World Food Day is a day dedicated to the celebration of the Food Agriculture Organization (FAO), an event organized in over 150 countries across the world, which is set apart in tackling Global hunger.
It is held annually on the 16th of October where people from around the world come together to declare their commitment to eradicate hunger and food scarcity ensuring food security and nutritious diet for all.
The theme of World Food Day 2019 is “Our Actions Are Our Future. Healthy Diets for a #ZeroHunger World”.
The actions in the process of Globalization and urbanization has greatly led to nutrition transition, implicated in the rise of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases world wide.
Healthy and nutritional meals are replaced with high calorie, nutritional-poor foods high in fats and sweetness gotten in food from snack shops, fast food, street food and super markets.
Due to unhealthy diets and sedentary lifestyles obesity in people is increasing in developed, low-income countries. According to FAO, 670 million adults and 120 million girls and boys of the age group 5 to 18 years are obese and 40 million children under 5 are overweight.
Around 820 million people suffer from hunger.
This year world food day calls for a quick action not only to relinquish hunger but also for make healthy food sustainable, available and affordable for all.
We can achieve this if we:
SUPPORT SMALL FARMERS
Most African farmers are less productive than a US farmer because there is a consensus between NGOs and governments that supports and train small farmers which is the best possible solution to future food security. A combination of aid, education in low-tech methods such as better rice planting and irrigation, and the introduction of better seeds and fertilizer could spark a green revolution in Africa, such as the one that transformed South Asia in the 20th century.
BACKYARD FARMING
Backyard farming is the growing of crops and rearing of mini livestock in an open space of the compound of the house where you live, It is a system of farming where you get fresh organic produce.
It could be back yard vegetable gardens, snail rearing in tyres, poultry for meat and egg production.
If 70% of rural household can do this it will serve as a means to increase nutrients intake majorly vitamins and protein for households and provides high quality local produce.
REDUCTION IN FOOD WASTE
Globally, 30-50 percent of food production goes to waste because of inefficient preparation or inadequate storage facilities and some are lost to pest on the farm before harvest time.
Adequate storage facilities are to be provided to curb this food wastage, effective pesticides to deal with field and storage pest.
IMPROVED IRRIGATION SYSTEM
Water is a major issue in plant growth. Improving irrigation systems and planting crops that use less water would be an effective way to tackle this.
For example, rice and sugar cane are among the crops that need the most water. But it’s not simple to change the types of crops grown since farmers make decisions of what to grow based on market values.