SUNDAY 22 JANUARY, 2017 – UWI TODAY
19
One of the goals of the United Nations
is summed up in
the tagline, “Climate is Changing, Food and Agriculture
Must too.” The aim is to end all forms of hunger and
malnutrition thereby achieving zero hunger by the year
2030. To participate in this illustrious goal, some students of
The UWI aspire to highlight the key challenges, major steps
that should be taken as well as consequences and benefits
of achieving the status of “Zero Hunger.”
Four of the major challenges affecting the Caribbean
region on the way to achieving zero hunger are:
REACHING THE
ZERO HUNGER GOAL
This article was written by: Prashant Maharaj, Rayisa Yearwood, Regene Pope, Renata Ramoutar, Rommel Dookeran, Ryan Dhanraj, Samantha Singh, Sangeeta Ramberran and Saschel Bujan
It was a feature done in celebration of World Food Day, in the course ENRM 3000: Natural Resource Economics and Assessment lectured by Dr Sharon Hutchinson.
FEATURE
Hunger is a problem that has plagued the world
throughout history. Despite the media’s heavy focus on
countries such as those on the African continent, hunger is
present worldwide. Some methods specific to the Caribbean
which will aid in accomplishing the “Zero Hunger” goal
include:
Home gardens will allow people to produce a portion of
their food, thus resulting in an overall diminishing demand.
Consequently, large producers will begin to lose sales and
in a scrambling effort to maintain their market share, will
decrease their prices. Accordingly, more people would have
regular access to cheaper, more economically priced foods.
Aquaponics is an integrated agriculture systemwhereby
fish waste and water fertilize plants and inversely, the plants
filter the returning water for the fishes. A small aquaponics
system which can produce up to 100 fishes and 1.5m2 of
crops cost an average of TT$700. Use of such systems will
result in a cheaper, more accessible supply of food and allows
us to have assured year-round production.
Another idea could be to have prisoners cultivate
marginal lands.
These methods take the impacts of climate change into
account. However, the following highlights some specific
considerations about working in tandemwith these growing
climate-related challenges to achieve the zero-hunger goal
in the Caribbean.
Culture is the backbone to any nation, and in order to
produce substantial yet sustainable change within a country,
we must get personal. The installation of aquaponics
systems in schools introduces the notion of a green
culture. By exposing youths to simple, effective strategies
of sustainability, they are able to experience the reality of
a greener tomorrow immediately. It becomes a way of life.
This fosters the sustainable culture necessary within the
Caribbean.
This creative technique of educating the public should
not cease with students. It is important to educate the
leaders, farmers and home gardeners about the importance
of investing in drought-resistant crops and providing
incentives for them to do so.
With regard to foodwastage, we should take “deformed”
goods into consideration as they can be perceived as
“inedible” based on appearance, although they are indeed
highly nutritious, and actually edible. This would end the
vicious cycle of disposing these “imperfect” fruits and
vegetables to maintain a certain quota of customers and
quality, which is practised by competitive companies. The
media plays an influential role in the way we perceive things.
Studies have shown it affects consumer patterns and in turn,
businesses react to those buying habits. It is important to
remind the public of their power and encourage them
to make a conscious change in their buying patterns to
contribute to less food wastage.
Finally, it is important to consider the numerous
consequences whichmay arise if we do not achieve the zero-
hunger goal.These include extreme hunger which evidently
leads tomalnutrition, lack of access to education, inadequate
housing, poor sanitation and nutrition.
The United Nations elaborates that poor nutrition
causes 45% of deaths of children under five (3.1 million)
each year. These consequences can result in decreased
productivity, which hampers sustainable development and
GDP. Overall, there would be increased yet severe cost to
society, the environment, the nation and the wider world.
Moreover, by achieving the zero hunger goal, previously
deprived populations will now have access to safe
and nutritious food, improved healthcare, housing
and education. Through agricultural biodiversity and
technological advancements, they will experience the
results of nutritious diets, enhanced livelihoods for
farming communities and more resilient and sustainable
farming systems. By means of access to education, it will
generate a more cultured and knowledgeable population,
thus contributing to productivity of their country hence
increasing the country’s GDP. Finally, implementation
of sustainable food production systems would aid in
maintaining ecosystems and strengthen their capacity to
adapt to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding
and other disasters.
The United Nations elaborates that poor nutrition
causes 45% of deaths of children under five
(3.1 million) each year. These consequences can
result in decreased productivity, which hampers
sustainable development and GDP.
