SDG2 - Zero Hunger

Food Security, Improved Nutrition and Sustainable Agriculture

Ambe Emmanuel Cheo, Kugedera Andrew Tapiwa

• Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9781789738056
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Agricultural Public Policy
• Index: Politics & International Relations

SDG2 links food security, nutrition and a sustainable but climate resilient agriculture. This multi-dimensional goal encompasses several specific targets and indicators, aimed at ending hunger, improving nutrition and achieving food security through sustainable and resilient agriculture and income increase.This book assesses the implications of SDG2 for the economic, social and environmental domains of communities and countries. Three case study countries (Nigeria, Ghana, and The Gambia) were used to record values of their SDG2 indicators to demonstrate the operationalization of keeping track and measuring progress. This research shows that many of the datasets for the three countries are not available in the Global SDG Indicators Database compiled through the United Nations system. This book supports the database update process by United Nation Statistics Division since it enhances the process of proper accounting in reporting progress. Furthermore, the book supports the enhancement of the adaptive capacity and resilience of small-scale farmers since it is critical to reverse the trend in the rise in hunger. Concise Guides to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals comprises 17 short books, each examining one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The series provides an integrated assessment of the SDGs from economic, legal, social, environmental and cultural perspectives.

1

INTRODUCTION TO SDG-2

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) address global challenges that are crucial for human and environmental survival and set critical thresholds for the use of natural resources now and in the future. The key feature of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development lies in its universality and indivisibility (Barbier & Burgess, 2017; World Bank, 2017). The goals recognise interlinkages and foster strategies that build economic development and address social needs such as education, health, social protection, and job opportunities while tackling climate change and environmental protection. The achievement of the SDGs will require the participation of everyone (governments, the private sector, civil society, and every human being across the world) and a profound transformation of how humans think and act.

SDG-2 is one of the 17 SDGs and aims to end hunger, improve nutrition, promote sustainable agriculture, and achieve food security. The fundamental aim is to ensure the availability of good-quality food that promotes a healthy life for everyone. The achievement of this goal will require large access to food and the promotion of sustainable agriculture (United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESCO), 2019). It will also require an increase in international investments and cooperation to bolster agricultural productive capacity in developing countries (United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), 2016a, 2016b).

SDG-2 has eight targets to be achieved by 2030, as clearly stated in Target 2.1 of the SDG-2 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: ‘By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round’. This means improving agricultural production, recognising and protecting small-scale farmers, and providing equal access to land, technology, sustainable food production systems, and resilient agricultural practices. Ending poverty and hunger is one of the top priorities in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Achieving SDG-2 goals is the key for most developing countries, since it contributes to environmental sustainability and promotes economic growth. Food security and nutrition challenges are particularly critical in regions that are prone to multiple vulnerabilities and often cut across national boundaries, such as climate change hotspots. The nutrition of people in different horizons (areas) must be improved all year round. It is, therefore, important to reach the SDG-2 targets in these areas to improve agricultural sustainability and promote economic growth, environmental health, and social issues, such as improved standards of living (Barbier & Burgess, 2017). Furthermore, SDG-2 provides a global approach of achieving improved agricultural sustainability.

Several challenges have been raised in relation to achieving SDG-2 and the associated targets. For example, farmers in small-scale farming areas are earning less than the minimum wage. The land tenure system is also affecting production yields, and this have an impact on their efforts to meet targets (United Nations Economic and Social Council, 2019). Many countries have revised their policies on wages, prescribing higher salaries for small-scale farmers (United Nations, 2015a). The land tenure system has also been revised in most countries, allowing access to land, inputs, and employment as a means to reduce poverty and malnutrition and to improve food security in the fight to end hunger by 2030 (United Nations, 2015a). All these efforts are to improve economic growth, which is fundamental to developmental issues in all countries.

Population growth has contributed significantly to food shortages, mostly in developing countries, due to the lack of resources (World Bank, 2017). Stress and degradation of natural resources have also been contributing factors of hunger. Resource conflict, mostly in rural areas of developing countries, has caused war, terrorism, and made people poorer, leading to malnutrition, deaths, and even migration of people to other countries (Nilsson, Griggs, & Visbeck, 2016).

On the other hand, the fight for zero hunger has promoted development in several rural areas, especially those in marginal areas where infrastructure development has been very poor and the lack of good schools, shops, healthcare centres, and even good water sources have been prominent. In addition, sustainable forestry, fisheries, and agricultural practices have also contributed in providing nutritious food for all and in generating a decent income, while also supporting rural development and protecting the environment. Food security can also be used to protect vulnerable women and children in any community.

The eradication of hunger across the world has seen targets and indicators aligned to four pillars of food security. These are availability, access, utilisation, and stability (Gil et al., 2019). Availability means having sufficient quality food at your disposal. The production of this food must also depend on a healthy environment. Access means having the physical capability to obtain a nutritious meal. Utilisation focusses on having an adequate dietary intake and the ability to absorb and use all the right nutrients in the human body. Finally, stability means ensuring that the other pillars are recognised and consistent on a daily basis. Achieving the sustainable development goals will automatically contribute to the eradication of all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.

Ending hunger can have several positive impacts on the economy, health, education, and quality of goods produced by industry (Szabo et al., 2017; United Nations, 2019). The success of SDG-2 is connected to the success of other goals (Szabo, Mowlds, et al., 2016; Szabo, Nicholls, 2016; Szabo et al., 2017). A better-nourished population can have a greater positive impact on the economy (Szabo et al., 2017; United Nations, 2019).

According to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (2019), hunger is on the rise again globally, and undernourishment continues to affect millions of children after years of prolonged decline. Undernutrition reduces global gross domestic product (GDP) by up to USD 2 trillion per year (Gillespie & van den Bold, 2017). Africa remains the continent with the highest prevalence of undernourishment, affecting one-fifth of its population (more than 256 million people) (United Nations Economic and Social Council, 2019). Annual GDP losses due to malnutrition average 11% in Asia and Africa, which is greater than the loss experienced during the 2008–2010 financial crisis (Gillespie & van den Bold, 2017). In addition to undernutrition, the health landscape in all regions of the world is being drastically altered by an epidemic of another form of malnutrition: overweight obesity (Gillespie & van den Bold, 2017). Conflict, drought, and disasters linked to climate change are among the key factors causing this reversal in progress (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP & WHO, 2019).

It has also been reported that public investment in the agricultural sector is witnessing a decline globally. Government spending on agriculture compared to agriculture’s contribution to the total economy has declined by 37%; the ratio fell from 0.42 in 2001 to 0.26 worldwide in 2017 (United Nations Economic and Social Council, 2019). This has prompted the need for support for small-scale food producers and an increase in investment for infrastructure and technology for sustainable agriculture (FAO et al., 2019; United Nations, 2015c).

Strengthening the resilience and adaptive capacity of small-scale and family farmers is critical to reversing the trend of the rise in hunger. This book will start by assessing and understanding the implications of SDG-2 for the economic, social, and environmental domains of communities and countries. In addition, three case study countries (Nigeria, Ghana, and The Gambia) will be used to record values of the UN indicators and illustrate the operationalisation of keeping track of these indicators. The book will also try to understand the connections between SDG-2 and the other SDGs in achieving the 2030 Agenda. Opportunities and challenges in implementing SDG-2 will be identified to foster progress and identify gaps to be considered during the implementation process. Finally, the book will present examples of best practice in implementing SDG-2 that can be upscaled or transferred to other regions and countries.

2

THE IMPORTANCE OF SDG-2

Sustainable development goal-2 (SDG-2) seeks to achieve food security and end or reduce hunger in all forms by 2030 (FAO et al., 2019). In addition, achieving SDG-2 indirectly contributes to the reduction of civil conflicts, migration, and security concerns. According to United Nations statistics, there are approximately 815 million hungry people around the world and 2 billion cases of malnutrition are expected by 2050. However, the zero hunger goal in the past quarters has also witnessed a decline in undernourishment from 19% to 11%, which contributed to the decline of stunting from 40% to 23% (United Nations, 2020a).

Ending hunger, achieving food security, improving nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture are fundamental to the developmental agenda of most countries in the world (FAO, 2016a; Gil et al., 2018). Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world and provides a livelihood to about 40% of the world’s population (United Nations, 2020a). The sector still ranks as the largest source of income and employment for poor rural households, with 500 million small farms worldwide (most still rain-fed agriculture), providing up to 80% of the food consumed in a large part of the developing world (United Nations, 2020a).

The significance of this multi-dimensional goal can be subdivided into three interrelated components: ending hunger and improving nutrition (social dimension); achieving food security through productivity improvement and income increase (economic dimension); and promoting sustainable agriculture (environment dimension). With the above interrelation, it is obvious that achieving SDG-2 has economic, social, and environmental benefits and that sustainable agriculture has a key role to play in achieving this SDG. These benefits will now be summarised below.

2.1. ZERO HUNGER AND THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS

Zero hunger has a major impact on the economic growth of many countries. Ending hunger through improved and sustainable agriculture has a positive effect on human livelihoods, especially for poor, vulnerable populations, and small-scale farmers (Ballard, Kepple, & Cafiero, 2013; FAO, 2016b), seeing a significant number of women and men participating in the economic development of the country (IFPRI, 2015; United Nations, 2015c).

Achieving SDG-2 comes with an increase in access to knowledge, finance, and markets; it will strengthen agricultural production (Mollier, Seyler, Chotte, & Ringler, 2018). Infrastructure in rural areas will be improved, thus, increasing accessibility to rural communities for buyers, input suppliers, and resource distribution. Access to financial resources might attract more investment, thereby creating more employment opportunities for the local population (Mollier et al., 2018; Szabo et al., 2018), which favours the development of the rural economy (Mollier et al., 2018). This will result in rural communities having better access to clean water and improved health, shops, schools, and hospital facilities.

Agriculture is one of the major boosters of economic growth in many countries (Knox, Daccache, & Hess, 2013). Growth in agriculture is a key aid to the overall success of the economies of most countries. Improved agricultural productivity increases the supplies of raw materials for other industries such as the food, clothing, furniture, medicinal, and fuel industries (Gil et al., 2018; Mollier et al., 2018; United Nations, 2016). This might also lead to the emergence of non-agricultural industries, which may contribute to improving the availability of high-quality food (Mollier et al., 2018; United Nations, 2015b, 2016). The improvement of sustainable agriculture allows countries to produce more goods and services, which meet both domestic and export demands. An increase in agriculture sustainability production could be a good indicator to measure the growth of countries (Gil et al., 2018).

Zero hunger allows households to allocate scarce resources evenly and promote development to other income generation projects (Mollier et al., 2018). Households may allocate income to goods that support food security and reduce malnutrition; other goods not related to food security; and savings for future use (Leakey, 2017). Zero hunger improves micro- and macroeconomics allowing economic development. This may help countries to improve the balance of payments, attract investors leading to job creation, reduce poverty, bring in stability, maximise the use of resources, and bring in foreign currency (Gil et al., 2018; United Nations, 2016).

Achieving SDG-2 might promote the development of infrastructure through investments from new actors in the sector (Carlson et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2015). These infrastructures can range from improved road networks, schools, hospitals, and business centres, important for the sale of farm products, to other indirect activities, for example, banking services, related to the processes of achieving SDG-2. Economic development in most countries is facilitated by the use of sustainable agriculture for food production. It is an important supplier of industrial raw materials such as trees for timber, maize for milling industries, herbal plants for medicines, soya beans for oil, and stock feed industries (Cabell & Oelofse, 2012). Such investment has led to the creation of well-paid jobs and promoted the development of communities, etc.

According to Gil et al. (2018), achieving SDG-2 is the basis for economic growth since it creates an opportunity for everyone to have access to healthy food and clean water. Thus, the basic commodities for life are made readily available for the entire population. The supply of these products will be higher than the quantities demanded; hence, business people would sell goods and services at reasonable prices. The availability of food resources in large quantities for all people may also promote fair competitive markets, allowing more people to participate (Mollier et al., 2018). Monopolies will also be very rare, especially for food-related goods due to food security and access to all.

Zero hunger promotes international trade and food market access, thereby allowing all to have access to the variety of food resources they need. This may also empower people economically and improve their income through the marketing of their products. Economic sustainability will be achieved due to zero hunger by 2030 if all countries in the world implement SDG-2 to achieve food security, improve agriculture, end hunger, and malnutrition with access to food for all (Gil et al., 2018; Mollier et al., 2018; United Nations, 2016).

2.2. ZERO HUNGER AND THE SOCIAL BENEFITS

Achieving zero hunger will have a positive impact on the societies where people live. Most societies are faced with challenges such as disease due to malnutrition, death due to food shortages, and migration resulting from the movement of people into other areas in search of food or other resources to improve food access. Countries where SDG-2 targets are implemented have shown great improvements in terms of food access, improved health, food security, for example, Brazil (Gil et al., 2018), and sanitation. These countries have also achieved human development, access to education, social development, and gender equality. Zero hunger has allowed people to send their children to school and promoted education (Szabo et al., 2018).

According to Barbier and Burgess (2017), quality education has seen a rise from 75% to 85% between the years 2000 and 2015 due to the adoption of zero hunger. Zero hunger may help countries to strengthen social behaviour through the reduction of crime, such as theft, murder, and even sexual abuse.

Educated societies have promoted political stability (Rosegrant & Hazell, 2000) and supported innovations that promote human development, such as new sustainable farming systems. Educated societies have also promoted societal development through the construction of toilets to reduce the spread of diseases such as cholera. Members of these societies are taught how to improve individual hygiene, domestic hygiene, and even community hygiene. Community hygiene is very important in society as it reduces neonatal death, reduces malnutrition, and promotes the proper disposal of any material, which may cause harm or danger to humans (FAO, 2016b; Mollier et al., 2018). Access to clean water is also achieved through community hygiene since people are taught how to obtain and preserve clean water. The achievement of zero hunger has also seen a decline in the spread of HIV/AIDS since hunger increases vulnerability to HIV/AIDS (Leakey, 2017) with more people being pushed into activities such as prostitution to make ends meet.

Zero hunger has the ability to achieve gender equality in a society. Programmes to promote the selection of women into positions of authority can be integrated into the overall agenda of SDG-2 when implemented at local, national, or regional levels. The education of young women will be promoted since there will be resources to pay for school fees and other needs. Statistics show that most societies facing hunger do not promote young women’s education simply because there is the assumption that family affairs are run by men. Societies where zero hunger has been achieved have seen a rise in females competing with men for various positions in society, companies, and even politics. Target 2.3 of SDG-2 helps in increasing women’s full and effective participation at all levels in the decision-making process (Gil et al., 2018).

Achieving zero hunger may help social communities move from civil unrest, war, and even political instability because most people have access to enough food, good nutrition, reduced poverty, good sanitation, and a green revolution (International Food Policy Research Institute, 2015; United Nations, 2016). In countries such as Somalia, civil unrest and war have been encouraged by food insecurity, with no access to resources leading to increased cases of malnutrition and death of children under the age of 5 years (Gil et al., 2018).

2.3. ZERO HUNGER AND THE ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

The process of achieving zero hunger has a key role in the integrity of the natural environment. Improving agricultural sustainability leads to improved food security, which promotes environmental management (Gil et al., 2018). Sustainable ag...