FOOD SECURITY

"This is what food security should look like".  

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It is shocking to look at the global achievements of our global food system in the 21st century. The majority of the world’s population have sub‐optimal diets:

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• 1 billion people are going to bed hungry

• 2 billion people are vulnerable to food and insecurity

• 1 billion people have diets which do not meet all their nutritional requirements

• And 1 billion people suffers from the effects of over‐consumption

Unfortunately, countries recognized as the poorest and hungriest in the world are still those with the least agricultural investment. There is a monumental task ahead, and those investing in ‘food’ will have a crucial role to play, because 850 million people in the world are still undernourished (present date) - a number that is quickly rising because of sky-rocketing populations in the poorest parts of the world where food is most needed.

Of particular concern are a number of hunger 'hotspots' where  populations keep experiencing serious food emergencies and required external assistance for dealing with critical food insecurity. 

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A recent report from the World Economic Forum stressed the importance of investment in agriculture as a driver for food security, environmental sustainability and economic opportunities (World Economic Forum 2013) - and since then, several other FAO reports have emphasized on the importance of agricultural growth to achieve an imperative reduction in poverty and hunger.

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What is food security?

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Food insecurity results from various factors, some of them generic, such as poor governance and lack of institutional support. Food insecurity can be transitory (when it occurs in times of crisis), seasonal or chronic (when it occurs on a continuing basis) - and this is very much the case of Africa. 

“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”. (Definition by the World Food Summit, 1996)

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Population Growth vs. Demand

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With the global population expected to increase to over 10 billion people by 2050, experts are already predicting dire food situations and feeding the world will now become a major challenge at the forefront of the global development agenda of all countries.

Africa will be facing the largest hurdles by far as the are expected to double from 1 billion people to 2 billion people within the next 40-50 years. This means that food production will have to increase by 100% (FAO). This means that more food will need to be produced in the next 40 years, than in the last 6,000 years. It is estimated that by 2050, at least an additional one billion tons more cereals (IAASTD), one billion tons of dairy and 460 million tons of meat (FAO) will be needed annually (based on consumption estimates). 

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The importance of agriculture in addressing this challenge is clear, but the majority of the world’s population, 10 billion or so inhabitants, will mainly be living in the cities – and feeding the cities will require a much more sophisticated system - simply for the fact that urban consumers are more demanding when it comes to nutritien value, quality and presentation. Considering the chronic food insecurity in som parts of the world - including (and especially) Africa - it is easy to see why increasing food production in Africa is most urgent. 

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“BUSINESS AS USUAL” is no longer an option. In order to meet the challenge we have to fundamentally change the agricultural and food producing systems, and we need to do so on a massive scale and very quickly.

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