SDG-2: Zero Hunger, A Hungry man is not a free man

Co-authors: Gaurav Nair, Nikhil Jindal, Nikita Gulgule, Ronit Ray, Sahil Gupta and Snehal Tiwari, Group 4, Section A, PGDM (BM) 2019-21 Batch

While we go to bed on a full stomach, millions of people around the world sleep hungry every day. 821 million that is one in nine people are not able to have access to sufficient food. Moreover, one in three suffers from malnutrition. Chronic hunger takes the lives of more than three million children every year. Among the survivors, many suffer from impaired cognitive development, stunted physical growth, and a lowered resistance to diseases. Such is the situation even when the world produces enough food to feed over 10 billion people. The disparity in the Global Hunger Index between the developed nations and the rest of the world is alarming. About 47 underdeveloped and developing countries witness disturbing hunger rates. [1][2]

Amongst all this, the ray of hope is that this hunger crisis is less severe than what it was two decades ago. The efforts taken by the United Nations and the governments are showing effect. The United Nations formulated certain SDGs or Sustainable Development Goals in 2015 to raise a universal call to stimulate action to end poverty, protect the planet and to make sure that all people live in peace and prosperity. There are 17 SDGs (goals) and 169 targets set in total. They were designed in succession to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The date set to achieve these goals is 2030. These goals are integrated, meaning they recognize that work in an area would affect the results in the others and that the outcome must balance environmental, economic, and social sustainability.[3]

'Zero Hunger' is SDG 2- It aims at seeking sustainable solutions to end hunger and to achieve food security. Its broad intention is to ensure that everyone has enough good-quality food and hence can lead a good quality life.[4]

Where do we stand?

Despite the GDP has increased 4.5 times, and the food grain production has increased two times, India is not able to provide sufficient access to food to a vast number of people. It is home to the highest malnourished population in the world. 194.4 million that is about 14.5% of the population of India, is undernourished. According to the Global Hunger Index 2019, it ranks 102nd out of 117 countries, which is an extremely worrying condition. No state in India falls under the 'low' or 'moderate' hunger categories. Twelve states fall under the alarming, and Madhya Pradesh falls under the 'extremely alarming' category. The situation in Punjab, Kerala, Haryana, and Assam is considerably better, where, ironically, the hunger levels are 'severe'.[5]

Poverty is one of the primary reasons behind the disturbing levels of hunger in India. According to the stats released by World Bank, about 6% of our county's population is below the poverty line in 2019. The persistently high prices of basic food items and regional disparities with respect to development, especially those in the backward areas among the hills and tribes, contribute more to hunger. Moreover, hunger and related undernutrition are multidimensional in nature. It is the result of various factors such as clean water, sanitation, access to sufficient food items. Also, one's 'nutritional quotient' depends upon demographic factors like gender, age, caste, etc. Hence, though India may be able to provide one of the facilities, it is difficult to give the combined basket due to poverty. Yet another reason behind this persistent hunger problem is the inefficient implementation of government schemes and policies. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), which calculates the yearly Hunger Index, has pointed out that the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)and the National Health Mission (NHM) were not successful enough in completing their responsibilities.[6][7][8]

Where does business fit in? 

Eradication of hunger and sustainable agriculture will have a profound effect on the business world, but the linkage might not be that apparent. Achievement of Sustainable Goal-2 can help push overall economic growth, combat climate change (sustainable agricultural practices) and contribute to stability and peace in communities. All this will eventually lead to a conducive atmosphere for the growth of a business. On the other hand, businesses can and have been contributing to the cause of hunger eradication.

Taking the example of the Akshay Patra Foundation, it is an NGO working in India and operates a mid-day meal program across the nation. It provides nutritious and fresh meals to students on every single school day cooked in their state-of-the-art kitchens. It serves food to around 1.8 million children daily. Not only it contributes towards the reduction of under-nourishment in school-going children, but it also promotes the cause of SDG-4 by increasing the retention rate of socio-economically disadvantaged students in school. Though it receives funding from a variety of donors, including the state and center governments, corporates are the foundation's major contributors and business partners. Business veterans like Mr. Narayan Murthy have been foundation's major promoters and helped it to grow and scale.

Though e-choupal was introduced by ITC years before SDGs came into existent, it a substantial example to illustrate how Corporates can pave the way for sustainable agriculture business practices and empower the rural economy. It directly linked the rural farmers via the internet with the procurement of agricultural products like coffee, tea, and wheat. It tried to solve the problem of fragmented farming practices, weak agri-infrastructure, and exploitation by intermediaries. There are currently 6,100 e-choupals active in around 35,000 villages in 10 states in India, directly affecting the lives of 4 million farmers.

Zomato recently acquired an Indian non-profit organization, Feeding India, with an aim to end hunger and food wastage. Zomato will fund the salaries of its employees and core initiatives taken by the organization and keep intact the non-profit core of the organization. Along with this, Zomato, through established channels and operational capabilities, will help promote and give technical support to the organization. Food wastage in India occurs at multiple levels-harvesting, storing, processing, transportation, and also consumption. Feeding India will be active in the end to end food supply chain by bringing efficiency right from farm to the plate. Not only this, but consulting companies like Accenture and TCS have been trying to bring transparency and operational efficiency into the food industry through blockchain. Many of the smaller businesses as well donate in large amounts to religious institutions like 'Gurudwaras' that are responsible for feeding millions of Indians daily.

These are just a few of the examples where corporates have played a role in hunger eradication in India. Globally too, companies like Kellogg and Mondelez have contributed large units of food packs in war and natural disaster-affected areas through partnership with global non-profit. On the way forward, we would want the corporates to move a step ahead of small donations and distribution of food packs to building systems, institutions, and organizations that improve agriculture and feed the hungry sustainably. Institutions like AMUL are a perfect example of how empowering rural farmers and the profitability of the business and not in contradiction to one another. If one keeps doing charity, even the pockets of the richest man will fall short. On the other hand, empowerment initiatives through businesses are scalable. ONGC, a few years ago, as a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, tried to emulate the AMUL model in the villages of Assam. While it met with limited success, such initiatives are highly appreciated and set the right trend.

Deep Dive

If we look into the intricacies of hunger and malnutrition around the globe, we can broadly categorize it into two major parts:

1. Inaccessibility of sufficient quantity and quality of food
2. Inability to afford sufficient quantity and quality of foods

The first category includes those countries around the world, whose economy, due to any reason, is not able to feed its population well. Moreover, even within developed or developing economies, there exist some neglected sites where there is no sufficient supply of good quality food. In such cases, there is a possibility of proceeding via two paths- by making the community self-sufficient or with the help of external influencers such as the government or social activists. By making the community self-sufficient, exports could be initiated, thus increasing the cash flows into the community, finally resulting in the upliftment of the lifestyle of the people.

The second category mainly arises because of the unequal distribution of wealth among the people. Where the world is producing more and more food each year, there is an excess of it for those who can afford it and none for those who can't. Food being the most basic of all necessities, we could say that a person who is not able to get food for himself, is generally incapable of taking a stand to improve his condition. Thus, the interference of the external influencers is of utmost importance here. Policies and programs addressing this distressing poverty need to be put up in place. Moreover, a sufficient quantity of adequate quality food should be made available to them at subsidized rates through various designates channels. Care must be taken to ensure the effective implementation of such schemes.

The above arguments are made under the assumption that the rate of increase in the production of food grains that we are witnessing now will be sustained throughout. However, with the current exploitation of soil that we see due to the excessive farming and the improper use of fertilizers, there are chances of the soil getting degraded beyond repair. We thus have to make a conscious choice of moving to more sustainable ways of agriculture.[9]

What can be done?

The hunger problem can be catered to by applying the principles of Smart Simplicity. These principles are based on the idea that three critical parameters exist that enable us to steer through any fundamental challenge: leadership, cooperation, engagement. Leadership implies urging and empowering people to use their intelligence and judgment. It aims at making people responsible and accountable. Cooperation here refers to the collaboration of all stakeholders. Engagement means the active participation of all associated parties.[10]

Leadership- A committee specifically aimed at increasing the GHI of India could be formed under the able guidance of dedicated and influential personnel. The committee should act as a catalyst to facilitate the various smaller goals like availability of food, food quality, potable water, sanitation, health, etc., instead of just performing specific interventions. A successful example of such leadership was the Maharashtra Chief Minister's decision to curb malnutrition. The Rajmata Jijau Mother-Child Health and Nutrition Missions were started under the leadership of a senior government official. He led a team of 15 people for 5 years with the support of UNICEF and brought down the malnutrition levels drastically. 

Cooperation- When it comes to hunger and malnutrition, almost everyone has a part to play in improving the statistics. The government can chalk out various schemes for increasing the food quantity and quality available as well as ancillary health objectives. The corporates, through their social programs, can ensure continuous monetary funding. Students can take the responsibility of spreading awareness and take up social service campaigns. Hence, a Nsynergistic system of stakeholders is needed to bring hunger levels down. 

Engagement- Every person involved in food production or distribution at a subsidized price should be incentivized to increase their engagement. Most youth nowadays are moving away from practicing farming, thus, leading to a threat to the next generation of agriculture in India. The government could enact schemes for such youths. Corporates, students, and social workers could also be incentivized equally. Incentives could vary based on the category from monetary incentives to tax exemptions to recognition and awards. 

To summarise, SDG 2: Zero Hunger may be difficult but not impossible to achieve. Hunger due to poverty is a pertinent problem in India, and eliminating hunger can lead to more people being productive and thereby ultimately lead to nation-building. 

Upon being told that people were unable to survive due to shortages of bread, Mary Antoinette once said, "Let them eat cake" during one of the french famines in 1789. This shows how turning a blind eye to poverty or hunger with an increasing gap in income can lead a country nowhere. Therefore, it is time that sincere, collective and coordinated efforts are made not only by the government but also private firms so as to aim for 'zero hunger' and the efforts should not only be viewed as steps towards achieving SDG target but also needs to be sustained for the greater good in the long run.

References

[1] https://www.wfp.org/zero-hunger
[2]https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/food/world-food-day-achieving-zero-hunger-by-2030-difficult-not-impossible-61887
[3] https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/envision2030.html
[4]https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/goal-02/ 
[5]http://www.angoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/12/vietnam-food-and-nutrition-security-situationer/India.pdf 
[6]https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/food/world-food-day-achieving-zero-hunger-by-2030-difficult-not-impossible-61887 
[7]https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/food/world-food-day-achieving-zero-hunger-by-2030-difficult-not-impossible-61887 
[8]https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/15-07-2019-world-hunger-is-still-not-going-down-after-three-years-and-obesity-is-still-growing-un-report
[9]http://www.fao.org/3/i9420en/I9420EN.pdf
[10]https://www.bcg.com/en-in/publications/2015/development-public-sector-ending-child-hunger-smart-simplicity.aspx 
https://www.ongcindia.com/wps/wcm/connect/713ce18e-4e20-4955-bc9c-b57272306934/SR-FY18%2BLow%2BRes.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CONVERT_TO=url&CACHEID=ROOTWORKSPACE-713ce18e-4e20-4955-bc9c-b57272306934-mNwMGnshttps://www.infosys.com/sustainability/Documents/infosys-sustainability-report-2018-19.pdf
https://www.itcportal.com/sustainability/sustainability-report-2019/sustainability-report-2019.pdf
https://www.akshayapatra.org/about-us