Group7_B | SDG 2 : Zero Hunger

 INTRODUCTION

By the year 2050, the population of the world is estimated to exceed 9 billion. Food demand has increased due to population growth, rising income levels, and a dietary shift towards higher meat intake. Overeating, irresponsible consumption, and food wastage are contributors to the world hunger issue. Climate change significantly impacts crop growing conditions, food supply, and food security. Over-usage of agricultural land is responsible for an estimated one-third of climate change, which accelerates soil erosion rates and impairs our ability to grow food. A direct consequence of environmental degradation, drought, and biodiversity loss is chronic undernourishment. 

Today, 815 million people, or 1 in every eight people, are undernourished, and as many as two billion suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. The hardest-hit areas are Africa, and South America with food insecurity. Extreme hunger and undernourishment hinder sustainable development. Poverty is the direct cause of malnutrition, even in areas where food is grown and is available in abundance. Individuals suffering from hunger are prone to disease and lead unproductive lives. ZERO HUNGER is the 2nd out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, supported by all UN organizations. The Sustainable Development Goal of ‘Zero Hunger’ aims to end hunger and malnutrition by 2030 and reduce the staggering figure of world hunger level down to ZERO. A cost of $267 billion has been estimated to end hunger by 2030. The goal is to ensure that all people, especially children, should have access to nutritious food. The SDG aims to promote sustainable agriculture, support small farmers, and ensure equal access to farmland and markets. Increasing productivity among small-scale farmers and integrating them into value chains by removing barriers such as low education, poor infrastructure, lack of credit support will be necessary for achieving food security.

ZERO HUNGER CHALLENGE- INDIA

India is notorious for housing about 25% of the world’s most hungry people even after being the cultivating ground for enough agricultural produce to feed each and every citizen of the nation. India is currently ranked at 110 out of 119 countries on the Global Hunger Index rankings. The need of the hour and as mandated by the United Nations, India has to quickly ensure the reduction of food wastage, develop more effective and efficient food production, safety, and distribution system ensure the sustainability of food systems and eradicate malnutrition, especially in women and children, and attain zero hunger by 2030.

To attain the above-mentioned goals, India needs to work on the root level by increasing investment in the agriculture sector and making it more consolidated to help small and marginal farmers to their productivity which is not possible on the very small landholdings that they own. According to statistics, India wastes 7% of its annual food production and 30% of the fruits and vegetables that are grown due to spoilage and rodent attacks that happen because of the lack of availability of proper warehousing and storing facilities. Infrastructural development is a key towards achieving zero wastage and round-the-year availability of nutritious food. Another key problem is that of efficient distribution of food from areas of surplus productivity to the towns and cities that are not self-sufficient. Climate change being another major issue leading to extremity and severe variations in climatic conditions across the country, make it imperative to enhance and strengthen the transportation infrastructure to aid the proper distribution of food.

The purpose of attaining zero hunger does not end with what the name signifies. It helps in improving living conditions, improving social equality, providing equal opportunities for every human to grow and participate in economic activities, and ensuring a healthy nation.

Government of India has taken several initiatives over the years to eradicate hunger by introducing schemes and policies like- Public Distribution System, Mid-day meal scheme, Mahatma Gandhi Rozgar Yojna, and very recently has passed the Food Security Act, which ensures the provision of food grains to the rural areas at subsidized rates of up to 75%. However, where they lack is the implementation of these policies effectively due to the rampant corruption in the system. Improvement in inspection, monitoring, and implementation of these policies and provision is absolutely mandatory to witness a real change and progression towards the achievement of the zero hunger goal by the end of 2030.

BUSINESS IMPLICATION

The business implication of the issue is as follows:

1.          Lower Workforce Productivity: Malnutrition during an individual’s formative years means that the individual will have lower productivity throughout their life due to missing out on critical nutrients. Such individuals will face frequent illnesses and be poor additions to the labour force. Estimates suggest that child malnutrition costs countries like Malawi 10% of their GDP every year.

2.         Lesser Demand: Households which do not have the necessary income to feed themselves on a daily basis are unlikely to buy non-necessary items supplied by most businesses.

3.          Government Funds: While world hunger remains a prevalent issue in most nations, governments will continue to spend vast resources in public distribution systems to combat hunger rather than on infrastructure, which will boost productivity and aid businesses.

The Zero Hunger Challenge encompasses five main elements which, when implemented simultaneously, have the ability to truly end hunger by 2030. These include a sustainable method of production and consumption, eradication of rural poverty, elimination of food loss, provision of diverse diets & an end to malnutrition. Businesses and other private enterprises have the ability and the responsibility to contribute to each of the five elements by:

1.     1.Businesses operating in the food and beverage sphere need to commit to developing better storage and processing units along with transport and retailing methods to minimize food wastage.

2.    2.Enterprises need to source key raw materials locally to curb transport costs and to empower local communities, and boost their purchasing power.

3.    3.Companies need to source their materials from vendors who follow environmentally friendly methods to ensure sustainable production.

4.    4.Enterprises in the finance domain need to partner with local marginalized communities and put financial tools in their hand to promote financial inclusion.

5.   5.Food businesses and manufacturers need to achieve higher levels of food quality all along their supply chain, especially in vulnerable developing countries

BUSINESS RESPONSE

Businesses play a critical role in the sustained fight against world hunger. Businesses typically respond in two ways,

1.            Short term

·        CSR initiatives

A lot of companies, including the likes of Walmart, Cisco and Morgan Stanley have reoriented their funds of corporate social responsibility towards building and supporting the infrastructure for feeding the hungry and the population which does not have access to the required nutrients

·        Increasing utilization and minimizing wastage

Numerous food-based organizations like Darden restaurants, Yum! and Panera bread have taken initiatives of distributing leftover food in their restaurants to anyone who is not able to afford it. These are very useful because of the distributed nature of these businesses and thus increased the reach

2.            Long term

·        Empowering farmers

Around 70% of the world’s below poverty line population rely on farming for their livelihood and majority of the people who are going hungry in the world are small-time farmers. Businesses have empowered some of these farmers for sustained benefits to both parties. Starbucks, Lays, Pepsi all have their exclusive pool of farmers who they support and do business with. This long term engagement helps the farmers to make a decent livelihood and also provide help to others in their community

·        Technological solutions

More companies have started relying on technology to provide long term support to the underprivileged. Most people affected by malnutrition live in rural areas where centrally processed foods simply do not exist. In Africa, an NGO teamed up with telecom giant Vodafone to solve this challenge. There is a new way of including the essential nutrients to the flour itself so that the intake of required nutrients can become easy and affordable. Using revolutionary dosifier technology and IoT, they ensured that a single user could monitor 100 mills and thus ensure food for 500000 people.

ANALYSIS

In spite of all the commitments made, the SDG on zero hunger has seen the least progress in recent years, and the advent of Covid-19 might reverse whatever little achievements have been made so far by countries across the globe. Global hunger is also expected to increase this year, having already increased for three years straight between 2015-2017. The concentration of hunger and undernourishment is still higher in Africa and South America, while South Asia’s reduction in hunger has stalled in the recent past. However, there are also a few success stories, or at least stories of significant progress. Bangladesh, for example, has seen the fastest reduction in underweight children and stunting in history. Stunting in children under 5 was 55.5% in 2004 before targetted policies reduced it to 36.1% in 2014. This change was possible not only due to the public policies aimed at improving agriculture and nutrition but also due to related policies in family planning, more robust health facilities, and better education. Therefore, governments play a crucial role in implementing policies to achieve sustainability goals.

Similarly, Brazil and Ethiopia made changes to their food systems and have gradually managed to reduce the threat of hunger through social security programs. However, there are countries on the other end of the spectrum too. India itself has witnessed a prolonged reduction in malnutrition rates. One of the very first steps taken to counter malnutrition in children was to encourage breastfeeding in newborns. However, in accordance with the National Family Health Survey of 2015-16, only 54.9% of Indian babies are exclusively breastfed, while only 41.6% are breastfed in the first hour after birth. Therefore, the implemented policies did not have the expected impact, and as a result, the dissemination of awareness has also been slow. The goals set for 2030 are quite lofty, and hence there needs to be much greater coherence in policymaking and implementation in the countries that are at greater risk if the set aims are to be achieved.

SUGGESTED PATH AHEAD

Ending world hunger remains one of the cornerstones of achieving sustainable development goals. The UN states many human rights as a part of its policies; however, ‘The right to adequate food’ for every individual emerges as a fundamental tenet to ensure goal fulfillment. The right mix of policy and political leadership becomes crucial in this regard. The Indian Government has taken this up by strengthening agriculture by measures in irrigation and crop insurance through many schemes. A comprehensive call for action and an integrated approach is required to end hunger, all forms of malnutrition, and build sustainable food systems. Some of the ways are:

1.       Building sustainable food systems: Diversification of agricultural production and climate compatible agricultural practices are essential. Preserving the genetic diversity of seeds and domestic animals through banks at various levels and sharing genetic resources will remain necessary.  Practices resistant to extreme weather and other disasters must be developed, and land and soil quality improved.

2.       Doubling small-scale producer incomes and productivity: Improving productivity through resources and inputs, financial services, and access to markets and opportunities raises the standard of living and contributes towards eliminating rural poverty.

3.       Modification of food systems to eliminate losses and wastage: Minimising losses in the production, transportation, and storage phases must be taken up by producers, retailers as well as consumers.

4.       Access to food all year round: The proper functioning of markets and timely access to market information will limit extreme food price volatility, thus improving access.

5.       Addressing malnutrition: Undernutrition results in irreparable damage to individuals. Universal access to nutritional food is, therefore, a fundamental right from the prenatal stage. This must be supported by a multi-sectoral approach- agriculture, education, and social protection along with initiatives that empower women, as they bear the primary responsibility for nutrition in a household.

The Zero Hunger mission is currently an ambitious goal, massive transformations in the current system will be needed to deliver on this agenda.