Introduction
The continent of Africa is home to over seven hundred million people. About half of these people do not get enough food to eat, partly due to low productivity on the farms, poor distribution networks and very little money for farmers to invest in improving their situations. This all contributes to the agricultural crisis going on in Africa.
Poverty stricken farmers often cannot produce enough surplus to feed and provide for their families. African farmers have survived for thousands of years, living in harmony with their environment, developing agricultural systems that work for their subsistence economy. With the coming of globalization and greater populations, and the shift to more of a cash-based economy, many farmers have not been able to keep up. They need to increase production in order to feed their families, and then sell some of the surplus to increase their profits.
Agricultural productivity is a major problem in Africa, the issue being whether or not a Green Revolution is the answer to Africa?s crisis. A Green Revolution for Africa, or a ?Gene? Revolution (Wu, Butz), seems like the answer to Africa?s agriculture situation. However, Africa has many factors that mitigate against it?s agricultural success, such as resource, economic and political issues. A Green Revolution could produce great results for Africa and it?s people, but are they doing all that they can to encourage agricultural growth?
Viewpoint #1
A Green Revolution is the answer to Africa?s agricultural crisis. If Africa takes the right steps and optimizes foreign aid, the Green Revolution will produce much success for them. There is no doubt that other developing nations have benefited from a Green Revolution. Many of these countries a...
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“Africa is failing to keep up with population growth not because it has exhausted its potential, but instead because too little has been invested in reaching that potential.” Paarlberg backs this claim with evidence that India’s food issue was solved with foreign assistance in development and offers that the solution to Africa’s food shortage is also development and farm modernization endorsed by foreign aid.
Even tho the green revolution had stopped starvation in some of the world, it has also caused some. The green revolution was the use of new technology to grow food for the people of the world that started in the 1950’s. These new technology were such things as Gmo’s, pesticides, fertilizers. The main goal was to stop hunger and make second and third world countries better and not living in poverty. The green revolution Raised the amount of food in the world, made the world's population increase in a dangerous rate and harmed and damaged the earth and its people.
Somalia is one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries (Campbell). Because of the Civil War, which broke out in 1991, much of Somalia’s economy has been devastated. The war left many homeless and drove them to raise livestock as a means of survival. The economy used to be based on exports of cattle, goats, and bananas but as of early 1992 much of the economic trade had come to a halt. Now the economy is primarily based on the raising of livestock, which accounts for 40% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Alhaus). Due to overgrazing, soil erosion, and the clearing away of many trees, Somalia has very few natural resources, which have not been exploited.
Worldwide, 870 million people — about one in eight— are hungry. That is nearly three times the population of the United States. It is hard to imagine in the modern world that a country cannot feed its people, but in 1984, the Ethiopian Famine took over one million lives. There were many causes that contributed to the complications faced in Ethiopia. These problems received major attention in the global Community. The famine drastically changed people’s lives because of the lack of food and resources and affected Ethiopia to our present day.
Africa is a continent rich in natural resources and it may be surprising that its resources haven’t been enough to pull it out of poverty. Although there are many resources, there are also many issues. Many of Africa’s industries are focussed on raw materials. For example, agriculture is the main industry in Africa, employing two-thirds of the working population and contributing 20% to 60% of every country’s GDP. Forestry is also an important industry and contributes up to 6% of Africa’s GDP, which is higher than any other continent. Fishing, another main industry in Africa, is valued at $2.7 billion USD and provides income for 10 million people. Africa also focusses on exporting raw materials such as metals and minerals, including uranium, platinum, nickel, bauxite and cobal. These raw materials are used around the world to produce nuclear energy, industrial
When someone mentions the state of Africa the first thoughts that enter your mind is poverty, poor government structure, and hungry people. But that has not always been the case. This was a rich, resourceful and beautiful country. The picture of pre-colonial Africa is much different than our ideals of it today. We see it as a land stricken with poverty. The colonists saw it as a land with unlimited resources full of people that did not take, what they thought was full advantage of it's treasures. Europeans used agricultural and religious differences to create a gulf between them and the Africans. Using such differences Europe colonized Africa for the ever growing European market. The depletion of the African resources forced the people into a food crises. The only hope exists is the organization from within the rural class. Such organizations are fighting for basic human rights and others are coming together to make labor sharing possible.
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Famine has struck parts of Africa several times during the 20th century, and to this day is still going strong. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the average African consumes 2300 kcal/day, less than the global average of 2700 kcal/day. Recent figures estimate that 316 million Africans, or approximately 35 percent of the continent's total population, is undernourished. Although hunger in Africa is hardly new, it now occurs in a world that has more than enough food to feed all its citizens. Moreover, while Africa's population is growing rapidly, it still has ample fertile land for growing food. Hunger therefore reflects not absolute food scarcity but rather people's lack of access to resources—whether at the individual, house-hold, comunity, or national leve that are needed to produce or purchase adequate food supplies. The reasons people cannot obtain enough food are: several different historical patterns of in equality. These patterns include the in equalities between Africa and its former colonisers or contemporary financiers, and between Africa's rich and poor. It also includes in equality between members of the same households, where food and the resources needed to obtain it (such as land and income) are often unevenly distributed between men and women, old and young. Whatever the reasons for food deprivation, when the result is malnutrition it can do damage, increasing diseases such as malaria, rickets, anemia, and perhaps acquired immune deficiency syndrome aka AIDS Mal-nourished children suffer stunted growth and, often, learning problems. Malnourished adults have less energy to work. Over the long term, inadequate nourishment can cast communities into a cycle o...
Overall Central Africa’s dependence on agriculture could improve the wellbeing of the people but a long history of corruption, violence, and prevalent transportation issues have hindered an improvement in the economy resulting in poverty among the region. Poverty will not subside unless these issues are dealt with and improved.
Economic development is highly dependent on the natural resources for food and energy production, which inputs to manufacturing, and to absorbing wastes and pollutants. Thus, there is a high dependency on farming. However, South Africa is not rich in agriculture resources; ...
...earch and extension, rural infrastructure, and market access for small farmers. Rural investments have been sorely neglected in recent decades, and now is the time to reverse this trend. Farmers in many developing countries are operating in an environment of inadequate infrastructure like roads, electricity, and communications; poor soils; lack of storage and processing capacity; and little or no access to agricultural technologies that could increase their profits and improve their livelihoods. Recent unrest over food prices in a number of countries may tempt policymakers to put the interests of urban consumers over those of rural people, including farmers, but this approach would be shortsighted and counterproductive. Given the scale of investment needed, aid donors should also expand development assistance to agriculture, rural services, and science and technology.
Most of the affected war countries around the globe lack adequate store rooms, dependable water for farming, vegetation 's, good roads and proper way of preserving food for the people. Excellent preservation of the agricultural lands, plant and farm animals can bring a positive change in the farming systems. Most of the developing countries support only a little attention to agriculture, but they rather focus mainly on foreign goods that will earn them quick money. Agricultural investment reduces hunger and poverty than any other sectors in many countries. Investing more in the agriculture sector in most of the rural communities will reduce the number of people moving from the countryside to the cities. "The percentage of donor aid going towards agriculture dropped from 17 percent to 3.8 percent between 1980 and 2006, with only slight improvement in numbers over the last three years" (Diouf). There are plenty of fertile lands that supports plants growth but because less attention has been given to the agricultural sector, more than one million people go to bed without food. FAO "estimates that an increase of nearly $36 billion yearly will be needed for poor countries to develop the necessary infrastructure for food production" (Camacho). The agricultural sector needs more attention from the NGO 's, and the government as Buffet is giving out $3 billion to change farming and food. By
Agriculture holds a significant role in underdeveloped countries. It is often the backbone of their economic and social well-being. It acts as the main source of employment and income, 70% of a country's population rely on framing as a mean of living (CITE HERE). Because most underdeveloped countries have low rates of educational attainment, farming is a popular source of employment. It requires little to no education. As a result agriculture employs many people contributing to nations economic development. Residents can also sell what they grow, providing them with a source of income, thus not only raising the national income level but the standard of living as well. Agriculture is not only a ...