Zambia is surrounded by the eight nations in Southern Africa that are currently experiencing food shortages due to climate change. Therefore, the president of this nation believes that their ability to provide sufficient food is also in danger. On the other hand, Zambia's leader has requested the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
Zambia Seeks Help to Food and Agriculture Organization
(Photo : Unsplash/Mick Haupt)
The number of people who are experiencing severe acute food insecurity has increased from an estimated 1.7 million to an estimated 2.3 million as a result of a 'catastrophic' combination of drought and the deteriorating endurance of communities. Since late 2018, villages throughout southern Africa have been impacted by drought.
Moreover, 2019 saw the fewest seasonal rainfall totals for broad portions of southern and western Zambia since at least 1981, the base year from which average rainfall is benchmarked. Poor harvests occurred simultaneously in the northern and eastern regions of the nation, which were impacted by flash flooding and waterlogging.
As mentioned, eight Southern African neighbors recently surrounded Zambia, which has been impacted hard by the food crisis caused by climate change-induced famine and widespread drought. On Wednesday, Nov. 22, during a meeting in Italy's capital, Rome, the President of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema, revealed to the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Qu Dongyu, that the lack of food in neighboring countries had posed a threat to the food sufficiency of his country.
He also mentioned that his nation is interested in acquiring the latest innovations in water harvesting, precision irrigation, mechanization, and husbandry efforts. For this reason, the FAO supports emerging farmers through an agriculture credit window that his administration established. This window aims to increase efficiency for both local and regional markets.
Furthermore, Hichilema expressed gratitude for FAO's assistance in enhancing sustainable forestry capacity building and underscored the government's determination to augment production and productivity to enhance regional and national food security.
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Causes of Food Shortages
As per World Food Program USA, a place, country, or region is said to be experiencing a food shortage when it does not have sufficient quantities of nutritious food that is sufficient in terms of its nutritional value for its inhabitants. One of the most common causes of a food shortage is production problems, which occur when insufficient food is produced or imported to satisfy a population's dietary and nutritional needs. Accordingly, both acute and chronic foodstuff shortages are possible. When food scarcity develops quickly, it is called an acute shortage. However, chronic shortages continue to occur month after month or year after year.
Severe food loss during the initial development, harvest, and storage phases is particularly prevalent in low-income nations due to resource scarcity. It is also possible for a country to produce or import sufficient food to meet the needs of its population; nevertheless, unexpected events such as natural disasters or political turmoil may prohibit the equal distribution of food to geographically isolated or vulnerable people.
In this way, those communities lose access to food, which can lead to a resource shortage. Additionally, more prominent disruptors, such as war, can halt trade or destroy food networks.
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