Orcio, Sheena Nicole M.

2017131445

ESSAY – WEEK 2 (SDG2)

Globally, hunger is again rising, and undernutrition is still affecting millions of children.
Public agricultural investment is on the decline globally, scale food producers and family
farmers need far more support, and increased investment in sustainable agriculture
infrastructure and technologies is needed as a matter of urgency. In the last two
decades, the number of undernourished people has dropped by almost half in rapid
economic growth and increased agricultural productivity. Many developing countries
that once had hunger and starvation can now meet the most vulnerable nutritional
needs. The eradication of extreme hunger has taken place in Central and East Asia, Latin
America, and the Caribbean all. The SDG is intended to put a stop to hunger and
malnutrition by 2030, and to guarantee access to nutritious food for all citizens, in
particular children, throughout the year. This includes promoting sustainable practices in
agriculture: funding for small farmers and equitable access to land, technology, and
market. International cooperation is also required to ensure infrastructure and
technology investment in order to increase agricultural productivity. We will finish hunger
by 2030, along with the other goals set here. There are several statistics which offer a fast
overview of the hunger profile of the country and they all show that there is a serious
hunger problem in that country. Furthermore, in the past three years, the growing
population and the steadily declining agricultural productivity and food production
contribute to the country's persistent hunger and food insecurity problems. Various
factors lead to hunger in the Philippines. Inflation is one of the culprits. High retail food
prices make food cheap, impeding poor households' ability to meet their food and
nutritional requirements. Through low rural revenues (whether farmers or agricultural
workers), lack of access to productive resources such as land, capital, and the sector's
vulnerability to various shocks, including climatic change, extremely bad weather, pests
and disease, people working in agriculture are more vulnerable to famine. In addition to
statistics and macroeconomic measures, liberalization has not only been the foundation
of Philippine agricultural and food policy but also of growth policy as a whole. It is so even
though initiatives such as the Comprehensive Agricultural Reform Program, the Act on
Indigenous Peoples and the Code on Fishery Reforms have been introduced. A
comprehensive and radical trade liberalization program has been in place for the
Philippines since 1981. The impact of the policy on agriculture, in particular food
producers, has been devastating. Over the last three decades, this has taken forth
various policy issues over food and agriculture. Have these policies improved people's
capacity to produce food and have access to a food supply that is safe, sufficient and
affordable? Have these policies and programs empowered millions of Filipino food
producers who depend on their food and income agricultural productivity?