Part 2: Continuation of food scarcity in the world

Strategies and recommendations to overcome food shortages

1.Technological

Storage

• One way to address food shortage is to improve the storage and transportation of food

• The use of refrigerated and frozen warehouse storage or delivery trucks can allow food to be kept fresh for a longer period of time

• Food wastage will be reduced as food will not be spoilt before reaching customers

• In LDCs, farmers may make use of a simple but effective technology such as silo, which is an airtight structure for storing crops.

Successes:

• With the use of refrigerated storage, crops can be distributed to places further away from its area of production. This allow for a larger variety of food made available and accessible for more people.

• FAO has helped to reduce loss of crops to pests by 20%to 40% by building silos in Timor-Leste.

Limitations:

• Refrigeration of food on a large scale is very expensive and adds on to the cost of food production.

• Silos may be unaffordable to poor farmers.

• Fungus can continue to develop when grains have not been dried before being stored in Silos



Farming technology

• Green Revolution which Includes the development of high-yielding varieties, the improvement of irrigation technology and the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides

• Some examples of irrigation include:

Flood: irrigation water delivered to a whole surface, such as rice fields

Mechanical move: a line of connected sprinklers travel across a field automatically, using a machine

Centre-pivot irrigation: a form of overhead sprinkler irrigation consisting of several segments of pipe joined together and supported by trusses, mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along its length. The pipes are moved mechanically around a central point

Successes:

• Enabled food to be grown in places previously considered unsuitable for agriculture e.g. irrigation allowed farming to be carried out in areas that were previously too dry for growing crops.

• HYVs has increased rice and wheat production in developing countries by 75% between 1965 and 1980 with only a 20% increase in the area used to grow these crops.

• More efficient farming, reducing the dependence on labour e.g. use of computers in Singapore's high-tech farms has resulted in fewer workers needed to grow crops in these farms.

Limitations:

• Environmental problems may result if not properly managed e.g. irrigation may result in problems such as waterlogging and salinization



Biotechnology

• Refers to the science of modifying living organisms such as plants and animals in order to meet the increasing demand for food

• When used in production of food, it is generally known as genetic modification

Successes:

Food could be produced in areas previously considered unsuitable for agriculture

Plants have been improved through biotechnology can withstand changes in weather such as fall in rainfall or a rise in temperature

This helps to stabilize crop yield as the crops are not affected by weather changes

An example of such plants is the drought resistant maize, which can grow in areas such as the Western Great Plains of the USA where the rainfall received in the area is about 600 mm



Reduced food wastage

A longer shelf life allows food to be sent to places further away from the country of production

For example, GM tomatoes were modified and able to stay fresh for up to 45 days, which is 3 times as long as a non-tomatoes

This helps to reduce food wastage

Increased crop yield

Increased productivity, leads to higher incomes for producers and lower prices for consumers

Countries will be self-sufficient in food production, reducing their reliance on imports of food

Consumers will have access to more food due to the lower prices for food



Limitations

High capital investment

GM crops are mostly grown in large-scale commercial farms in DCs due to the high capital investment involved so poor farmers LDCs could not afford

Food safety

Many consumers are wary of consuming GM food

As a result, the production of GM food is small as the demand is low

Limited use of biotechnology

Biotechnology is only used to increase production in certain food crops such as maize, soya bean and canola

Not use in producing other crops such as cassava, sorghum and banana



2. Agricultural
Multiple cropping and crop rotation

·      Multiple cropping is a practice of growing two or more crops on a single piece of land at the same time. In countries where multiple cropping is not possible due to climate, farmers practice crop rotation. 

      Crop rotation is a way of growing several crops on the same land are in a specific order, following the changes in seasons. Hence, there is no planting of the same crop on the same piece of land continuously. It is a strategy to help farmers overcome soil erosion and prevent a decrease in soil fertility, which are vital in maintaining and increasing food production.

·          There are several advantages of multiple cropping and crop rotation. The first relates to leguminous crops which are plants with seeds in pods.

o  Firstly, leguminous crops such as ground nut and soy bean, have roots that contain bacteria in their root systems that produce nitrogen compounds. When these crops die, they release nitrogen in the soil which acts as a fertiliser for other plants. When leguminous crops are planted next to non-leguminous crops such as corn and sorghum the non-leguminous crops benefit from the nitrogen generated by the leguminous crops.

o  Secondly, growing a variety of crops simultaneously minimises the problem of pests. When several crops are grown together, some species protect the others by acting as a pest repellent. For example crops such as garlic, pepper and onions may be planted next to other crops; such as tomatoes. These crops repel pests, such as aphids, away from the tomatoes.

o  Dependence on one crop is avoided though both multiple cropping and crop rotation so that variability in prices, market, climate and pests and diseases do not have such drastic effects on local economies. In Garhwal Himalaya, India, a practice known as baranaja involves 12 or more crops on the same field. The crops include various types of beans and mullet, and are harvested at different times of the year.

 

Water and soil conservation

Water and soil are conserved when no-till farming  is practiced

No-till farming is farming without removing weeds from the soil and without creating rows in the soil for planting

This methods allows leaves and branches from the previous growing season to be kept on the surface of the soil

This maintains the quality of the soil through the decomposition of dead plant materials that return nutrients to the soil

This helps in soil conservation where the soil is protected against erosion or deterioration



Leasing farmland to other countries

Some countries which do not have sufficient land suitable for farming may choose to lease farmland from other countries

For example, in 2012, Russia wanted to lease out land to countries in Asia Pacific such as Singapore, Japan and South Korea for farming

Each plot of land that is leased out will be 200,000 hectares and Russia has about 20 such plots of land to be leased out

In Ethiopia, food production is unable to sustain its population and farmland is even leased out though several million people rely on food aid

However, leasing out land to other countries may generate income that may be channeled back to help local farmers improve their farming methods to increase local food production



Land-grab' for food security - 18 Nov 09


https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/land-grabbing.html


https://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/land-grabbing/land-grabbing.html

3. Social

Support local farmers

Consumers can support local farmers by purchasing locally produced food

This helps to diversify the source of food supply in the country, in addition to food imports

In this way, the food security of the country is enhanced as the reliance on food imports is reduced

Local farmers often face stiff competition from big agribusiness, who have a larger share of the food market

By purchasing locally produced food, consumers can help local farmers to maintain their share of the food market



Population control

In many LDCs, the growth in food production is slower than population growth, especially in areas such as India where hunger and malnutrition are widespread

Controlling the population growth is thus essential to ensure that people have sufficient food

One way to solve this problem is for people to be given education on family planning, as well as to be given access to reproduction health facilities

For example, in one of the villages in the Philippines, a community-based family planning programme was started to provide the people with contraceptives so as to slow down population growth and solve the problem of food shortage

Political and economic

Better governance at the national and international levels through the use of political and economic strategies is required to address the issue of food



1)    National strategies (agricultural policies and land reform)

Strategies implemented within a country

May involve the whole country or selected parts of a country



i)      Agricultural policies

Refers to laws pertaining to domestic agriculture

Also a government policy which works with food policy to achieve food security for the country

The amount of food produced is regulated to ensure that there is sufficient food supply and to ensure that food is affordable



Federal Land Development  Authority (FELDA) in Malaysia

Purpose is to remove poverty of the rural population through agricultural activities  and develop the remote parts of the country

Developing unused land for agriculture and settlement

Farmers were provided with land, seeds and tools for farming

Building modern processing facilities for crops



Successes

More than 90,000 families have been resettled under the FELDA scheme by 1985. Most of them were involved in agricultural activities such as rubber, oil palm, cocoa, sugar cane and coffee plantations.

Nearly a million acres of jungle have been transformed into farms as a results of the scheme.



Limitations

Food security of the country may be threatened as cash crops such as oil palm are favoured over food crops due to higher revenue

Planting of cash crops involves high capital and subjected to fluctuations of world price, hence posing high risk to farmers compared to other land uses





High-tech farming in Singapore

Agro-technology parks are built to house high-tech farms

Equipped with necessary infrastructure that modern farms require such as computers

Successes

Local farms produce up to 8% of vegetables, 8% of fish and 26% of eggs consumed in Singapore.

Singapore can reduce its reliance on food imports.

Limitations

High cost of setting up high-tech farming translates into higher prices for consumers.

Shortage of trained workers for high-tech farming thus it remains a small industry in Singapore.

Competition from cheaper food imports because consumers still prefer to buy cheaper food produce from neighbouring countries



International strategies (food programme, fair trade, food aid and agricultural development)

Strategies that are implemented across many countries

May involves many countries across the world or within a region, such as Southeast Asia



i)      Food programmes and aid assistance

Food programmes are activities that may be introduced either by national governments or international organisations such as the United Nations and World Bank. These programmes are designed to address specific food shortage issues (refer to Fig. 2.89). Food programmes are a form of food aid. Food aid refers to granting access to food to all people through international funding and support.

Examples of food programmes designed by international organisations and their effectiveness

United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP)

Responding to Emergencies

·  Provision of emergency food assistance during wars and natural disasters

·  Food was successfully delivered to 99.5% of targeted recipients during the 2011 Sudan food crisis

·  WFP was able to provide food to 1.5 million of 2.5 million people facing a food crisis in Somalia

·  During such emergencies, food prices may be inflated, which results in high costs for the UNWFP.

·  The extent of its assistance may also be limited by how much funds they receive from donors.



Cash and Voucher schemes

·  Distribution of cash and vouchers in places where food is available but people are unable to afford it.

·  Cash and vouchers benefit the local economy because beneficiaries spend the money in local markets.

·  Over time, this may create a culture of dependency among beneficiaries.



School Meals

·  Provision of school meals to provide nutrition for school children.

·  School feeding provides an incentive for enrolment and attendance and can help children learn more effectively.

·  The coverage of these programmes is uneven across countries. In low-income countries, only 18% of children receive a daily meal at school, compared to nearly 49% of children in middle-income countries.

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