BUSINESS NEWS - Food security is a basic human right, yet for hundreds of millions of people around the globe access to at least an adequate amount of nutritious food is a right that is not being met, usually due to factors beyond their control.

Tiger Brands Foundation (TBF) Operations Manager Karl Muller notes that the United Nations (UN) estimates that the global population will reach 10 billion by 2050. 

As the population continues to grow, it will become necessary for food production and food accessibility to grow in tandem with this.

“However, the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened the food security of millions around the globe. It is obvious that the pandemic is crisis of monumental proportions, with catastrophic effects on people’s lives and livelihoods,” says Muller.

“Alarmingly, the global extreme poverty rate rose for the first time in over 20 years in 2020. As a result, hundreds of millions of people were pushed back into extreme poverty and chronic hunger. The pandemic has interrupted one or more essential health services and poses major health threats beyond the disease itself.”

Critically, he adds that the pandemic has also placed major pressure on efforts to realise the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, meaning that to make the 2030 Agenda a reality, broad ownership of the social development goals (SDGs) must translate into a strong commitment by all stakeholders to implement the global goals.

At risk of acute hunger

According to the World Food Programme, 135 million people suffer from acute hunger largely due to man-made conflicts, climate change and economic downturns. 

The COVID-19 pandemic could well double that number, putting an additional 130 million people at risk of suffering acute hunger.

Figures released by the UN show that an additional 70-161 million people worldwide are likely to have experienced hunger as a result of the pandemic, bringing the estimated number of undernourished people to between 780 million and 811 million in 2020.

“We have seen how reduced incomes, increased unemployment and higher food prices in many regions have greatly reduced access to food for many vulnerable people. In addition, restrictions and lockdowns implemented to curb the spread of COVID-19 caused disruptions to the transportation and production of food,” says Muller.

He points out that stakeholders across the globe currently find themselves at a juncture that will determine whether or not the world can make the transformations needed to deliver on the promise to achieve the SDGs by 2030.

According to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals Report 2021, SDGs were regrettably already off track even before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. 

While progress had been made in poverty reduction, maternal and child health, access to electricity and gender equality, this was not enough to achieve the SDGs by 2030. In other vital areas, including reducing inequality, lowering carbon emissions and tackling hunger, progress had either stalled or reversed.

Sustainable systems

“To meet the demands of the projected population growth over the next 30 years, greater focus will have to be placed on ensuring food security through the development of sustainable systems. While supply is but one of the issues around insecurity, the main issues is actually around access to enough food and access to the right kind of food,” says Muller.

He points out that with more than a quarter of a billion people potentially facing starvation across the globe, swift action needs to be taken to provide food and humanitarian relief to the most at-risk regions and populations.

“Therefore, a profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to feed the 700-800 million people who are hungry today, as well as the additional two billion people who will populate the world by 2050. Increasing agricultural productivity and sustainable food production are crucial to help alleviate the perils of hunger,” adds Muller.

“What is clearly needed is a new commitment by governments, businesses, industry and NGO sectors to ensure that the post-COVID-19 recovery reduces carbon emissions, conserves natural resources, creates better jobs, advances gender equality and tackles growing poverty and inequalities.”

However, despite the immense challenges, Muller believes there are reasons to remain hopeful, as the pandemic highlighted inspiring community resilience, the tremendous work done by essential workers in various fields, as well as facilitating the rapid expansion of social protection.

“A better future is possible, but we must use the crisis to transform the world and redouble our efforts to deliver on the 2030 Agenda,” he concludes.

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