Executive Summary
Food Crisis has been distinguished as the main problem to be tackled in this century. The fast shortage of food in the world is causing an alarming situation in vulnerable parts of the world which is only going to grow with time if not tackled properly and in time. According to the World Food Programme, it is expected that 123 million people in more than 50 countries are facing food insecurity (2018). It is worth mentioning that there are three main reasons which induce the food crisis in some parts of the world. The first factor is the geographical factor that causes the ratio of population to land seriously out of balance, and the food supply cannot be met, and there are many countries that are witnessing food shortage problems, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The second factor is natural disasters, such as abnormal heat and drought weather which has caused many food producing countries around the world to reduce their production to varying amounts. Lastly, the third factor is political insecurity and continuing war. Regions of Iraq, Sudan, and Afghanistan have been influenced by regional clashes, and the deterioration of the safety situation has led numerous local citizens to poverty waiting for global aid.
As the food crisis problem is increasingly globalized, a growing number of people are now considering and focusing on the solution of the food shortage situation. In this report, I am going to research the crisis prevailing in the Sahel through collected data to determine the causes of the problem and provide some solutions.
Introduction
Since the early 1970s, Sahel has suffered from long-term food shortages caused by economic crises, poverty, desertification, and climate change. At the same time, population growth is seen growing fast in Africa, with an average growth rate of 120% over the past 30 years (the Sahel, 2006). According to the article called, ” Food Crisis In the Sahel” it has been indicated that continued neglect of native agriculture, persistent long-term poverty, high food prices, threats of severe drought, conflicts, population displacements, and altering climate trends have merged to produce a rising food crisis in the region of the Sahel of sub-Saharan Africa. (Food Crisis in the Sahel) Based on my research, the most serious food shortage was witnessed in the Sahel in 2012, when the drought hit the African Sahel for the third time in a decade, and millions of people fell into famine. There is only one precipitation per year in the Sahel region of Africa, so insufficient rain is an important factor causing the famine in the Sahel. Also, disasters to crops have caused food prices to increase in 2012, with high fuel costs and pest infestation, the crisis has only worsened. To solve this crisis, the World Food Programme provided food vouchers or cash to hungry people so that they can buy food in the local market. It not only helped the local economy to recover but also provided people with a variety of food choices. Also, they were teaching local people how to use ponds to collect rainwater and plant drought-resistant crops that can help them overcome frequent dry weather. Another way to avoid hunger is to build granaries in rural areas, where people can borrow food during such periods (World Health Organization, 2006).
As per the United Nations, about 18.7 million people faced an extreme crisis of food shortage in the Sahel region in the year 2012. Even though the worst part of the crisis has passed, the risk of its returning has not yet faltered. This ongoing food crisis is getting complicated by the violence in the Mali region which has caused the refugees to flee to the neighboring areas. Recent erratic rains, existing food security, soaring prices of food, failed crops, and instability in the region has fueled the situation to go out of hands of its government and has left millions hungry (Care.org, 2014).
The constant neglect of the small farmers and local agriculture, higher prices of food, poverty, the danger of grave drought, changing climatic trends, dislocation of people and conflict has altogether created a never dying food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa in Sahel region. While eight countries are at risk, Niger faces the greatest threat. It appears as no revelation as well that the majority affected are the elderly, young and poor people (Concern.Net, 2012).
Direct Causes of the Crisis
Considering the possible causes of this crisis, one can find many reasons. But while considering it in detail, there are various direct and then many indirect causes for this crisis.
Poverty
Poverty is one of the key drivers of the hunger and food insecurity crisis. The lack of financial resources inhibits the ability of the people to purchase their basic foodstuff even if it is available in plenty. Lack of contact with livestock, land, and other important assets reduces the alternatives for the poor (Concern.Net, 2012).
(Data Africa, 2018)
Land and Gender
Non-secure tenure on the land is another major reason for this crisis. It has been found that only 10% of the land is covered by documentation showing the insecurity of the property for the poor. It has more pronounced as the field of agriculture has become increasingly feminine with women workers working in fields while men go looking for urban jobs. Women contribute without owning any land facing discrimination in credit availability as well (Concern.Net, 2012).
Conflict
Conflict is another major reason which has not let this crisis settle down. It has been highlighted that more than 20% of hunger resides in the 22 countries which are identified as protracted crisis areas. Conflict causes people to leave their lands and flee disrupting normal activities of agriculture increasing vulnerability and hunger (Concern.Net, 2012).
Environmental Degradation
Another major cause of this food crisis is the environmental degradation causing changes in the climate. Within the last decades, the world has witnessed commercialization of agriculture causing pressure on the environment with the use of chemicals and extensive water. This agriculture leads to soil erosion and chemical fertilizers which have disrupted the traditional system of generation of income. African poor has become now dependant on the surplus of Europe and other rich regions (Concern.Net, 2012).
It is important to realize that long-term drought is also an immediate cause for food crisis in the Sahel region. For example, it is one of the main influencing factors affecting climate change in the Sahel. Overall, the total amount of rainfall in Sahel region is limited, however, in some areas the rainfall has increased significantly. Due to pressure gradients controlled by temperature changes and air mass, most coastal areas have more rainfall because of additional ocean evaporation. On the other hand, there is less internal rainfall, and an increase in temperature leads to a growth in evaporation, thereby diminishing the available moisture (MrGeogWagg, 2015).
Political Neglect
Political neglect is certainly another major reason which has contributed to this crisis. State intervention in the marketing and production of food was discouraged until very recently by the global financial institutions guiding the poor countries. It has led to agriculture aid to decline. The resultant impact is ineffective infrastructure, less productive lands and increasing poverty (Concern.Net, 2012).
Indirect Causes of the Crisis
Other than these local factors of Sahel, there are significant international factors as well which plays an important role in this crisis. It is an undeniable fact that the world food prices are one of the indirect factors causing a food crisis in the Sahel. Since the world food prices are largely in control of the international markets and are robustly subjective to numerous factors, the most important one is oil prices, as many of the key contribution and process in modern agriculture are extremely reliant on petroleum products. The requirements and circumstances of deprived farmers in the Sahel are not the main concern for these markets. On the other hand, food prices are crucial because the poorest people typically spend between 50% and 71% of their earnings on food, so they have no means to deal with price increases, unless by reducing the amount of consumption or its nutritional quality (Concern.Net, 2012).
Short-term Management of Solutions
To tackle the short-term influences of the food crisis in the Sahel, the national government should provide them with early warning systems to alert citizens before a natural disaster. And also, the government should use more cash and vouchers while food is accessible in the markets as money aids the poor people to get access to food while supporting home manufacturers as well. Meanwhile, the government should provide more water retention systems that will increase the number of irrigated crops and reduce their dependence on rain-fed crops. Another solution is to help farmers form cooperatives and help them move from a single plot to a collective effort to spread risk and provide more price stability.
Long-term Management of Solutions
For addressing this crisis, there are some steps which can be taken. For example, for over the longest period, Sub-African people have been portraying the image of dehumanizing hunger to the other world. It is not to say there is no hunger but to inform that even with this entire crisis there is ample land for agriculture available and plenty of water for irrigation and normally a favorable climate as well. The need is more use of knowledge, technology, management skills and resources for closing onto this food deficit. Economic growth alone is not the solution to this problem. There is no one solution. Education, nutrition, health, interventions in agriculture, strengthening of small farmers support services, transport services, local governments, sanitation, and commerce altogether would provide the answer to this problem. Investing in longer-term interventions and establishing early warnings for identification of such crisis are needed. Addressing price volatile, market failures and most importantly protecting the livelihoods of the most vulnerable is needed (Concern.Net, 2012).
Conclusion
To summarize, the prevailing picture of sub-Saharan Africa has been the dehumanization of hunger, with more than a quarter of Africans malnourished with food insecurity prevalent and persistent during many past decades. Famine has almost disappeared in other parts of the world, but it continues to infect parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Although there is access to knowledge, technology, and resources to compensate for food security deficiencies to Africans including those in the Sahel, economic growth will not be the only solution to the food crisis problem, because it is needed to do more research on support services, health, nutrition, and also the national government should take action on agriculture, health care and education to address such food crisis.
Reference
Care.org. (2014, June). What’s happening in the Sahel? Retrieved from https://www.care.org/emergencies/sahel-hunger-crisis
Concern.Net. (2012). In the Sahel. Retrieved from https://www.concern.net/sites/default/files/media/page/food_crisis_in_sahel-web.pdf
Data Africa. (2018). Sahel. Retrieved from https://dataafrica.io/profile/sahel-bfa
MrGeogWagg. (2015, October 5). Climate Change and the Sahel Region. Retrieved https://mrgeogwagg.wordpress.com/2015/10/05/climate-change-and-the-sahel-region/
World Health Organization. (2006, October). Health Action in Crises: Sahel Region. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/hac/donorinfo/callsformobilisation/Sahel_advocacy_Oct06.pdf
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