Introduction
The global food security predicament is one of the major problems worldwide, where many individuals suffer from undernourishment and food insecurity. As populations hit the ceiling and environmental pressures become more formidable, sustainable agricultural practices attain more significance. The principle of sustainable agriculture, which aims to follow practices related to environmental preservation, ensures that society and the economy are headed in the direction of meeting food demand while at the same time ensuring the sustainability of the environment. This paper is focuses on an in-depth analysis of the two Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators that should be met through sustainable agriculture: 2.1. Undernourishment Prevalence and 2.2. Food Insecurity Prevalence for Severe or Moderate Levels. Undernourishment Prevalence and 2.2. Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity. Even though the share of undernourished people seems to be decreasing, this problem nevertheless remains one of the most critical issues, which may gravely affect the health, welfare, and development of people. In contrast, food insecurity involves a multitude of problems that span from the absence of food to its inefficient use, which exposes the reasons for people’s poverty and sets them on the path of lifetime poverty. In this aspect, sustainable agriculture is one of the best lines to take to amplify food security, environmental sustainability, and social justice. Efforts like proper waste reduction, environmental protection, and the promotion of food communities are the necessary steps that sustainable agriculture needs to address the fundamental reasons why people can’t get enough food and end up malnourished.
Understanding Undernourishment and Food Insecurity
Undernourishment is a primal and fundamental element of deprivation of the body’s indispensable nutrients needed for keeping functions working and the general health of an individual. It is generally understood that this type of malnutrition is associated with a loss of energy in the diet, which leads to individuals being unable to provide themselves with the energy needed for their daily activities. Malnutrition constitutes a very complex phenomenon as many interlinked factors, such as but not limited to poverty, low food supplies, low productivity in agriculture, inequalities in resource sharing, and environmental challenges like climate change and natural hazards, cause malnutrition.
Undernourishment is one of the main determinants of poverty in that families can afford not to have enough money to buy varied and healthful diets for their substances. Although most of the time, only foods have a low nutritious value and plenty of staple crops are in places with food insecurity, communities in such areas are more susceptible to malnutrition. However, one more factor generates the same pattern: socio-economic deprivation, which, given its complexity, creates various problems, such as inequality in health, education, and work, thus leading to the cycle of poverty and food insecurity.
Insufficient food supply also remains an indispensable factor that plausibly leads to food insecurity. This factor is particularly a problem in areas impacted by food deserts with only a few food alternatives other than being well-nourished people. The food deserts are those areas that need more grocery stores or fruit and vegetable markets, making it more challenging for residents because they may end up buying unhealthy food from convenience stores and fast-food joints where unhealthy food is a predominant feature. Thus, we will buy food products that are not rich in required nutrient elements and make wrong eating habits, which will finally give rise to starvation and other diseases.
Moreover, the environmental issues, including increased variation, land degradation, water scarcity, and climate change, worsen food insecurity by damaging agricultural production and reducing access to food. Climate change introduces drought and uncertain weather, resulting in decreased productivity by causing crop failures, animal mortality, and eventually reneging on the food security of vulnerable populations. The result of this will be the devastation of the land, which will make the land unproductive and lead to reduced soil nutrition. In food insecurity, a person supposedly avoids the risk of their unhealthier state caused by insufficient or inadequate food provisions. As the Food and Agriculture Organization pointed out, food insecurity is “the condition of being limited and uncertain about the availability of sufficient, nutritious and safe food consumption because of poverty and other economic constraints” (FAO, 2020). The individuals vulnerable to food insecurity experience many problems that impair their physical health; for instance, they may be underfed, malnourished, vitamin deficient, and prone to other similar diseases that affect not only their physical condition but also their entire cognitive development and psychological well-being. Further, the development of food insecurity brings two factors simultaneously: social progress and an extensive circle of malnutrition and money.
Prevalence of Undernourished (SDG Indicator 2.1)
SDG Indicator 2.1 is the second most relevant measure to monitor the global spread of food insecurity and to offer us data on the share of people with undernourishment and thus with food insecurity. The measure seeks to establish an issue known as the hidden hunger level in a country’s population, defined as the percentage of people who do not have enough caloric intake to live and be active. Around 783 million people were undernourished. These figures indicate that the hunger problem is severe; hence, there is a need to come up with a solution to tackle this issue (World vision, n.d.). This multiply indicates that one of the most crucial challenges that does not depend on global efforts to develop food security is the inadequate and unsatisfactory access of millions of people to fresh and nutritious food.
Combating undernourishment is the focus of many initiatives and programs at the local, national, and global levels. Among the myriad community-based agricultural programs, those that empower small farmers and rural community economies are key in enhancing food production and improving the nutritional state of the people. These programs are usually geared towards agronomic practices aimed at sustainable agriculture, such as agroecology, organic farming, and climate-smart agriculture, for improved soil health, biodiversity, and climatic resilience. Through the increased resilience of local food systems and bettering agricultural productivity, these initiatives strive to solve the problem of food insecurity and ensure a better food variety.
Besides, the governments and policymakers implement the aid and policies in specific areas and sectors. Agriculture research and development support, infrastructure, and market access are needed to encourage economic expansion, increase food output, and facilitate food availability for vulnerable groups. Furthermore, social safety nets in cash transfers and food tokens are used to feed people, and schools are where hungry people will have their last meal. To take hunger relief a step further, these interventions not only help these communities stay afloat but also bring about healthy livelihoods, education, and health outcomes, which are essential for poverty reduction and sustainable development in the long run.
The Zero Hunger Challenge that the UN started symbolizes the universal commitment to remove hunger and give the right to food forever. The initiative considers sustainability as the critical element that blends sustainable agricultural activities, social protection actions, and policies that target the source of hunger and malnutrition (UN, n.d.). Through inclusive and participatory procedures, the Zero Hunger Challenge strives to facilitate the empowerment of people, resilience building, and the production of sustainable eating systems that consider the issue of food accessibility for all.
One good example of a successful intervention is the Food for Assets (FFA) program introduced by the World Food Programme (WFP) in Ethiopia. The FFA program blends food aid with community-based asset-creation endeavors, such as constructing irrigation systems, terracing land, and building roads. One way the program does this is by exchanging food assistance for labor on community projects, addressing immediate food needs while aiding in developing local infrastructure and agricultural productivity (WFP, n.d.). Besides helping to end hunger, this integrated method also makes the community resilient to climate change and natural disasters.
In the future, Indicator 2.1 clearly illustrates the ongoing challenges posed by malnutrition and hunger both globally and locally, which demands coordinated actions to attain food security and zero hunger. Through Community-based agriculture projects, government programs, and the global challenge of Zero Hunger, the progress of the objective to ensure that all get access to a sustenance diet regularly can be achieved, thus a step towards realizing sustainable development goals.
Prevalence of Moderate or Severe Food Insecurity (SDG Indicator 2.2)
SDG Indicator 2.2 accurately shows the depth and severity of food deprivation worldwide, particularly the prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity. This indicator provides an essential tool for understanding the hardships facing people and communities to receive enough and nourishing diet, not only in calculating calorific intake. The comparative study of the data from the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) of 2020 indicates that during that year, the problem was faced by more than 2 billion people worldwide, including the moderately and severely food insecure, serves as an admonition about addressing this predicament (FAO, 2020).
For a significant number of people, there exists a low level of food insecurity that starts with shaky food availability and a time-constrained process of food preservation, reflecting poor dietary diversity and difficulty in getting hold of the food. The individuals we call food insecure might be forced to adjust food quantity and leave out the best, while those in extreme hunger might go several days without a mere bite but the hunger. In addition to physical consequences, these experiences may have more severe implications for an individual’s psychiatric stability, work performance, and general life quality.
Moderate to severe food shortages require a well-rounded intervention beyond the simple enhancement of food production. Sustainable farming approaches encompassing various techniques have multiple advantages in increasing farming output, pursuing environmental sustainability, and being resilient to varied and unpredictable weather conditions. Agroecological approaches, including intercropping systems, agroforestry, and integrated pest management, have improved yields, conserved natural resources, and generated ecosystem services (HLPE, 2019). Thus, biomimetic agricultural practices, which imitate natural ecosystems and allocate resources more wisely, provide food systems with enhanced fertility, water management, biodiversity conservation, and agricultural resilience to external influences.
Removing market access barriers and providing access to wholesome foods is essential to addressing moderate or severe food insecurity. In some areas, lack of infrastructure, sufficient market access, and high transportation costs hinder food availability and affordability. Enhancing accessibility to markets, expanding public transport, and removing trade barriers will help move surplus food from deficit areas to all having access to food of high nutritional value. Also, interventions such as food vouchers, cash transfers, and nutrition education should be established to educate vulnerable people on the necessity of nutritious foods and improve dietary diversity.
In addition, social protection systems must be fortified to tackle moderate or severe food insecurity and shield the most deprived people and family units.
On the other hand, social safety nets may include some conditional cash transfer programs, food assistance programs, and social insurance schemes that function as a safety net for individuals experiencing food insecurity, thus stopping hunger and attenuating shocks in the economy during moments of an economic crisis. Among the wide range of social protection services is the provision of financial assistance, supply of edible and accessible food items, and vital services that contribute to the reduction in the levels of poverty, improvement of nutrition, and participation in society.
In sum, indicator 2.2 SDG emphasizes the multidimensional character of food insecurity across the globe and the imminent necessity of holistic solutions to solve this problem. By encouraging ecologically responsive farming methods, increasing the availability of markets and nutritious food options, and reinforcing social services programs, we will significantly affect the food security for everybody and achieve the target of creating a hunger and malnutrition-free world.
Synthesis and Conclusion
Sustainable agriculture is a solution to problems existing today around malnutrition and hunger, which are the pillars for achieving SDG 2 and global food security. The sustainable agriculture movement promotes food security through its inclusive strategy of assuring that enough food is of good quality and nutritional value to all while developing resilient communities that can withstand various stressors happening on a global scale.
Implementing such farming practices in the food production system would increase productivity, protect natural resources, and reduce the adverse effects of climate change on food security. The agroecological farming methods, which are inclusive of natural farming, agroforestry, and conservation agriculture, are among the practices that are considered sustainable agriculture, and they portray sustainable agriculture in practice by showcasing how innovative and nature-friendly systems can increase production and, at the same, improve the state of health of the soil and biodiversity. For instance, applying agroecological practices in sub-Saharan Africa has been proven to increase crop yields while minimizing the risks of climate-related shocks (IPES-Food, 2021).
Furthermore, sustainable agriculture reduces inequality and provides social justice by empowering small-scale farmers, women, and poor communities to participate in policymaking and access resources. Community-based projects like the farmer co-operatives, self-help groups of women, and indigenous food sovereignty movements show how activists, grassroots mobilization, and collectiveness bring about food security and social justice. Through the empowerment of the voices from below, these projects question the unfair ways of food creation and selling, making it possible for the new approach to food production and circulation to focus on the local communities.
References
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (2020). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/en/
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). (2021). The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/state-of-food-security-nutrition/en/
High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE). (2019). Agroecological and other innovative approaches for sustainable agriculture and food systems that enhance food security and nutrition. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/3/ca5602en/ca5602en.pdf
United Nations (UN). (n.d.). Zero Hunger Challenge. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/hunger/#:~:text=Goal%202%20is%20about%20creating,climate%20change%2C%20and%20deepening%20inequalities.
World Vision. (n.d.). Global hunger: 7 facts you need to know. Retrieved from https://www.worldvision.org/hunger-news-stories/world-hunger-facts#:~:text=In%20a%20world%20where%20up,is%20more%20important%20than%20ever.
write