Small Farmers Can Make Big Impact In Ending World Hunger!

One person in eight sleeps hungry every night and 2.3 million children die because of malnutrition. Millions more are struggling day and night to earn a good living, but cannot afford a healthy and nutritious food.

Each one getting proper nutritious food can surely end this problem. Adding to it, Several world hunger solutions can solve this problem. One such solution includes government supporting the small-scale farmers.

Some small-scale farmers are barely able to cultivate one-hectare land to feed their families, while most can’t manage to do even that. This wouldn’t be the case, if they got enough support from the government.

Given proper support, these small-scale farmers could potentially produce 80% of the world’s food production and manage to break the cycle of hunger, malnutrition, and poverty.

However, today these farmers are facing several issues like debt, climate changes, crop diseases and more, which are the prime reasons behind poor agriculture output. Lack of resources and money are some other reasons that are making things difficult for agriculturalists. All these factors are demoralizing farmers.

The lack of resources and support, subsequently, results in lesser agriculture yield, which is further adding to the problem of malnutrition. This is why encouraging and supporting small-scale farmers is essential. Providing support and incentives to farmers can prove beneficial in the following ways-

It will increase food production
It will improve food security and sovereignty
It will eliminate malnutrition
It will reduce poverty

Besides the support of government, numerous organizations and groups have joined the fight towards ending world hunger. Organizations are providing training to farmers, supporting them for bulk seed buying at reasonable prices, and organizing workshops.

These measures are proving to be quite helpful for farmers because they are learning new agricultural techniques that are not only improving their agriculture yield but also significantly reducing the impact of world hunger and malnutrition.

Reasons For Hunger In The World

To lead a health active life, it is important to consume good nutritious food. Unfortunately, approx. 795 million people in the world do not get enough food to lead a healthy life.

According to stats, the world produces food for entire global population of 7 billion people, yet, one person in nine goes to bed hungry each night.

There are many reasons that lead to hunger problem, which are as follows-

Poverty trap

People below poverty line are the ones who go to bed hungry every night. Serving nutritious food is a distant dream for them, when they can’t even afford two meals a day for their families.

In developing countries, farmers do not have money to buy seeds that could be used to plant crops for their families. Hence, poverty is the reason that is increasing the number of hungry people.

Lack of investment in agriculture

Countries that lack in agricultural infrastructure such as enough roads, warehouses, and irrigation are facing hunger problem. This is because improper infrastructure leads to high transport costs, lack of storage facilities and unreliable water supplies, which affects the agriculture process.

Hence, improving the land by using water more efficiently and planting seed will bring good improvements. According to the research by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, investment in agriculture helps reduce poverty.

Climate and weather

Natural disasters such as floods, storms, and lack of rain, spoil agriculture that leads to food shortages in the world. In 2011, natural disaster in parts of Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya caused massive crop failure. In 2012, similar situation occurred in the Sahel region of West Africa.

War and displacement

War is another reason that disrupts farming and food production. This is because people have to flee from their homes and land. Subsequently, this leads to hunger emergencies.

Price hike of food items

Unstable price of food products puts food out of reach for people who are below the poverty line. This also affects the nutrition factor as rise in prices of food makes consumers opt for cheaper and less-nutritious food products.

To bring an end to this, many hunger organizations are working in this field. They provide food to needy people and spread awareness regarding food nutrition.

How Hunger Organizations Are Working To End World Hunger

Did you know that millions of people in world are malnourished? Do you know how many people go to bed hungry every night all around the world? Answers of these questions are troubling to say the least. However, many hunger organizations, groups or societies are working towards ending the hunger issues in the world. But, how these organizations are working to end hunger problems? By the following methods –

By providing food – These groups provide food to those people who cannot afford a healthy and nutritious meal. They provide meals through food pantries, emergency shelters, soup kitchens and more. They distribute healthy and nutritious meals to poor. However, these groups usually depend on donations to feed more hungry people. Their work is not limited to just a country. They work to end this problem all around the world.  They also provide financial assistance to poor people, so that they can afford food.

By increasing awareness about this subject – These organizations are working to increase the awareness about hunger issues worldwide. They bring issues like malnutrition in children, poverty, food crisis, agriculture problems etc., into light and in the public eye. For this purpose, they organize various types of events. Many of these societies also take help from celebrities to increase awareness about this subject among public. They also encourage social movements that work in the direction of ending hunger issues.

By encouraging more people to join – These organizations encourage more and more people to join the fight against hunger. For this purpose, they organize events where people can volunteer. These organizations help individuals learn about the seriousness of these problems worldwide. They educate individuals about this subject and encourage them to play their part in this fight.

By influencing policies – These groups also work to influence policies so that more work is done in the direction of ending hunger issues. To ensure food justice and sovereignty, they support social movements. Support of the public helps organizations in influencing public policy, so that more poor and hungry people can get nutritious food.

Why Developing Countries Are More Affected With Hunger Issues?

World hunger cannot be considered just one nation’s problem. It is an issue that is affecting lives worldwide. But, it is also a fact that it affects developing countries more than the developed nations. Most malnourished people live in African regions (like Niger and Ethiopia), other countries in Asia.

But, why? Why developing countries suffer more than developed ones when it comes to hunger issues? What makes them more prone to these problems?

Here are the reasons –

Poverty – Poverty is one of the biggest factors behind hunger issues. Family or individuals who cannot afford food are more likely to suffer malnourishment. It is a well-known fact that population in most developing countries suffers from poverty. It makes them more prone to malnourishment since they cannot afford nourishing food. Many times, this population comprises of farmers who play important role in food production.

But, many of these farmers do not own any land to grow crops. It affects their financial status as they work on others’ land but still cannot afford food. No other resources or source of income worsens their situation. Malnourished children of these families are usually unable to live a healthy life, which affects their financial status. Malnourished mothers may give birth to underweight children. Unfortunately, it becomes an unbreakable cycle of poverty and malnourishment.

Low investment rate on agriculture – In developing nations, low investment rate in agriculture also affects the hunger issue. Small farmers are unable to acquire sources like storage, irrigation, agricultural equipment, land management etc., for their crops. If affects food production adversely. Lack of appropriate irrigation resources and aspects like storage can lead to shortage of food supplies.

Still developing infrastructure – These countries have a still developing infrastructure, which affects the overall food production. Natural disasters like draughts can worsen the situation for government that is already struggling with food management and sovereignty.

As mentioned above, developing countries are more prone to the dangers of hunger. However, it is essential to take necessary steps to end world hunger. Whether it’s a developed nation or a still developing one, proper actions should be taken, so that no one sleeps hungry anywhere in the world.

Matters That Should Be Handled In Order To End World Hunger

Do you know about the different aspects or matters that affect the world hunger issues? There are several matters that greatly affect the hunger issues worldwide. They are closely associated with the hunger problems. However, ending these aspects is essential in order to end world hunger. These aspects are –

Poverty – It is one of the major aspects that affect the poor and hungry people all over the world. Due to poverty, many people cannot afford food let alone a healthy and nutritious meal. Many people go hungry to sleep, and poverty is one of the main reasons behind it.

They are unable to afford food or any other resource. And, unfortunately many of these people play an important role in the food production.

Many organizations are working to end world hunger and poverty. They work to end poverty so that one can afford healthy and nutritious food for their family members. It can play an essential role in this movement.

Unequal use of natural resources – It is another aspect that increases the hunger issues worldwide. Unequal use allows few people to relish those natural resources while many others suffer from the lack of it. Poor people who rely heavily on the natural resources for food, water, income and more, suffer because of this unequal use. It can also worsen their financial conditions, which results into poverty and hunger problems.

Child malnutrition – It is a matter that should be handled properly in order to end the world hunger issues. A malnourished child may grow a weak adult, who cannot engage in activities that require hard work. They may not be able to earn enough income for their families and suffer from poverty lifelong.

In addition, there are higher chances that a malnourished mother may give birth to a weak child. It becomes a cycle that affects many generations. It is important to break this chain in order to end world hunger.

Above mentioned are the most important and influential aspects that should end all around the world.