food security
New report says youth employment is crucial to global food security
Young people across the world could be the driving force behind the future of agriculture, says a new report from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. The report emphasizes that supporting youth entrepreneurship can help ensure food security in low- and middle-income countries around the world.
Scanty rainfall a threat to food supply in eastern and southern Africa
High temperature and inadequate rainfall are adversely affecting crop development in southern Africa, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. They result may be poor yields and heavier than usual infestations of the fall armyworm, which spreads in dry weather. In a special alert, the FAO said small harvests are "foreseen to intensify food insecurity in 2018, increasing the number of people in need of assistance."
USDA sees billions of dollars in savings even with home delivery of Harvest Box
The USDA official in charge of public nutrition told openly skeptical anti-hunger activists that the administration's proposed Harvest Box of processed and canned food would be a more efficient way to feed poor Americans than food stamps. To an undercurrent of dissent, Brandon Lipps said the boxes of food could be delivered to tens of millions of residences each month "with billion of dollars in savings" compared to current system of food stamp recipients buying groceries from local stores.
Few states offer work programs for people at risk of losing food stamp benefits
Stricter work requirements for food stamp recipients, particularly able-bodied adults, “can increase earnings and training,” but they can also mean a loss of benefits for people who can’t find a job, says a USDA report. Only five states currently guarantee a slot in a job-training or workfare program to able-bodied adults who are jobless and at risk of losing their benefits.
Food stamps may reduce healthcare costs
New research suggests that food stamps, the major U.S. anti-hunger program, do more than help poor people buy food — they “may promote better health and lower healthcare costs,” said the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a think tank.
FAO sees high risk of hunger in eight nations, famine possible in three
In a “global early warning” report, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization lists eight nations with a high risk of hunger and says famine is possible in three of them: Yemen, South Sudan, and Somalia.
Immigrants cautious of food assistance in Trump era, experts say
Undocumented immigrants have become cautious of seeking food aid in the Trump era because of fears they could be targeted for deportation, said a panel of food security experts last week in San Francisco.
UN official says 8.4 million Yemenis ‘a step away from famine’
The Saudi-led blockade of ports into Yemen "is limiting supplies of fuel, food and medicines," said a senior UN official in the country. "The lives of millions of people, including 8.4 million Yemenis who are a step away from famine, hinge on our ability to continue our operations and to provide health, safe water, food, shelter and nutrition support." The statement by humanitarian coordinator Jamie McGoldrick follows an assessment by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) that there is a credible risk of famine in 2018 in Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia and Nigeria.
FAO chief says ‘brain revolution’ will succeed Green Revolution
The Green Revolution of high-yielding wheat, rice and maize varieties, boosted by synthetic fertilizers, is credited with averting famine in the developing world. In a speech at a London think tank, FAO director general Jose Graziano de Silva said, "The future of agriculture is not input-intensive, but knowledge-intensive."
Famine likely soon in Yemen if food imports remain blocked
An estimated 80 percent of Yemen's food supply arrives by boat, so the recent closure of its ports makes famine a likelihood across the country, says the Famine Early Warning Systems Network. Meanwhile, the UN says that warfare and climate change are driving up hunger rates in sub-Saharan Africa.
In rural Northern California, where food is scarce, one man provides
In Trinity county, California, food can at times be painfully scarce. "It’s a beautiful, remote, rural part of northern California. It’s also one of the state’s most food insecure places, where many people don’t know where their next meal is coming from," reports Lisa Morehouse in FERN's latest story in partnership with KQED's The California Report.
War and weather end decade-long decline in world hunger
The report on global hunger was the first since the UN set a goal of eradicating hunger by 2030. UN agencies, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization, have cited the role of warfare in hunger. According to the new UN report, 60 percent of the world's hungry people "live in countries affected by conflict," some 489 million people. But even in regions that are more peaceful, droughts or floods linked in part to the El Niño weather phenomenon, as well as the global economic slowdown, have also seen food security and nutrition deteriorate, said the report.
U.S. food insecurity rate stable, which means millions still go hungry
An estimated 12.3 percent of U.S. households were food insecure in 2016, essentially unchanged from 12.7 percent in 2015, the USDA Economic Research Service said. But the figures still mean that more than 41 million Americans, or 15.6 million households, don’t get enough food.
House Budget plan calls for stricter work rules for food stamps
To avoid "extended dependency," the Republican majority on the House Budget Committee would require food stamp recipients to work at least 80 hours a month or spend an equal amount of time in job training or workfare if they are able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs). The GOP's budget package, scheduled for a vote today in committee, also would give states the power to run program as they wish.
Former WFP director Cousin joins Chicago Council
Ertharin Cousin, director of the UN World Food Program since 2012, has joined the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and will advise the group in “its ongoing efforts to advance global food security by supporting research, representing food security expertise on a variety of global stages, and building unique partnerships.”
Outages ‘frequent’ issue for electronic food stamps
At a subcommittee hearing on 21st Century enhancements for the food stamp system, an official from one of the largest electronic payment processors in the world said "large numbers" of recipients "on a fairly frequent basis" suffer network failures when they try to buy food. A USDA spokesman said "outages are rare, and are usually swiftly resolved."
Perdue: We won’t let you go hungry but there are limits
Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who runs the federal farm subsidy and public nutrition programs, told a Montana audience that "my goal is to have a safety net for all American citizens, producers but also those who cannot afford (food) ... It is not in the heart of America to want to see anyone go hungry."
Agriculture needs ‘transformational change,’ says World Bank advisor
Marc Sadler, an advisor to the World Bank on agriculture risk and markets, told an Agrimoney conference that global agriculture needs "transformational change" to meet rising demand for food at the same time there is concern about controlling greenhouse gas emissions. Agriculture is a major source of the gases.
Despite its hopes, China will remain a food importer, analysts say
President Xi Jinping has made food security a national priority since becoming China's leader a decade ago, with a multi-prong drive for self-sufficiency in food. It is "an improbable, if not impossible, goal," say analysts from the Brookings Institution and the Center for Strategic and International Studies in a brief.