Problem & Solution: World Hunger

In spite of the advances made in agriculture, many people around the world still go hungry. Why is this the case? What can be done about this problem?

Despite of improvements to agricultural tools and methods, many people worldwide are still facing a food crisis, not sure when their next meal will come. Although the current circumstance is definitely a result of mixed factors, it’s not a problem without a solution.

For starters, I believe that financial obstacles play a huge role in the world hunger crisis. It is true that agriculture has advanced substantially, with various highly-automated machines doing jobs such as planting, harvesting, processing, packaging, etc. But these technological advancements are still largely limited to richer countries. In poorer areas where people struggle to afford basic necessities and maintain a decent standard of living, it is impossible for them to afford expensive agricultural machinery. This means they still have to use comparably low-efficiency methods, such as planting by hand, which greatly reduce profit margins. This negative cycle results in poor individuals and families being stuck in constant poverty, always on the brink of starvation yet with limited methods of ending it.

Furthermore, these areas also have a hard time distributing the limited amount of agricultural products (such as wheat and rice), as doing so effectively requires efficient markets and transportation methods. The majority of these places having insufficient railway systems and policies that don’t encourage as much free trade, another contributing factor to the status quo.

However, this isn’t a problem without a solution. Developed countries have already started implementing agendas and policies to aid these areas, but more is to be done if hunger is to be fully eradicated.

Foreign developed nations should not only provide money for planting and distributing food, they should also invest in improving local infrastructure, support fair trade policies, provide advanced agricultural tools and machines, simultaneously provide adequate training to the local population, etc. By creating more than enough food and distributing it evenly to every individual, these areas will have a higher standard of living than before, as well as have the ability to channel more resources towards rebuilding the country. In addition, this will not only accelerate the process of eradicating hunger, but also boost the entire economy by providing factory jobs to unemployed citizens and increasing individual productivity.

In conclusion, despite the unfortunate reality that world hunger exists in a world of increasing agricultural technological advancement, there are plausible solutions that can work if implemented effectively.