Addressing Hunger through Strategic Intervention

Climate change poses a great threat to the world’s food supplies. Poverty and hunger are the most common consequences of climate change. These lead to malnutrition and food insecurity. The various dimensions of food security and nutrition that are affected by climate change are- food availability, food access, food utilization, and food stability. As a result, an understanding of climate context, particularly rainfall patterns, has become crucial in eradication of food insecurity.

A new research has put forward an analysis describing the relationship between food insecurity among smallholder farms in Africa and Asia, rainfall patterns and a range of interventions. The research has gathered the experiences of approximately 2,000 smallholder farms in about 12 countries in West Africa, East Africa and Asia. The research found that the drier farms suffered the highest food insecurity followed by the average farms and the wetter farms respectively in the research year.

It highlights the important role played by micro financing strategies by way of (i) financial supports such as cash, loans; (ii) agricultural inputs and practices such as use of fertilizers, pesticides, veterinary medicines, and livestock in increasing food security in Africa and Asia. The research cautions that these strategies may not be universally applicable to smallholder farms. Hence, the application of appropriate strategic interventions is crucial in reducing the threat posed by food insecurity.

Content: www.wfp.org                      

By: Anuja Arora