7.

FOOD SECURITY AND SUSTAINABLE

AGRICULTURE
INTRODUCTION:
Food security is defined as the availability of food and one's
access to it. A household is considered food secure when its
occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. Stages of
food insecurity range from food secure situations to full-scale
famine. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security
as existing "when all people at all times have access to
sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active
life".
Commonly, the concept of food security is defined as including
both physical and economic access to food that meets people's
dietary needs as well as their food preferences. Food security
incorporates a measure of resilience to future disruption or
unavailability of critical food supply due to various risk factors
including droughts, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages,
economic instability, and wars.
The 1996 World Summit on Food Security declared that food
should not be used as an instrument for political and economic
pressure. Food security can be measured by calorie to intake per
person per day, available on a household budget.
IMPORTANCE:
Food security is important because:
MALNUTRITION:
Nutrition is tied to health. The major causes of death and
disability in our society (cardiovascular disease, diabetes,
cancer) can all be significantly affected by healthy eating
choices and lifestyles. Studies have found that food
insecurity is associated with malnutrition resulting from a
reduced consumption of certain foods, these often being
fruits and vegetables.
Children of low income families often consume insufficient
calories, have higher prevalence of fair to poor health and
iron deficiency, and are more likely to experience
stomachaches and headaches associated with a poor or
insufficient diet.
There were 821 million undernourished people in the world
in 2018. According to Food Banks Canada Hunger Count
2013, 833,000 Canadians used food banks each month and
one third were children. This rate is 23% higher than it was
in 2008.
Malnutrition is a condition that results from eating a diet in
which one or more nutrients are either not enough or are
too much such that the diet causes health problems. It may
involve calories, protein, carbohydrates, vitamins or minera
ls.
Malnutrition is often used to specifically refer to
undernutrition where an individual is not getting enough
calories, protein, or micronutrients. If undernutrition occurs
during pregnancy, or before two years of age, it may result
in permanent problems with physical and mental
development. 8.1 percent children die before the age of five
due to malnourishment.

Food is a basic human right:

Canada is a signatory to the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. Article 25 includes the “right
to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-
being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing,
housing and medical care … “ Human rights leaders around
the world are concerned about actions of global institutions
like the World Trade Organization that violate these and
other human rights.

Food is the basis of a community’s economy:

Food is the basic element of community self-reliance. It
provides jobs, enhances culture, enables community and
supports public health. Because of its essential nature,
agriculture and food keeps going when other industries fail.
For every farmer there are many related jobs in processing,
distribution, sales, and food preparation.

FAMINE:
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by
several factors including war, inflation, crop
 failure, population imbalance, or government policies.
Thisppphenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by
This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by
regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and
increased mortality. 
The country faces persistent drought, specifically in the
provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, resulting in food
insecurity and ultimately an increase in undernutrition.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, numerous population
displacements took place as a result of the crisis. Here, 48%
of children are stunted and the overall acute malnutrition
rate is 17.3%.

EFFECTS:
Health concerns
Studies have found that food insecurity has been associated
with health problems for children that may hinder their
ability to function normally and participate fully in school
and other activities.
 Children who are food insecure are more likely to require
hospitalization.
 Children who are food insecure may be at higher risk for
chronic health conditions, such as anemia and asthma.
 Children who are food insecure may have more frequent
instances of oral health problems.
 Food insecurity among young children is associated with
poor physical quality of life, which may prevent them from
 fully engaging in daily activities such as school and social
interaction with peers.
 In developing countries, persistent malnutrition leaves
children weak, vulnerable, and less able to fight such
common childhood illnesses as diarrhea, acute respiratory
infections, malaria, and measles. Adolescents and adults
also suffer adverse consequences of food insecurity and
malnutrition.
 Malnutrition can lead to decreased energy levels, delayed
maturation, growth failure, impaired cognitive ability,
diminished capacity to learn, decreased ability to resist
infections and illnesses, shortened life expectancy,
increased maternal mortality, and low birth weight.
Behavioral challenges:
Children who experience food insecurity may be at higher
risk for behavioral issues and social difficulties.
 Food insecure children may be at greater risk of truancy
and school tardiness.
 When they are in school, children who are food insecure
may experience an increase in an array of behavior
problems including: Fighting, hyperactivity, aggression,
anxiety, mood swings and bullying.
Food access, education and provisions of community
resources bring action around food insecurity and are vital
for improving childhood nutrition.

Political instability:
Food insecurity may also result to political instability just
as food-insecure individuals may manifest feelings of
alienation, powerlessness, stress, and anxiety, and they may
experience reduced productivity, reduced work and school
performance, and reduced income earnings.
Household dynamics may become disrupted because of a
preoccupation with obtaining food, which may lead to
anger, pessimism, and irritation among other vices.
Most of the types of political violence are more prevalent in
societies with higher levels of chronic food insecurity.
There is a correlation between food insecurity and political
conflict in part because both are symptoms of low
development.

Economic Factors:
In the twenty-first century, violent conflicts are
overwhelmingly a phenomenon of countries with low
income per capita, which often also suffer from food
insecurity. Rates of development matter as well as levels of
development. Civil conflict, protest, rioting and social
conflict are all more prevalent during periods of slow or
negative economic growth.

CAUSES:
War and Political Instability:
Of recent, the greatest threat to food security in Nigeria
comes from the insurgency. As it is generally known that
like other countries of the world, Nigeria is passing through
one of her greatest challenges since independence from
Britain in 1960. Of the six geo-political zones in Nigeria,
the North East which is one of the critical zones that do not
only provide the staple foods like grains, wheat and others
but that is equally responsible for the provision of greater
percentage of dairy products and animal protein in form of
meat is currently under siege by insurgents. This has
disrupted the agricultural activities in the areas while
businesses worth millions of US Dollars have equally being
halted. With this, the food security of the area is not only
affected but almost every part of the country thus resulting
to upward rising in the prices of food commodities in
Nigeria. More than one million people have been displaced
both internally and externally with more than ten thousand
deaths. The remaining people in the affected areas are
unable to continue their farming activities in the areas
which had resulted in the alteration in the agricultural value
chain in the country thereby resulting in reduction of food
production. The problems started in 2009 and got escalated
in the year 2014.

Urbanization:
Like other countries of the world, increasing rural-urban
migration due to urbanization play key roles in the
emerging food insecurity in Nigeria. According to Food
and Agricultural Organization, by year 2050, 70 percent of
the world population is expected to be living in cities. By
this, the agricultural production will be disrupted thereby
increasing the food insecurity.

Population Growth:
This is another factor responsible for food insecurity in
Nigeria. Currently, Nigeria is the 6th populous country in
the world with the estimated population of about 178
million people with annual growth rate of 3 percent. This
has increased the demand for food products just like other
countries of the world.
With this glaring increase in the population, there is no
commensurable increase in the agricultural production.
According to the United Nations, Nigeria is expected to
become third most populous country in the world by 2050
overtaking America.

Poor Agricultural Sector Development:

This is another problem that poses great threat to food
security in Nigeria and Africa as whole. Most African
countries including Nigeria do not have sustainable
Agricultural policy that will enhance food security in the
long run.
This is so because in Nigeria and majority of African
countries as a whole until recently do not have stable
leadership thereby resulting to policy somersault. Nigeria
for example has not been on stable political leadership until
1999 when the country returned to full democracy devoid
of military intervention. This has led to inconsistencies in
policies that could have placed the country on a stable track
that could have ensured that there is uninterrupted food
supply.

However, the opposite is the case as successive

governments have engaged in different agricultural policies
that have led to cancellation of the existing ones even when
the extant ones proved prosperous and sustainable. Some
government policies interfere with markets, create
standards that inhibit trade and remove price signals to
farmers.
Export restrictions and trading bans isolate local markets
and give farmers little incentive to expand production for
the next season, limiting the potential supply response to
soaring prices.

Climate Change:
Climate Change is another reason why there is food
shortage in Africa. It has changed the productivity pattern.
The rain and water is less predictable now than before. The
rain comes either too late or too early or for a shorter
period. Farmers are confused and do not know when to
cultivate their grains and other vegetables. Some years, the
rain comes too early and when they plant the grains, the
rain stops and the grains rot under the ground.
THREATS TO FOOD SECURITY:
CLIMATE CHANGE:

Soil erosion
According to the WWF, we’ve lost half of the topsoil on
our planet in the last 150 years. That’s pretty serious
because the topsoil happens to be where plants get most of
their nutrients. Deforestation and incorrect agricultural
practices such as overgrazing and use of pesticides are to
blame.
The topsoil gets washed into our rivers and lakes, polluting
them and affecting aquatic life, or else they clog our
waterways, and contribute to flooding.

Because we’re left with barren earth, we depend on

chemical fertilizers to enrich the land.
Often though these fertilizers destroy nature’s balance—
polluting the soil, killing the soil’s biodiversity, and
eventually contaminating our food.

Drought
Demands for water for human use and to grow crops are
increasing, but changing weather patterns because of global
warming mean we can’t rely on enough rain falling where
we need it.
If plants reduce their water loss they can’t take up as much
carbon dioxide for photosynthesis and thus growth.
Emerging diseases
Pathogens have always been a feature of agriculture and
there are a number of current causes for concern. For
example, a wheat rust fungus that current varieties have no
resistance to is spreading from Africa to the Middle East.
Bananas are also an important staple crop for hundreds of
millions of people in Africa, but a new variety of the
fungus that causes Panama disease has devastated
plantations of previously-resistant varieties and is spreading
from Southeast Asia.

World population growth:

The rapid growth of the world’s population resulting
mainly from the high birth rate in the developing countries,
mostly African as well as in some countries of Asia and
South America, means that feeding the population is one of
the most important issues in the modern world. There are
serious disproportions in the level of nutrition of the
world’s inhabitants resulting from the uneven distribution
of food production and inadequate distribution of food, as
well as improper political and institutional solutions.

Food prices:
Global food crisis that began with the sudden increase in
food prices all over the world at turn of 2007/ 2008 resulted
in an increase in the costs of food product imports, and had
catastrophic effects on the household budgets. The increase
in prices is being felt the most by the millions of the
poorest people. It is estimated that global food prices can
increase by 70-90% by the year 2030, and that’s without
calculating the impact of climate change, which could
cause prices to double10.
The food crisis played its part in the increase in the number
of undernourished people all over the world. In 2009, the
number of undernourished people exceeded 1 billion.

WAYS TO SECURE FOOD:

Reduce food waste
Globally, 30-50 percent of food production goes to waste
because of inefficient preparation or inadequate storage
facilities. The United States is one of the biggest culprits
for this and needs an agricultural land base that is 7 to 8
times larger than a land base in India to compensate for this
waste. Reducing food waste in the United States, India and
China could feed 413 million people per year.

Consistent Policy Framework:

First and foremost, the leaders must adhere strictly to
unique agricultural policy that will be subjected to periodic
review by experts concerned instead of the current policy
somersault as we are currently witnessing. Once this is
achieved, the successive governments will be able to
pursue the food security with the desired vigour.
Provision of Infrastructures:
Provision of social amenities such as roads, portable water,
electricity, etc. should be provided to the rural dwellers to
prevent or reduce rural-urban migration as this will ensure
there is adequate labour for agricultural activities in the
rural areas thereby increasing food productivities that will
not only guarantee food security but will equally provide
employment opportunities to the growing population in a
way that it will reduce the pressure in the urban centers.

Under this, the government should also encourage

mechanized farming as a way of reducing the incidence of
food insecurity as all over the world now agriculture is a
serious business.
Modern agriculture is not only feeding the family but the
world and is generating millions of employment and
veritable source of income to both the farmers and source
of foreign exchange to many countries of the world.

Population Control:
Just like other African countries where poverty is rampant,
population is majorly uncontrolled as the methods of
achieving this menace such as contraceptives is still
unpopular especially in the rural areas thereby resulting to
population surge among the people thus encouraging undue
competition for insufficient food.
Government and other development partners such as world
bank, UNICEF, FAO, WFP and others should rise up to
assist the government in educating people on birth control
so that there can be food security guaranty.

Provision of Storage Facilities:

To avoid waste that usually accompany harvest season in
Nigeria, government should do everything possible to
ensure there is adequate provision of processing and
storage facilities for agricultural products so that there will
be all year round food security and in turn boost the income
level of farmers thereby reducing poverty which is the
ultimate goal of the Nigerian government just like any
other African government.

The current situation in Nigerian has become so worrisome

to the extent that vast majority of the harvested crops waste
away during the farm season while huge amount of money
is being used by the government to offset the import bills of
the same commodities during the off season.

Abolition of Trade Barriers:

There should be free trade across the African borders to
guarantee free flow of food commodities across borders.
Though, there are various extant trade agreements with
other African countries especially the western Africa but
the enforcement across nations has been very weak. If these
 trade agreements are fully operational the food insecurity
will not only be minimized in Nigeria but in other African
countries.
Use fertilizers more efficiently:
FACTS:
In 2006 it was reported that globally, the number of people who
are overweight has surpassed the number who are
undernourished - the world had more than one billion people
who were overweight, and an estimated 800 million who were
undernourished. Worldwide around 852 million people are
chronically hungry due to extreme poverty, while up to 2 billion
people lack food security intermittently due to varying degrees
of poverty.
17,000 children die of hunger and malnutrition related diseases
every day, which equals 6 million children who die of hunger
every year. In Afghanistan, about 35% of households are food
insecure. Approximately 60 percent of Pakistan’s population is
facing food insecurity, and malnutrition is highly prevalent,
according to the UN World Food Program.

The number of undernourished people in the world has been on

the rise since 2014, reaching an estimated 821 million in 2017.
WFP reports that 44 and 15 percent of Pakistani children
younger than 5 years of age are stunted and suffer from acute
malnutrition. it is observed that state of food security in Pakistan
has deteriorated since 2003.
The conditions for food security are inadequate in 61 percent
districts of Pakistan. Islamabad Capital Territory is the most
food secure district of Pakistan. Among the top twenty districts
with best conditions for food security, besides Islamabad, are 14
districts in Punjab and 5districts in Sindh.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE:
INTRODUCTION:
Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways, which
means meeting society's food and textile present needs, without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem
services.
In the US National Agricultural Research, Extension, and
Teaching Policy Act of 1977, the term sustainable agriculture is
defined as an integrated system of plant and animal production
practices having a site-specific application that will, over the
long term:
 satisfy human food and fiber needs
 enhance environmental quality and the natural resource
base upon which the agriculture economy depends
  make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and
on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural
biological cycles and controls
 sustain the economic viability of farm operations
 enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a
whole.
Sustainable agriculture can be defined in many ways, but
ultimately it seeks to sustain farmers, resources and
communities by promoting farming practices and methods that
are profitable, environmentally sound and good for
communities.
Sustainable agriculture fits into and complements modern
agriculture. It rewards the true values of producers and their
products. It draws and learns from organic farming. It works on
farms and ranches large and small, harnessing new technologies
and renewing the best practices of the past.
Benefits Of Sustainable agriculture
1.Contributes to environmental conservation.

The environment plays a major role in fulfilling our basic

necessities of life. It is therefore out duty to return some of these
things back so that our future generations may not remain
deprived. Sustainable farming helps in putting back some of
these things back to the environment. This helps to replenish
land and other resources like soil, water, and air to make them
sufficiently available for the coming generations.
2.Prevents pollution.

When sustainable farming is carried the waste so produced

remains inside the farm’s ecosystem. Thus it cannot in any
way cause pollution or buildup in the external environment.
3.Reduction in cost.

Sustainable agriculture minimizes the use and cost of purchasing

fossil fuel and reduces the transportation costs. This helps in
reducing the overall cost involved in the process of farming.
4.Biodiversity.

Sustainable agriculture results in biodiversity as the farms

produce different kinds of animals and plants. Plants are
seasonally rotated about the fields, which results in enriched
soil, prevention of diseases and outbreaks of pests.
5.Beneficial for animals.

Animals are cared for, treated humanely and with respect. All
animals living in the farm are facilitated to exhibit their natural
behaviors like grazing, pecking or, rooting. This helps them to
grow in a natural way.
6.Economically beneficial for farmers.

When farmers engage themselves into sustainable agriculture

they receive a fair wage for their effort. As a result their
dependence on government subsidies is reduced, thereby
strengthening the rural communities.
7.Social equality.

When sustainable agriculture is practiced workers are offered

competitive salaries and benefits. They are treated with
humanity; provided with safe work environment, food and
proper living conditions.
8.Beneficial for environment.

Sustainable agriculture decreases the use of non-renewable

environmental resources and is thus quite beneficial for the
environment. This special type of agriculture and farming
technique makes utmost use of the environment and that too
without causing any harm to it. Products obtained do not contain
any inorganic chemicals like insecticides and pesticides. All
these factors make sustainable agriculture a preferred choice of
farmers all over the world.
Methods/Practices of Sustainable Agriculture:
1. Crop Rotation: Crop rotation is one of the most powerful
techniques of sustainable agriculture. Its purpose is to avoid
 the consequences that come with planting the same crops in
the same soil for years in a row. It helps tackle pest
problems, as many pests prefer specific crops.

If the pests have a steady food supply they can greatly

increase their population size. Rotation breaks the
reproduction cycles of pests. During rotation, farmers can
plant certain crops, which replenish plant nutrients. These
crops reduce the need for chemical fertilizers.
2. Cover Crops:
 Many farmers choose to have crops planted in a field at all
times and never leave it barren, this can cause unintended
consequences. By planting cover crops, such as clover or
oats, the farmer can achieve his goals of preventing soil
erosion, suppressing the growth of weeds, and enhancing
the quality of the soil. The use of cover crops also reduces
the need for chemicals such as fertilizers.
3. Soil Enrichment:
Soil is a central component of agricultural ecosystems.
Healthy soil is full of life, which can often be killed by the
overuse of pesticides. Good soils can increase yields as
well as creating more robust crops.
It is possible to maintain and enhance the quality of soil in
many ways. Some examples include leaving crop residue in
the field after a harvest, and the use of composted plant
material or animal manure.
4. Natural Pest Predators:
  In order to maintain effective control over pests, it is
important to view the farm as an ecosystem as opposed to a
factory. For example, many birds and other animals are in
fact natural predators of agricultural pests.

Managing your farm so that it can harbor populations of

these pest predators is an effective as well as a
sophisticated technique. The use of chemical pesticides can
result in the indiscriminate killing of pest predators.
5. Bio intensive Integrated Pest Management: 
Integrated pest management (IPM), this is an approach,
which really relies on biological as opposed to chemical
methods. IMP also emphasizes the importance of crop
rotation to combat pest management.

Once a pest problem is identified, IPM will mean that

chemical solutions will only be used as a last resort. Instead
the appropriate responses would be the use of sterile males,
and biocontrol agents such as ladybirds.

6. Reducing or eliminating tillage.

 Traditional plowing (tillage) prepares fields for planting
and prevents weed problems, but can cause a lot of soil
loss. No-till or reduced till methods, which involve
inserting seeds directly into undisturbed soil, can reduce
erosion and improve soil health.
7. Biodynamic farming
Biodynamics incorporates ecological and holistic growing
practices that are based upon the philosophy of
anthroposophy. Farmers are encouraged to manage their
farm as one living organism where cultivated species
intertwine and support each other’s health.

This includes raising animals on a farm in a way that they

help replenish soil fertility and enhance plant growth. One
of the building pillars of biodynamics is high biodiversity
of plants, animals and beneficial insects. The goal is the
creation of a resilient ecosystem that benefits us and other
living organisms.    

8. Urban agriculture
The need to localize our food system requires that we grow
food much closer to home, including in cities. Since most
of the global population is predicted to live in cities in the
future, there is a tremendous opportunity for urban
agriculture to make a significant positive impact moving
forward when it comes to how we produce our food around
the world.

9. Natural animal raising

Sustainable animal farming is possible and is better for
everyone. Not only that it is good for the environment and
our nutritional needs, it is also good for the animals. 
Since animals and grasslands have evolved in a mutually
beneficial relationship, livestock grazing and other pastoral
systems enrich the land in multiple ways. 

Grasses also grow stronger root systems and abundant tufts

after being grazed and trampled under the hooves. This
helps to prevent erosion, build soil through the rich growth
of diverse pasture grasses, sequester carbon emissions in
the soil from the atmosphere, and conserve grassland
habitats that can host many other species of wildlife and
insects.