Can we feed the world and ensure no one goes hungry?

UNITED NATIONS: Enough food is produced today to feed everyone on the planet, but hunger is on the rise in some parts of the world, and some 821 million people are considered to be “chronically undernourished.” What steps are being taken to ensure that everyone, worldwide,

Thanks to rapid economic growth and increased agricultural productivity over the past two decades, the number of people in the world who aren’t getting enough to eat has dropped by almost half, with regions such as Central and East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean making great strides in eradicating extreme hunger. However, that’s against a background of the global population rising by nearly two billion.

And now recent trends suggest that the hunger problem persists, particularly in Africa and South America, where there are new indications that undernourishment and severe food insecurity are on the rise.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the number of undernourished people has increased, from some 195 million in 2014, to 237 million in 2017. Poor nutrition causes nearly half

in the region, or some 3.1 million children per year.

Five steps to zero hunger

While there is no silver bullet to solving hunger, the World Food Program (WFP) has outlined a vision that

– More protection for the most vulnerable. Expanding social protection for the poorest would raise the purchasing power of the poorest two billion, kick-starting local economies

– Improve infrastructure. Ensure consumers and suppliers can more easily buy and sell, by building better roads, storage facilities and

– Reduce food waste. Around one third of the food produced each year is lost or wasted, costing the global economy some $1 trillion per year

– Grow a wider variety of crops. Around 60 percent of all calories consumed come from just four crops - rice, wheat corn and soy. Ensuring food access and availability in the face of climate change will require the production of a wider range of foods.

– Focus on child nutrition. Good health and nutrition in a Women farmers in India have made the shift to organic farming.