Posts Tagged ‘Hunger’

Jan17

Urban Agriculture Helps Combat Hunger in India’s Slums

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By Catherine Ward

In 2010, nearly 830 million people around the world lived in slums, up from 777 million in the year 2000, according to the United Nations.

Back street of an Indian slum. (Photo credit: http://shabanaadam.wordpress.com/)

The New York Times describes Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, as a “cliché of Indian misery,” with approximately 1 million slum dwellers living on 8 percent of the land in the western city of Mumbai. Although Dharavi lacks sufficient infrastructure to provide sewerage, water, electricity, or housing for residents, this dense community in the heart of India’s financial capital has a thriving informal economy with an annual economic output of up to US$1 billion.

Writing in Foreign Policy, Charles Kenny of the Center for Global Development observes that “slum dwellers may be at the bottom of the urban heap, but most are better off than their rural counterparts.” Urban centers, both in India and around the world, offer economic opportunities that rural areas do not. For this reason, some migrants voluntarily move to slums in hopes of learning new skills, setting up businesses, and sending their children to school.

India has a massive population of 1.2 billion, second only to China, and is home to an estimated 93 million slum dwellers. According to WaterAid, the country’s slum population has doubled in the past two decades. Slum communities can be hotspots for hunger, with an estimated 36 percent of slum children in Mumbai malnourished, reports the website Urb.im.

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Posted by Laura Reynolds in Agriculture, Culture, Development, Food Security, India, Poverty, Sanitation, Urban Farming

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Oct16

On World Food Day, Supporting Agricultural Cooperatives in the Fight against Hunger and Poverty

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By Danielle Nierenberg and Laura Reynolds

Some one billion people belong to cooperatives in nearly 100 countries worldwide guarding consumers, producers, and workers against hunger, bankruptcy, and rights abuses. Agricultural cooperatives help farmers access and share information, get fair prices for their goods, and participate in local decision making. This October 16, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will celebrate “Agricultural Cooperatives: Key to Feeding the World” for World Food Day.

World Food Day is a global day of action against hunger (Photo Credit: Oxfam America)

Agricultural cooperatives are part of a larger movement to make food more environmentally and socially just and sustainable. Agroecological practices enrich soils, improve yields, increase incomes, and support the people, animals, plants, and entire ecosystems affected by agriculture.

An infographic released recently by the Christensen Fund highlights how industrial agricultural practices—including raising meat in factory farms, adding pesticides and chemical fertilizers to fields, and shipping food to markets across the globe—contributes to increased incidences of chronic diseases and severe air and water pollution.

By contrast, agroecological practices—including composting and agroforestry, conserving wildlife habitats, and selling products within a localized food system—can build resilience to climate change, increase nutritional and biological diversity, and double or triple agricultural yields over the long term.

Agricultural cooperatives and agroecological practices go hand-in-hand to support a more sustainable food system. By encouraging worker empowerment, farmer training, and consumer awareness, this year’s World Food Day theme is showcasing one of the most promising elements of a more sustainable food system.

World Food Day is a global day of action against hunger. FAO suggests a variety of ways you can become involved in the day of action, including:

  1. Host a World Food Day meal: As part of its GROW Method, OxfamAmerica promotes 5 very simple actions to help create a better food system: save food, eat seasonally and locally, eat less meat and dairy, support small farmers, and cook smart. If you sign up to host a meal, OxfamAmerica will send you everything you need to host a great event: free World Food Day recipe cards from famous chefs, placemats, videos, and more.
  2. Join your local hunger coalition: The Alliance to End Hunger has created the Hunger Free Communities Network, an online platform for coalitions, campaigns, and individuals committed to ending hunger in their local communities.
  3. Activate a school campus: Why Care? is a student-led campaign of Universities Fighting World Hunger to spark a global conversation about hunger and to build momentum to World Food Day campus events. The campaign offers several simple suggestions on how to spread the word about world hunger on a campus.
  4. Arrange a food and fund drive: the World Food Day website can help you find your nearby food bank or pantry, and gives tips on donating food or funds to maximize your positive impact.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Agriculture, Conservation, Cooperatives, Development, Diet, Economy, Environment, Farmers, Food, Health, Hunger, Sustainable

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Oct09

Investing in Global Food Security: CGIAR Food and Agriculture Research Agenda Worth US $5 Billion

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By Sophie Wenzlau 

According to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the world’s largest publicly funded global agricultural research partnership, “feeding a global population of 9 billion people by 2050 will require at least a 70 percent increase in global food production and a 50 percent rise in investments in the agricultural sector.” At the Fourth Agriculture and Rural Development Day gathering, CGIAR unveiled a new global research portfolio worth US$5 billion over five years. The announcement was made two days prior to the commencement of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, or Rio+20, where food security and sustainable agriculture were identified as international priorities. According to the UN, “a profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to nourish today’s 925 million hungry and the additional 2 billion people expected by 2050.”

CGIAR research aims to increase the productivity of small farmers in developing countries (Photo Credit: CGIAR)

This past summer the partnership officially launched 15 new programs, which include research intended to mitigate climate change, enhance agricultural productivity and boost food security; intended to promote the conservation and restoration of water, land, forests, and ecosystems; and, more specifically, to augment the cultivation of rice.

CGIAR’s ambitious portfolio aims to “deliver the scientific, policy, and technological advances needed to tackle the major global development challenges of the century for the benefit of the poor and the planet.” A top priority of the new research agenda is to increase the productivity of small farmers—who, according to CGIAR, provide up to 80 percent of the food supply in developing countries—without damaging the environment.

CGIAR researches ways to reduce rural poverty, increase food security, improve health and nutrition, and ensure the sustainable management of natural resources. The CGIAR Consortium is composed of fifteen member centers, which are responsible for conducting research on behalf of the partnership. For the past 40 years, CGIAR’s research has promoted the conservation, revitalization and sustainable management of natural resources, and has simultaneously boosted yields on farms around the world.

Frank Rijsberman, the new CEO of the CGIAR Consortium, claims that, “science and the environment need to be best friends if we are to achieve a food secure future.” He notes, “investing in agricultural research is a critical first step to kick-start the innovation engine for a sustainable, food secure future.”

Sophie Wenzlau is a research associate with the Nourishing the Planet project.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Agriculture, Environment, Farmers, Food, Food Security, Investment, Research

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Sep15

From Farms to Families: Curbing Hunger in the Driest Regions

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By Hitesh Pant

This year the Convergences Conference in Paris is housing a photo exhibition that sheds light on new innovative agricultural practices that are enabling poor farmers in Africa and India to feed their families. “Innovate Against Hunger” focuses on the work of the International Center for Research in the semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and its efforts to provide improved seed varieties, empower women and smallholder farmers, and introduce sustainable agricultural practices to combat famine in some of the most arid regions on the planet.

Bounty chickpea harvests from improved seeds in Ethiopia (Photo Credit: ICRISAT)

The exhibition also shows how partnerships between farmers, local governments, NGOs, and the private sector can ensure that agricultural innovations are accessible throughout poor, remote communities.

ICRISAT’s research has helped farmers adopt new resource management techniques, increase the market demand for pest resistant varieties and reduce hunger.

Check out these pages to preview some of the images that will be part of “Innovate Against Hunger” and learn more about ICRISAT’s work:

http://www.cgiar.org/consortium-news/innovate-against-hunger-access-and-adoption-of-tools-practices-and-opportunities/

http://www.impatientoptimists.org/Posts/2012/09/PHOTOS-How-to-Help-Farmers-Fight-Hunger

Hitesh Pant is a research intern with the Nourishing the Planet project. 

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Agriculture, Environment, Farmers, Food, Food Security, Health, Seeds, Sustainable

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Sep10

Coping with Climate Change and Food Insecurity in East Africa

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By Carol Dreibelbis

A landmark study published recently by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security surveyed over 700 farming households in East Africa about how they are coping with climate change. Researchers set out to answer the seemingly simple question, “Are households that are more innovative more likely to be food secure than less-innovative farming households?”

Agroforestry was one of the most common innovations found in the survey of East African farmers (Photo Credit: A Tribute to Trees)

According to the report, more than half of all households surveyed made innovative agricultural changes over the past decade. These farmers have been adopting a wide variety of strategies and technologies to protect against heat, water scarcity, eroding landscapes, depletion of soil nutrients, and other factors that can decrease yields and increase food insecurity. For instance, 55 percent of households planted one faster-maturing crop variety, while 56 percent planted one drought-tolerant variety; at the same time, 50 percent of households took up agroforestry, or incorporated tree crops into a farming system; 50 percent introduced intercropping, or planting multiple crops in a small space; and 25 percent used crop rotation techniques.

But even as these farmers were willing to embrace certain farming strategies and technologies, the report shows that there is a limit to the innovation taking place. Many yield-boosting strategies have yet to take hold in these villages. Only 25 percent of farmers used manure or compost to improve soil fertility; only 16 percent of households used terracing, ridge-building, or other soil management techniques to conserve water; and only one-third of households in Ethiopia and one-fifth in Tanzania are taking steps to manage pasturelands to better support livestock. All in all, most households made minor, non-transformational changes to their farming practices.

Patti Kristjanson, one of the study co-leaders, explains that “for generations, farmers and livestock keepers in East Africa have survived high levels of weather variability by testing and adopting new farming practices. As this variability increases, rainfall patterns shift, and average temperatures rise due to climate change, they may need to change faster and more extensively.” So what is keeping these farmers from making more dramatic changes?

The study found that food insecurity is a key obstacle to innovation. As might be expected, households that struggle to feed themselves are not in a strong position to innovate. Unfortunately, the study was unable to determine the direction of causality in this relationship—in other words, it is unclear whether food insecurity results in decreased innovation, or whether limited innovation results in food insecurity.

Given that small-scale farmers in the developing world are particularly vulnerable to the weather and ecological changes associated with climate change, such as decreased rainfall or wider temperature variation, future research to better understand the relationship between innovation and food security will be crucial.

What agricultural innovations are effective for coping with the effects of climate change in your experience? What are the biggest barriers to their implementation? Please let us know in the comments.

Carol Dreibelbis is a research intern with the Nourishing the Planet project.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Africa, Agriculture, Climate Change, Diet, Food, Food Security, Health, Innovation, Nutrition, Poverty, Sustainable

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Sep03

Festivaletteratura: Nourishing the Planet in Mantova, Italy

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From September 5 to 9, the Italian city of Mantova will welcome authors and book-lovers alike for the highly anticipated festival of Festivaletteratura—the festival of literature. Writers from all over the world will host inspiring presentations in historical palaces and squares, inviting attendees to listen and ask questions about topics ranging from particle physics, to philosophic poetry, to international food procurement.

Nourishing the Planet director Danielle Nierenberg will speak alongside Andrea Segrè, professor of agricultural policy at the University of Bologna, about noteworthy innovations in sustainable agriculture. The talk is titled, “A Sustainable Hunger,” and will feature discussion of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition’s (BCFN) new book, Eating Planet: Challenge for Mankind and the Planet, which examines the effects of individual eating habits on health and the environment.

Click here to learn more about Festivaletteratura.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Uncategorized

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Aug24

From a Garden in South Africa, to a Cafeteria in California: Sharing Meals and Good Ideas

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By Molly Theobald

Usually a conversation about world hunger conjures images of starving children in Africa. But while sub-Saharan Africa may be the epicenter of world hunger, the U.S. has a lot to learn from the agricultural practices in use there.

Right now there are countless organizations working on the ground to improve access to food, increase incomes, and provide nutritional education. And their successes hold lessons that we can benefit from right here at home.

Abalimi Bezekhaya is helping to end hunger in Cape Town, South Africa (Photo Credit: Marie Viljoen)

The organization Abalimi Bezekhaya, for example, a non-profit organization working in the informal settlements outside Cape Town, South Africa, is just one of many organizations that has found its own way to reduce local hunger in Africa.  Abalimi Bezekhaya is helping to turn the settlements into areas that produce food—and money—which in turn generates green spaces in order to alleviate poverty and protect the fragile surrounding ecosystem.  Providing training and materials, Abalimi Bezekhaya helps people to turn school yards and empty plots of land into gardens. Each garden is run by 6 to 8 farmers who, with support and time, are soon able to produce enough food to feed their families.

But while Abalimi Bezekhaya is bringing agriculture and food into the townships, it is also helping the townships to bring fresh produce into the city. With support from the Ackerman Pick n’ Pay Foundation, and in partnership with the South African Institute of Entrepreneurship (SAIE) and the Business Place Philippi, Abalimi Bezekhaya founded Harvest of Hope (HoH) in 2008. HoH purchases the surplus crops from 14 groups of farmers working in Abalimi Bezekhaya’s community plots, packages them in boxes and delivers them to selected schools where parents can purchase them to take home.

For families in Cape Town, HoH means fresh vegetables instead of the older, and often imported, produce at the grocery store. And for families of the farmers working with Hope of Harvest, it means a source of food, income, and improved quality of life.

There are similar projects in the Bay Area of the United States. Since 2001, for example, the Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) has been helping to coordinate relationships between school cafeterias and local food producers. These relationships bring nutritious meals to students who might not otherwise be able to afford them, and provide a consistent source of income for local small-scale farmers who are struggling to make a living in the face of a national agricultural system that increasingly favors large, industrial farming operations. The Veggielution Community Farm is working with volunteers and youth to create a more sustainable food system in the Santa Clara Valley and in East San Jose.

Other cities are taking notice. In Washington, D.C., for example, the local farm to school program spent almost a year looking at programs all over the United States, including those in Portland, Oregon and others on the West Coast, as models to follow.  “There are so many people and organizations involved that it takes a lot of care and trial runs and screwing up to develop a successful farm to school program,” said Andrea Northrup, the Program Coordinator for the Farm to School Network in DC. “But it’s so valuable for the students, the farmers, and the entire community that we really wanted to get it right. So we looked to other cities and other programs for guidance.”

The DC program has learned valuable lessons and experienced success. Founded in 2008, it has already held a Farm to School Week in order to introduce farmers to schools and parents, and students to local food producers. This year the Farm to School Week plans to engage all 123 city public schools and all 70 charter schools and has plans for a more permanent program that would bring 60,000 meals containing fresh produce to the DC public school system every day during the school year.

In Cape Town, Washington, D.C., California, and all over the United States, successful programs are working on the ground to alleviate global hunger and poverty, improve livelihoods, and teach children healthy eating habits. Instead of viewing world hunger as a distant problem with no solution, we should pay attention to those fighting it all over the world. We just might learn a thing or two.

Molly Theobald is a Food and Agriculture research fellow at the Worldwatch Institute.

To purchase State of the World 2011: Innovations that Nourish the Planet please click HERE.

Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Africa, Agriculture, Diet, Farmers, Food, Food Security, Local, Nutrition, Poverty, School, Sustainable

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Aug23

Innovation of the Week: Scaling up Nutrition

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By Isaac Hopkins

Scale Up Nutrition (SUN), a program of the United Nations Standing Committee on Nutrition, is part of a broader effort to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing poverty by 50 percent by 2015. SUN helps various organizations coordinate efforts to combat malnutrition in women and children—particularly malnutrition in children under two years old—by helping to maximize efficiency.

SUN helps various organizations combat malnutrition in women and children (Photo Credit: Martine Perret)

SUN emphasizes two approaches to solving hunger. The first involves immediate, direct intervention for malnourished pregnant women and children via food aid and nutritional supplements—intervention that could be provided by agencies from a local to a national scale. The second approach is broader, and emphasizes food security, access to health care, and other “support structures” such as information distribution and microfinance. The second approach is intended to promote long-term solutions, which are essential to the success of the MDGs.

More than 100 organizations, including Bread for the World and Save the Children, have endorsed SUN since 2010, when the Road Map for Scaling Up Nutrition was released. In the last two years, these organizations have actively worked with governments and organizations, and achieved measurable, long-term reductions in malnutrition. 1,000 Days, a SUN partner organization that launched in 2010, has focused on targeting malnutrition during a critical period of childhood: conception to two years of age. The organization works to inform women and policy makers at every level about the vital importance of appropriate nutrition early in life, and to encourage them to take immediate and appropriate action.

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Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Agriculture, Diet, Food, Food Security, Innovation of the Week, Nutrition

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Aug21

Five food guides that are combating malnourishment

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By Jenna Banning

If you are what you eat, our world is certainly unhealthy. People across the globe are not getting the nutrients that they need, resulting in high levels of both hunger and obesity. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that 925 million people were undernourished in 2010. At the same time, the World Health Organization estimates that over 1 billion people are overweight, and at least 300 million obese. (Such estimates are based on Body Mass Index measurements, which compare one’s height and weight. Individuals with BMI’s over 25 are considered overweight, and over 30 are obese).

Eating a healthy, balanced diet can prevent obesity and malnutrition (Photo Credit: Carol Lee)

In order to tackle this issue, food pyramids and other guides have been used by organizations and governments to suggest better nutrition for the needs of their populations for many years. Today, Nourishing the Planet shares visual food guides from five countries (and one organization) being used across the world.

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Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Africa, Diet, disease, Education, Food, Hunger, Nutrition

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Aug03

Soybeans in Paraguay: A Boom for the Economy, Bust for Environmental and Public Health

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By Carly Chaapel

Soybean fields extend for miles on what was often thickly forested land in Paraguay. (Photo credit: MercoPress)

They are in bread, peanut butter, cookies, coffee creamer, crayons, candles, cows, and even cars. Soybeans, hailed as a “miracle crop” by many, have been harvested, pulverized, and processed to such an extent that it is nearly impossible to go a day without using them in some way.

In 2011, the United States and Brazil were the top two soybean producers in the world. Though Paraguay only contributes 3 percent of the global soybean supply, the rising demand for this cheap oil and protein has dramatically altered the Paraguayan agricultural landscape. Oxfam International executive director Jeremy Hobbs recently highlighted in the New York Times the destructive power that soybeans may have on the country’s entire political and economic stability.

This past June, President Fernando Lugo of Paraguay was impeached because of strong opposition to his agrarian reform and deaths during an attempt to remove squatters at a large farm belonging to a political opponent. He was a strong advocate for agricultural reform that would redistribute land and pull many of his people out of poverty. Just 2 percent of the Paraguayan population owns over three-quarters of the arable land.

Since 1996, over 1.2 million hectares of Paraguayan forest have been cleared and replaced with large swaths of treeless soy fields. Paraguay is currently the fourth largest exporter of soy, and much of the harvest is shipped to Europe and China as cattle feed and biofuels. According to the World Bank, however, undernourishment affects 10 percent of the population in Paraguay. Regardless of Paraguay’s booming US$1.6 billion soy export economy, 40 percent of the population still lives in poverty.

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Posted by Nourishing the Planet in Agriculture, Biodiversity, Children, Diet, Economy, Environment, Food, Health, Hunger, Income, Livestock, Meat, Sustainable

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