CSS Forums - Essay On Food Crisis/Food Insecurity (Plz Check & Comment)

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[B][U][CENTER][FONT="Georgia"][SIZE="5"]FOOD CRISIS[/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER][/U][/B]

[B][U]OUTLINE:[/U][/B]

 [B]Introduction[/B]

 [B]Definition Of Food Crisis

 Food Security Status In Pakistan[/B]
• Unavailability Of Food
• Instability Of Food Supplies
• Low Access To Food
• Incidence Of Food Poverty
• Income Inequality
• Inequity Of Food Distribution

 [B]Causes Of Food Crisis[/B]
• Devastating floods In Pakistan
• Global Wheat Crisis
• Land Related Problems
• Inefficient And Ineffective Use Of Irrigation Water
• Use Of Low Quality Seed
• Improper Use Of Fertilizers
• Credit…Financial Limitations
• Inter-regional Inequity
• Poor Rural Infrastructure
• Overpopulation And Food Inflation

 [B]Impacts of Food Crisis On Society[/B]
• Growing Militancy
• Security Threat
• Socio-political Instability
• Extraordinary Behaviour…Selling Of Kidneys, Suicides etc.
• Poverty
• Child Labour
• Illiteracy

 [B]Suggestions[/B]

 [B]Conclusion[/B]

[B][U]ESSAY:[/U][/B]

Food is the basic need and right of all the human beings. It is the responsibility of a state to provide the masses with food and other basic needs. Pakistan is an agricultural country. Agricultural sector, being the second biggest sector and employing almost 45% labour force, is an asset for our country. This sector has been instrumental not only in feeding the local people but also exporting the food commodities to the other countries. When the basic necessities and needs are met people divert all their energies towards the betterment of the country. But, the people entangled in the crises of basic commodities of life are indifferent of the progress of the country. Along with other crises, Pakistan also suffers from food crisis which is quite unfortunate and shocking. People have to stand in queues for hours for getting a bag of flour. Sugar is getting out of their reach. It is quite unacceptable for an agriculture country like ours to face the shortages in food commodities like wheat, rice, sugar, vegetables etc. Hoarding coupled with hike in the prices in global as well as local markets are depriving poor people of food. Recent floods also gave a serious blow to our agriculture sector which further aggravated the situation. Nevertheless the mismanagement in this sector matters a lot in terms of shortage of food. Land related problems, water mismanagement, use of low quality seed are playing havoc with our precious sector of agriculture and causing food crisis.

[B]Food crisis can be defined [/B]as “When all the people at all times do not have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet the dietary needs and food for performance of an active and healthy life.”

[B]Food availability[/B] is the first and foremost important factor for food security. But it is declining in Pakistan. It is the responsibility of the Food Department to ensure food availability. Unfortunately, it has failed in controlling prices, black-marketing and hoarding of essential commodities. Owing to mishandling of essential food commodities by food department and hoarding by big dealers, panic is being created. It is also casting a shadow and negative effect on the access of food by the population.

Per capita availability of food items alone is not a reliable gauge of the [B]food security situation[/B]. Available food if not in the socio-economic access of the general masses, cannot make a society food secure. There are a number of factors that restrict the access to food for millions of poor people in Pakistan. First, production and distribution systems are inequitable, second, low income coupled with a higher rate of unemployment and third an important factor affecting access to food is poor governance.

Agriculture sector plays a very vital role for ensuring stability of food supplies. Any shortfall in the production of food crops causes problem. Such problem is met through imports. But the country is facing a chronic problem of payment deficit and foreign exchange problem. So such steps cannot assure supplies of food all the year and all over the country.[B] Incidences of unstable food supplies [/B]are very frequent in our country. The short availability of supply of some basic food items (i.e. Atta) is very common in Pakistan which affects stability of food supplies.

More than half of the population of Pakistan lives below poverty line. Government, instead of supplying free food grains, keeps on [B]raising food prices[/B] irrespective of the plight of the poor masses. Due to unprecedented hikes in the prices, the food is getting out of the reach of the masses. This is culminating in the food poverty in Pakistan.

In Pakistan [B]income inequality[/B] is not only high but is also increasing. Such inequality in land holding and income is reducing the purchasing power of the people. The people who toil all the day round do not earn enough to have a safe and secure food. There is great income gap between the rich and the poor. The poor who work hard all the day long hardly afford two times meal while the people who are unaware what the hard work is possess all the luxuries of life. Inequity in food distribution is another major issue of concern related to food security in Pakistan.

[B]Many factors contribute to the dramatic increase in food prices[/B]. At the international level, it is because of the expansion in biofuel and the record increase in oil prices. In Pakistan, it is due to distortionary policy responses leading to a long decline in agricultural investment resulting in limited capacity to produce more food.

The [B]devastating floods [/B]in Pakistan, which have killed around 1,500 and displaced nearly 20 million, have also adversely impacted the food supply chains. Nearly 17 million acres of cultivated cropland has been lost to floods while the loss of livestock could also be in millions. The loss of crops from floods alone can cause huge spikes in the price of necessary food items because of uncertainty in the supply of grains, livestock, etc. At the same time, almost 75 per cent of those affected by floods are the ones who relied on agriculture for sustenance.

Another reason behind high food prices, especially wheat, is the [B]global wheat crisis[/B] which has caused the wheat prices to increase by 90 per cent since June 2010.The drought in Russia has contributed to severe wheat shortages leading Russia to ban all wheat exports. Compounding this even further is the loss of wheat crop in China and India due to monsoon rains.

Pakistan has a very productive land and has a great potential for the production of food crops. Most of the land is under cultivation and more could be cultivated. But unfortunately, the [B]land related problems[/B] like depleting soil fertility, soil erosion, water logging and salinity are badly reducing our food crops production capacity.

Out of the total cultivated land about 80% is irrigate through canal water, while the remaining is rain fed. Due to ineffective and[B] inefficient use of irrigation water [/B]has created problems. Along with it, mismanagement of available water resources has deprived provinces of their legitimate share and has adversely affected agriculture yield.

Use of improved seed is one of the important factors in crop productivity enhancement. But sadly, [B]the use of low quality seed [/B]by illiterate and inexperienced farmers reduces the productions. It is a great hurdle in the way of attaining the targeted food crop productions. Hence it further adds to the shortage of food.

Proper use of organic and inorganic fertilizers is also critical for maintaining soil fertility to enhance agriculture productivity. T[B]he current use of plant nutrients is not only imbalanced and inadequate but also inefficient as well.[/B]

Due to [B]financial limitations[/B], the small farmers are largely dependent on credit to procure agriculture inputs. Financial constraints limit the farmers’ capacity to fully utilize the cultivable land. Limited utilization of cultivable land is aggravating the availability of food situation.

There are severe[B] inequalities between the districts of the same provinces.[/B] In spite of adequate food production at the national level severe food shortages have been experienced. These shortages pose a grave threat to food security in the country.

Rural infrastructure and human resources development are necessary for “public goods” and ensuring food security. [B]Lack of rural roads, electricity, drinking water and educational and health facilities add to food insecurity.[/B]

[B]Growing population [/B]is also aggravating the status of food insecurity in Pakistan. Due to various hurdles the production of food crops does not commensurate with the growing number of people in the country. This imbalance is compelling people especially the poor to reduce their intake of food. Population increase coupled with low investment has exasperated the food insecurity situation.

Last but not least, [B]energy crisis[/B] is further contributing in food insecurity. Owing to short supply of electricity, many industries have been and are being closed, rendering thousands of poor people unemployed. Unemployment reduces earning and in turn purchasing power of the people. Low purchasing power coupled with increasing food prices are making even a one-time meal hard to afford for the poor.

It is often said, “Food insecurity anywhere, threatens peace everywhere”. Food insecurity may cause unrest or even political instability. Persistent food insecurity may cause conflicts, civil wars and can threaten the overall peace of community, society, nation or world depending on the extent and spectrum of hunger and poverty.

[B]Food insecurity is the major cause of militancy and violence.[/B] In Pakistan some extremist forces are exploiting the feelings of lower and lower middle class food insecure people. They are motivating their unemployed youth to commit heinous crimes such as suicide attacks against innocent people.

Compromised security at individual level compromises the security at nation, regional and global level. [B]Food insecurity heightens the potential for conflicts[/B], which translate into a security threat. Individual cases of relative hunger, marginalization and poverty can turn into collective deprivation. This deprivation when gets an identity crisis, be it creed, genders, class or nationality, always leads to class conflict and ultimately to violence.

Hunger is such a force which provokes people to rebel against the state. When the basic needs of the masses are not met they turn against the state and tend to [B]destabilize the socio-political fabric of the country[/B]. A county which fails to deliver its masses is bound to face instability. Allegiance from the masses towards the country becomes a daydream. Such circumstances affect regional as well as global security.

High prevalence of food insecurity leads to [B]intensified “extraordinary behaviour” of individuals[/B]. This extraordinary behaviour includes selling of kidneys, selling of children and suicides. This situation results in large numbers of individuals who might get to any lengths in sheer desperation and frustration. Many of them commit suicide to end their misery. Others kill their dependents, to whom they cannot even afford to prove a square meal.

Another impact of food inflation and food crisis is that the poor people have to spend more than 80% of their meagre income on food items. It leaves behind not much for them to have other amenities of life. They even cannot afford education and health facilities. [B]Increasing poverty[/B] is directly linked with food inflation which makes it hard for the poor masses to make their both ends meet.

In the grim situation poor people send their children at work in an early age. Instead of equipping their young ones with education, they send them to work to keep the stove of their family lit. [B]Child labour[/B] is not only wasting our precious talent but also dragging the young children into the swamp of crime. It is further resulting in other social problems.

As mentioned earlier that after spending on food, there leaves nothing for the poor people spend on the education of their children. This adds to illiteracy. Illiteracy begets social evils. Education means to alleviate poverty and cause social change. Low standard of education in our country is casting a shadow on the prospects of our country. People entangled in financial woes do not consider education important.

The food price increases have led to an alarming situation that the world is reaching a danger point where soaring food prices could lead to political instability. This is a time to move from talk to action. This is a time to make the right policy choices that may ensure food is accessible to the most vulnerable in Pakistan and simultaneously helping producers to raise their output and increase their income. [B]Here are some suggestions:[/B]

• The situation requires a paradigm change where individual hunger be perceived as a national security threat. Such a paradigm shift would result in greater resources being channelled to improve food security.
• National Food Security Strategy (NFSS) should be chalked out to address the issues of food insecurity in Pakistan.
• Productivity levels should be improved through investment in research, extension, and communication and irrigation infrastructure.
• Climate change is a certain phenomenon affecting the global temperature and rainfall pattern. Sustained investments in agricultural research to develop new varieties that are better adapted to the changing climate are need of the day.
• The impact of increased food prices should be passed on to growers, by controlling the prices of inputs and ensuring that important inputs are available in time.
• Districts classified as extremely food insecure or food insecure should be targeted with special production programmes in order to bring them at par with other districts.
• The agriculture sector is heavily dependent on canal irrigation in Pakistan. There is a need to make sustainable plans for the conservation and efficient use of water.
• A food security analysis should be undertaken on a regular basis, at least after every two years.
• Strengthening the social safety nets, the process of identification of food insecure people, and process of delivery of social safety benefits is a must to ensure access to food for an extremely food insecure population.
• In order to reduce regional disparity among provinces regarding prices of food commodities, the Federal Government should play a vital role. A revolving fund for food deficit provinces, especially for wheat procurement by provinces, should be established.
• Good governance is essential to ensure that food is accessible to the people.
• It is observed that the conflict-hit areas throughout the world including the FATA region are the most food insecure regions. It is strongly suggested that assuring food security should be adapted as a peace building strategy in these areas.

[B]It can be concluded [/B]that the vision without action is daydream and action without vision is pastime. The government of Pakistan must deal with this issue on war footing. Unless this basic need “food” is left unmet, the people cannot divert their energies and loyalties towards the country. People uncertain of how and where their next meal will come from can never be patriotic. It is time that the government of Pakistan and its international partners step up activities that not only strengthen livelihood, assets and activities but also address domestic governance issue. Without addressing the governance problems issue of socio-economic justice that leads both to food insecurity as well as militancy cannot be addressed. The international community should start investing in developing the social and human capital of the chronically food insecure people of the Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA), Baluchistan as well as Khaibar Pakhtunkhwa’s conflict hit people. This would not only directly aid those harmed because of the ongoing military operation, but go some way towards fostering a more stable environment.