In your own community, you may have learned about the existence of food-insecure households. There are two forms of food insecurity: chronic and acute. Chronic food insecurity is commonly described as the result of overwhelming poverty that is reflected in a lack of assets (livelihoods). In general, acute food insecurity is considered to be more of a short-term phenomenon related to man-made natural shocks or to unusual natural phenomena, such as drought.
While the chronically food insecure population may experience a food deficit in relation to needs in a given year, regardless of the impact of crises, people with acute food insecurity need short-term assistance to help them cope with unusual circumstances that temporarily affect their lives and livelihoods. Both chronic and acute problems of food insecurity are widespread and serious in Ethiopia. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest country in Africa and faces food insecurity. Survival strategies must be analyzed in their context and, in complex emergencies, the situation is different from situations related to consecutive seasons of crop failure or seasonal drops in the amount of food or resources stored to obtain food.
As a health extension professional, food insecurity at home is one of the main issues you must address, working closely with other stakeholders in your community. The resilience of agri-food systems refers to the capacity, over time, of agri-food systems, in the face of any disruption, to sustainably guarantee the availability and access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for all, and to maintain the livelihoods of actors in the agri-food systems. Exploring the benefits of traditional techniques and the way in which different cultures use food can allow for a deeper understanding of food processing, preparation and storage and increase overall food safety. FAO has observed that some countries have succeeded in combating food insecurity and reducing the number of people suffering from malnutrition.
There are several federal nutrition programs to provide specific food to children, such as the Summer Food Service Program, the Special Milk Program (SMP), and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and community and state organizations often establish contacts with these programs. At the family level, food produced on the same plot of land as the household may not be enough. In particular, indigenous peoples are at greater risk of suffering food insecurity due to exclusion, as evidenced by higher rates of stunting in indigenous communities (for example, due to low food prices, simply discarding irregular carrots is often more profitable than spending money on the additional labor or machinery needed to handle them). One of the central issues addressed by the panel was whether the concepts and definitions on which measurement methods were based, especially the concept and definition of hunger, and the relationship between hunger and food insecurity, were appropriate for the political context in which food security statistics are used.
Demand for food and fodder crops is likely to double over the next 50 years, as the world population approaches nine billion. Map the Meal Gap allows you to take an in-depth look at food insecurity across the country by providing county-by-county details. The plan calls for improving long-term food security by strengthening agriculture and food supplies to address climate change and biodiversity loss in Asia and the Pacific. The fact that nearly 80% of the population of Ethiopia depends almost exclusively on agriculture for their consumption and income needs means that measures to address the problems of poverty and food insecurity must be based primarily on the agricultural sector.
Similarly, food security is considered to exist in the household when all members, at all times, have access to sufficient food to lead an active and healthy life. .
