US HAS ALWAYS SURPLUS FOOD, IF HE WANTS TO HELP HUNGARY PEOPLE, HE DID BUT NOT HUMANITARIAN GROUNDS BUT ON POLITICAL GROUNDS, UN IS A GOOD FORUM HAVING PRIME FOOD STORAGE OR ARRANGEMENTS. SUPPLY OF ENOUGH FOOD TO NEEDY PEOPLES CAN BE ENSURED BY UN

Hi Dr. Latief,

It is not only the question of increasing supply of foodgrains. Infact, the problem of hungry people all over the world is also due to sub-optimal distribution systems, massive food wastages & spoilages, etc. which if managed & reduced could substantially reduce the hunger problem. Also, improving agricultural productivity while following sustainable agricultural practices, carefully selection of cropping patterns, management of fallow lands & grasslands, etc. are additional dimensions to be taken care of.

Hi Draltief,

Indeed, as stated by Hemlata, hunger is a problem that is far more related to improper distribution rather than scarcity. When you focus on supply-demand, you are only focusing on availability of food and thus missing an essential problem about food insecurity: goods are not distributed adequately or equitably across and within countries.

This good paper may ignite a fruitful academic snowball on the subject:

https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2016.1146192

Cheers,

Ricardo

Ricardo, Excellent paper suggested by you.

I think it makes more sense to blame poverty rather than inefficient food distribution for the prevalence of hunger in the world. Food distribution is only a technical problem, easily solved with one simple resource: money. There is no problem distributing food to the oil-rich but food-poor countries of the Middle East - or anywhere else, for that matter. Many famines, where and when they occur, are caused by unaffordibility rather than unavailability of food - once the (cheap) food that poor people normally eat becomes scarce (and expensive). That was certainly true of the Irish potato famine of 1845-48. About a million people died of starvation (about 12% of the population), even though there was plenty of other food around. That food was earmarked for other purposes (rent, export), and was simply unaffordable for most people. Like most famines, that one was due more fundamentally to "politics" than to the proximate causes of climate change, or agricultural failure, or isolation. The UN and NGO personnel who go to famine zones today tend not to suffer from starvation themselves, which they would if food distribution was the real problem.

So if poor people could somehow generate and save enough wealth to support a "rainy day fund" (or more likely, a "drought fund"...), they would not suffer from famine. They would buy food from elsewhere - and even geographic isolation would not be a fundamental obstacle to efficient food distribution. From a purely climatic, agricultural, and distribution point of view, Australia should suffer from famine at least as much as, say, Sudan or Ethiopia, but it doesn't, because those factors are all trumped by the fact that Australia is rich and politically responsive, while those other countries are not.

Unfortunately, economic models do not typically replicate reality to the full.

In economics, the term 'demand' refers to the needs of people who are 'willing and able' to buy a given product. Therefore - strange as it may sound - the millions of hungry people who do not afford agricultural products do not fall within the 'demand' as defined in economic texts.

Of course, it should be up to policy makers to address such issues to ensure a more reasonable re-distribution of wealth.

Thx all

One effective way of ensuring sustainable supply is that countries must adopt efficient postharvest technologies to control the massive wastage of agricultural products.

the issue is not new, but it has become all the more important as the scale of famine has increased, as has the level of destruction of livelihoods, reduction of resources - and the ability to transform long-term food aid into full-fledged forms of self-cultivation and trade.

Nice query and concern as well @ Drlatief Ahmad

May be the following link can help ou:

http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/20568/icode/

Well, taking this issue globally We can start by championing the worldwide funding of agricultural research and extension programs along with investments in agricultural production and infrastructure to increase productivity and close yield gaps (that exists between developed and under developed countries). In addition we can strive to minimize international trade distortions, reduce food waste, improve rural education and job creation in developing countries and find ways to meet the food needs of the world’s chronically undernourished and malnourished population.

Regards

interesting question............I am following

I am totally agree with my RG colleagues doctors, specifically, Dr. Adnan Abbas, Dr. Silvio John, Dr. Enda William,

Best regards

Very interesting issue............I am following

As suggested in most of the answers, main problem is wastage and inadequate distribution of food grains/items instead of increasing production. It is high need of the hour to educate masses for smart and healthier living practices than to run after fulfilling unending demands of the masses. Some countries which have educated masses to conserve their resources are progressing very fast.

Following.