ACHIEVING FOOD SECURITY IN TIMES OF CRISIS

This is my essay created when I was in High School in a purpose in joining the FAO Essay Competition 2009.

So, in this chance, I wanna share my essay in here.

ACHIEVING FOOD SECURITY IN TIMES OF CRISIS

World Food Day 2009 Competition

Food and Agriculture Organization

INTRODUCTION

World food day is an annual day that is celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of finding Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN in 1945. It means this year, the age of FAO is 64 years old. This year is the 64^th anniversary of the World Food Day. World Food Day in 2009 has set the theme for “Achieving Food Security in Times Crisis”. There will be difference theme each year.

Food security means the availability of food and one’s access to it, or exists when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life.

This paper/essay briefly examines the crisis which has hit the world especially food crisis that will affect the hunger and starvation. Beside that, we will discuss about the solution to ensure food security in times of crisis.

BODY OF ESSAY

Food is our daily needs. We, as human beings, can’t live without food. Beside that, water is also important for us. Water is a liquid that supports for food. According to chemistry definition, water (H₂O) is a colorless and odorless liquid that is a compound of oxygen (O) and hydrogen (H). Meanwhile, Food can be described as things that people or animals eat or substance that can be eaten. It can’t far from us. All of the people need the food to keep and to endure our self for living. And it is not only Indonesian, but also people from abroad/another country. So that, we can say that all people are involved on it and food can’t be separated from us.

Food for us is not strange again and usual, because every day we have it before doing some activities. Without food, our life will become worst and people will be died.

People who lives in Asia Continent is lucky enough than who lives in Africa continent, especially in Ethiopia, East Africa. Generally, many children are suffering starve and hunger at there. It’s so grieve and so sorry to look that bad condition.

Year pass the year, Ethiopia in East Africa gets the highest record of poor country in the world. In this poor situation, it will affect hunger appears. Why do we say that? For example, rich man who has much money. He can do anything whatever he wants without thinking for his way first. It is different for poor man. Poor man, he doesn’t have much money. They have only little money to fill up his life. But, they have the strong effort to have food. Meanwhile, the rich man even that they can do anything they want, they don’t worry about their food shortages. They just think, “Money is the King”. They don’t care of food. Having money, food is not important for them. In their thought, just how to get much money.

Actually, the most important one is not money. Healthy is our truly money but hidden (transparent). Healthy is everything. Without healthy, money also will not be gained. As we know, nutrients in food may not be left. Food components are required in our body process (digestion process). Some of the components are protein, carbohydrate, fat, mineral, vitamin, etc. The most required is protein, and then followed by carbohydrate, fat, and so on. Ethiopians usually face the difficulty in finding food, and they just consume food like rice which rich of carbohydrate only. So that, they have lack of protein that give rise to Hongeroedeem disease. This case has been always occurred in Ethiopia. We all know this country is being suffered by inadequate food. Carbohydrate that we consume without protein is not good for us. It can’t stand alone. Everyday, we need at least carbohydrate, protein, fat, mineral, and vitamins to get a healthy body.

Crisis in the world

Nowadays, crisis has hit the world, especially in global economic sector. Crisis is time of difficulty, danger, or decisive moment. Crisis may occur on personal or society level. It may be unstable and dangerous social situation, in political, social, and economic. Difficulty in food and food shortage, we can say Food Crisis. Food crisis is an unavoidable condition, because this is not our hopes and what we want. It is all caused by the earth. For example, the bad climate recently makes some farmers get the failure crops.

Here are some factors that caused the food crisis or food shortages:

v  Long Drought (Makes the plants wilted)

v  Population is growing well (Food is not enough to be fed for them)

v  Long wet (the plants will be wilted too)

v  Agriculture product is low (Food shortage’s cause)

v  Disaster

Structure of relation along Global crisis

In the world, it has many countries. Country is just a part of continent among 6 continents in all over the world, such as Asia (largest), America, Africa, Europe, Australia, and Antarctic. There is a country that is located in Africa. It is Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is the first oldest country in the world, which has been known by the society since 4.900 years ago when it was founded. Ethiopia is laid in East Africa. The country next to Ethiopia is Sudan (from West), Congo (from South), Somalia (from West), and Djibouti (from East Coast). Ethiopia is a country whose livestock get the highest rate in the world. Its cows and horses got 10^th position in the world rank, each of them 2, 6 millions and 1, 5 millions. Beside the livestock, in coffee production and coffee distribution, Ethiopia put itself in sixth position all over the world, while Brazil got the first. This area is large enough, almost twice of Sumatra (Indonesia). Although Ethiopia has large area, but it is always bothered by the bad climate and drought season. Therefore, Ethiopia’s citizens feel crisis in food in 1948-1985 and hot starvation which has attracted the people’s attention. Not only in 1948-1985, but until now, Ethiopia is still feeling food crisis. Children at there struggle to be free from legacy of hunger.

            In this time, though food shortage problem has hit to the rural areas, we still hear a problem that related with food happens in developing country. It makes us concerned. That another problem takes place in United State (US), United Kingdom (UK), Australia (Aus), and Japan (Jap). What problem is it? It is a significant problem, wasting food. The foods which have been wasted are still good and haven’t expired. Why those developing countries doing this? They do it is not in mind. They just want to get the higher food quality. Vegetables and meats are the kind of food that they keep off. Just feeling not fresh, it will be thrown away. In this way will be in effect, if they detected that the food is not quality as they requested. This action will be taken in order to maintain to their food guarantee. But, this action even can cause another problem. “The first problem has been settled, the second one appears.” How come? The big problem is they have wasted food. They have never thought to donate their eliminated food to the poor country, for example Ethiopia. Ethiopians who actually need the food feel so disappointed for their action. I think, those whole countries had better share the food to Ethiopians.

Solution by the government

Global food production needs to be increased as the human population expands rapidly besides facing the food shortage. The government should solve this problem out in order to create the prosperity world, without hunger and starvation. One of the ways to fulfill this hope, the government should do and rearrange the regulation to build some others economic growing sector, such as industrialization, green revolution, farming, and trading. But the most attention is on green revolution. Green revolution is needed in agriculture to feed the extra billion people. Green revolution is used to increase the agriculture productivity. By using Green revolution methods, food shortages will be solved as much as possible.

There are 4 types of green revolution method for extensive farming, intensive farming, diversity farming, and mechanism farming. Extensive farming is a way to increase the agriculture productivity by expands the farming area. Intensive farming is by using pesticides, synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, and irrigation project. Next, diversity farming is a method by improving crop varieties. Last, it is mechanism farming that used by spreading technologies that had already existed or a large area of land cultivated in a highly mechanized process, for example tractor.

There still has another way to solve the problems. If the food shortages has hit down, we have to look for what kinds of food crises first. In my opinion, the government must able to analyze for that kind of situation. If it is about natural resources and there is no land for cultivating, the government should import the food from another country. But, it will take a negative effect for country. By doing this way, the government in poor country will spent their money on it.

How the government should have done better

§  The government should come along to the place to see and to care the condition.

§  Hold a workshop and seminar about how far the importance of food and how can we ensure food security in times of crisis.

§  Hold socialization in all schools to urge and foster the student to cherish food and to be a value person.

§  Make a charity show to get donation for helping Ethiopians and others who are suffering starve and hunger.

§  Publish some advertisements which are related with how we can endure the food availability.

CONCLUSION

Food security is availability of food and one’s access to it, or exists when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs for an active and healthy life.

Nowadays, so many problems were being faced by different people. We can’t prevent this. This is what we call “life”. No matter they are in Africa or Asia, we are all same. In this time, food shortage has been hitting the Ethiopian and many other countries. So, all of us have to ensure food security in times of crisis from now on. There are some solutions to ensure food security, such as green revolution, importing food from another country, presenting of the government to the place, holding a workshop, and make a kind of charity show that can get donation from the society. This is what we can do in this time to get more attention from the peoples.

Suggestion

Actually, there are so many solutions that can be used. Because some of them will cause the negative effect, so it’s better to choose another. But, we can’t just hope the government to help. In my view, we had better try to fulfill our daily needs by working harder. It’s because the government can’t help such poor country forever and endlessly. The government has to solve another significant problem beside food security. If we feel so hard to do it by oneself, just try to work in group. Or another way, if we really find hard, we can consult to the government for helps. But, it doesn’t mean that we can get government helps without works. We must work and the government just as a supplement. Then, government will help us by donating a little bit of money as much as they could. This is a way how to combat hunger in the world and how to ensure food security in times of crisis.

“There is a will, there is a way. Nothing is impossible. Press on!!!”