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How we can Avert Global Food Crisis

There are various ways in which to tackle the world food crisis and the approaches vary from one region to another.

In the case of the most affected areas of the world, where food shortages are rampant, there is need for increased food production, high quality seeds and irrigation and better farming methods.

In Africa and Asia where hunger remains a problem, there is need too to have sound fish farming methods to ease pressure on water masses.

And in areas already experiencing food shortage, there is need for swift relief efforts coupled with humanitarian aid. In these areas you will most often than not find high demand for food has hit limited supply, swelling populations and as a result the poor are hardest hit.

According to World Food Organization (FAO), the total number of undernourished people hit 963 Million worldwide, about 15 per cent of the world's population. To avert the food crisis, there is need to focus on issues that affect food safety.

One way in which the food securities can be achieved is through proper technical and scientific advice to farmers on issues like climate change which directly affect food safety.

And since food borne diseases are real in both developing and developed nations, there is need to tackel the problem.

In order to avert food crisis, there has to be some food safety systems put in place. They include laws, diagnostic and analytical labs, standard settings and training.

In case of the United States, there should be measures put in place to ensure that not all food crops are diverted to replacing fuels. A case in point is where allot of corn is diverted for ethanol.

Failure by Governments to think ahead may also lead to poor yields and as such future focus ts should be precise and more reliable.

And since soild erosion, climate and diseases affect crop yields, there is need for mostly african states to maximise farmers profits by providing tools for rapid economic growth.

Multi-national companies utilizing cash crops in poor nations should be considerate by not squeezing the poor out of their productive land. In most cases huge chunks of land are used for cash crops instead of food crops.

Farmers need to be encourage to till more land for food. According to the NY Times of April 9, 2008, the US Government paid farmers to idle their crop land under conservation programme. Some 36,800,000 acres idled in 2007. That is 8 per cent of cropland in the US, an area bigger than New York.

Also in focus should be the land degradation and the global water crisis which continue to affect most parts of the world today.

All in all it is everyone's responsibility to ensure that the world is sufficient in food production. Everyone is a culprit as they are not producing "enough" food. The US for example has about 2 Million farmers. Although they produce enough food, they are only one per cent of the entire population. Kudos to our farmers for despite their few numbers they remain productive and they keep America running.

Learn more about this author, Joseph Saronge.
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