When you first hear of SDG 2, Zero Hunger, we obviously think of the main, overall purpose of the SDG, to end world hunger. This is outlined in target 2.1, "By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.”, It is estimated that it would cost between $7 billion to $265 billion per year to end world hunger. The other sub targets address how this can be done, whether this be relating to increasing agricultural productivity, ensuring that food production systems are sustainable, increasing investments in rural infrastructure, agricultural research to preventing trade restrictions in the global agricultural markets, this blog will focus on how we can work to achieve the ultimate goal of SDG 2, that no one goes hungry by 2030.
Developing climate smart agricultural techniques
This extends to transforming agriculture so that it is done in a sustainable way. It is well known that climate change worsens global hunger. Here are some key facts relating to the link between climate change and food security:
Climate change significantly increases the threat of hunger and undernourishment for people all over the world.
Broadly speaking, countries that suffer from high levels of hunger are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and have a significantly lower capacity to adapt to these impacts of climate change
Climate change is already significantly impacting food production and availability; food access, food quality and the stability of food systems, and these issues are only expected to worsen.
The global food systems contribute to approximately a 1/3 of greenhouse gas emissions, which are the driver of climate change.
Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an approach that “helps to guide actions needed to transform and reorient agricultural systems to effectively support development and ensure food security in a changing climate. CSA aims to tackle three main objectives: sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes; adapting and building resilience to climate change; and reducing and/or removing greenhouse gas emissions, where possible.” – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). These practices will help local farmers to reduce the impacts that climate change will have on their production.
The work of organizations
Heifer International is a non-profit organization that works to eradicate poverty and hunger through sustainable, value-based holistic community development. They work in 21 countries around the world, working with rural living farmers and business owners, supporting them and their communities as they mobilize and begin to envision a sustainable and secure future for themselves, whether this be through locally organized projects, providing training, and ensuring that there are sufficient connections to local markets to increase sales and incomes.
Fostering gender equality
The correlation between hunger and gender inequalities is high. Increasing gender equality would help to reduce global hunger in two key aspects, agriculture and maternal health. Women account for approximately half of the agricultural workforce in countries where high levels of hunger exist. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, if female farmers were given the same, equal access to resources as males, crop productivity could increase on their farms by between approximately 20 and 30%. Although this figure doesn’t seem massive, this could reduce global hunger by up to 150 million people. Female nutrition is also vital to reducing global hunger. In many countries, men are given food before women. If women’s health and nutrition was to be put on the same level as men’s in these countries, world hunger could be reduced, additionally preventing health complications for them and for any children that they may bear.
Reducing food waste
One third of all food produced, is currently wasted in some form, whether this be through spoilage, crops that have been left in the field, food that doesn’t make it to stores or markets, causing over 1.3 billion tons to be wasted. Not only is it the food wasted, it is also important to consider the other natural resources that are then hence wasted in the production of this food, whether this be the excessive amount of water, particularly for water intensive food items, particularly of meat, or the unnecessary greenhouse gases emitted. Ending food waste would be radical in the reduction of hunger in the world, because currently, enough food is produced to feed everyone in the world, but it is not evenly distributed, and additionally is wasted.
Improving food storage systems
In many places, there is a sufficient supply of food, however the storage solutions to ensure that the food lasts are lacking. The development and greater implementation of quality and sufficient storage systems can have a large impact in closing the hunger gap. The different food storage systems that need to be implemented vary vastly, whether this be a small change at a household level or the entire building of grain stores, this is key to reducing food waste and hence ending world hunger.