that often results in loss of life, but also civilian displacement, famine and starvation. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is an intergovernmental, specialised agency of the United Nations that is primarily with defeating world hunger. It works in both developed and developing countries, serving as a neutral forum where nations may meet to negotiate and debate policy. It also serves as a source of information, helping nations to improve agriculture, forestry and fishery practices, while ensuring good nutrition and food security. Annually, since 2013, the FAO has released a study that takes stock of the countries facing the greatest food-related difficulties. 

Analysis

The FAO recently released a report jointly with the European Union and the UN World Food Program, entitled the 2019 Global Report on Food Crises: Joint Analysis for Better Decisions. The report finds that around 113 million people in 53 countries were subject to acute food insecurity in 2018, compared to 124 million the previous year. Despite the apparent dip, the number of countries affected by food insecurity has risen.

Two-thirds of those facing acute hunger are in found in 8 countries, listed here in order of severity; Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Sudan, South Sudan and northern Nigeria. Countries in Africa were shown to be those disproportionally affected by acute food insecurity by the report. 

The report states that this rate of hunger is primarily caused by conflict and insecurity, climate shocks and economic turbulence. Conflict and insecurity was the key driver in acute hunger, with 74 million people, more than two-thirds of those facing acute hunger, located in 21 nations wracked some form of strife. 33 million of these were in 10 countries in Africa, with another 27 million in 7 countries in the Middle East. Yemen was the worst hit of these; over 15.9 million people suffer from acute hunger as a result of the ongoing civil war. Congo follows with 13.1 million people. Climate and natural disasters pushed 29 million people into hunger, with most of these in Africa; 23 million people in 20 African countries. Economic conditions helped drive 10.2 million people into acute food insecurity, mostly in Africa. 

Tackling conflict and insecurity-driven hunger, as well as that motivated by economic turbulence, is of primordial importance, especially given that they are largely caused by immediately alterable human factors. Reducing the propensity to resort to armed conflict around the world, ensuring regional and economic stability will go a long way to providing nutritional requirements for those most vulnerable. This, in tandem with aid packages and sustainable agriculture initiatives, can help reduce the number of those impoverished. 

The withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement diminishes the importance placed on the pact, a result of its normative and polluting primacy. In addition, various parties continue to voice reservations over whether man has anything to do with creating climate change. Within a democratic debate, these voices are given space, donating a spectrum of credence, which continues to gain momentum. However, there is reasonable consensus amongst most of the worlds’ powers that man has donated to climate change. Despite this, trends of climate change indicate that unless massive change is initiated, hunger as a result of climate shocks, is unlikely to be challenged. 

Assessment

Our assessment is that the issues of conflict and economic driven hunger as human factors can be tackled by cultivating regional and political stability. We believe that climate change requires macroeconomic change that demands action now in order to see results in years ahead. 

Image Courtesy - CIAT [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)]