 |
Food availability - no guaranteeAmple food production does not guarantee that enough food is available accessible and affordable for those in need. Food must be available at the right time and place, at prices the poor can afford. Even in times of hunger crisis, food is available locally, regionally or globally but it is not within the reach of the hungry.
Food insecurity and hunger are closely related to poverty and an inability to purchase food. Consequently, hunger cannot be solved solely by increasing the production of food. Famines have occurred even in situations where food has been available, even locally, but at prices beyond the reach of the poorest, as in Niger in 2005.
Food availability has to do with the supply of food in society; that food is physically available in the market. Even if food is available, globally or nationally, or even locally, in the market, that does not guarantee that it is accessible to consumers at affordable prices.
Although increased agricultural productivity and the production of food is a key element in providing nutrition and combating chronic food insecurity, it is not the only condition for food availability. Access to food is influenced by several factors, including local prices and purchasing power, adequate infrastructure for transportation and distribution, and storage. A significant amount of food is lost in the pre-harvesting period, but also after harvesting, from, among other things, poor handling and storage.
Most people buy food rather than producing it. Very few are entirely self-sufficient, and this includes subsistence farmers. Even they depend on buying food – and they are often recipients of food aid. On average, households in Africa spend two-thirds of their income on food, and in the 1990s food prices grew at the rate of 6% per year. The hungry are the poor and the vulnerable, with the majority of hungry people living in rural areas. Due to existing social inequalities, women are often disproportionately vulnerable to hunger.
|
|
|
