With the right actions, we can end hunger by 2030

Women line up to receive food rations at a distribution centre in Lokitaung, Turkana County. Like most African countries, Kenya is not food-secure and it will have to race to achieve zero hunger by 2030. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Although Kenya is not categorised among the severely food-insecure countries, agricultural production and productivity lag far behind population growth.
  • Demand for food far outstrips food production, making the country dependent on imports to cover the deficit.

  • Achieving zero hunger by 2030 is possible but requires sustained action at individual, community, national and global levels.

Today is the World Food Day, dedicated to creating awareness about and inspire action against hunger, food insecurity and poor nutrition.

The annual global event gives us the opportunity to examine the state of food and nutrition in the world, to celebrate the progress made in achieving food security and to renew our commitment to end hunger within the ambit of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 2.

The theme of this year’s celebrations is “Our Actions are Our Future. A Zero-Hunger World by 2030 is Possible”. Zero hunger is not only the global target of SDG 2 but also an ideal that the global community wishes to achieve.

LIVELIHOODS

However, achieving zero hunger is an imperative, given that, after some years of good progress, global hunger is on the rise again.

According to a report by FAO, IFAD, Unicef, WFP and WHO (‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2018’), some 821 million people are food-insecure and more than 150 million children stunted. Adult obesity is worsening and more than one in eight adults — 672 million — are obese. Undernutrition and obesity coexist in many countries.

The hunger situation is worrying and requires urgent actions to accelerate investment in agriculture, improve production and productivity, improve food distribution systems and provide social protection to the most vulnerable in order to strengthen resilience of people’s livelihoods.

SENSITIVE

The recent report on the food security and nutrition cites the main driver of insecurity as climate variability and extremes. That is compounded by factors such as conflict and economic slowdown.

Hunger is significantly worse in countries with rain-fed, low-technology agricultural systems that are highly sensitive to disruption by conflict, violence and drought.

Although Kenya is not categorised among the severely food-insecure countries, agricultural production and productivity lag far behind population growth. Demand for food far outstrips food production, making the country dependent on imports to cover the deficit.

DISPLACED

Since 2011, Kenya has gone through cycles of climate variability extremes, mainly drought and floods. More recently, it went through a severe drought spell in 2016/17 that exposed 3.4 million Kenyans — equal to the population of Nairobi — to severe food insecurity.

As the effect of drought was easing, the country experienced severe flooding that displaced thousands of people, destroyed farms and houses and killed hundreds of livestock, rendering many families food-insecure. Like most African countries, Kenya is not food-secure and it will have to race to achieve zero hunger by 2030.

But as food security and nutrition report shows, challenges have emerged that make it necessary to expand and accelerate efforts to defeat hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition.

RESILIENCE

Political action to achieve peace in countries plagued by internecine conflict and violence is needed, as are political and practical actions to reduce the causes of climate change and build resilience against climate variability and extremes.

Achieving zero hunger by 2030 is possible but requires sustained action at individual, community, national and global levels. The target year is less than 12 years away, and so we do not really have time, but it is possible if we bear in mind that it is our joint actions that will determine the outcome.

Achieving zero hunger is in our hands and I call on everyone to play their part.

Mr Rugalema is the FAO Representative in Kenya. [email protected].