Rural areas worst hit as massive fall in food production causes severe hunger for a quarter of country’s population
Tšepo Molapo gazes into space, worrying about where the next meal will come from. Next to him, his two-year-old granddaughter plays, oblivious of their desperate situation.
Molapo’s children all died at illegal mines in neighbouring South Africa, where they had trekked in search of work.
Continue reading...Climate emergency is fuelling drought, food poverty and disaster in the global south but humanitarian crises under-reported
The African continent is a “blind spot” for coverage of the humanitarian crises that are being fuelled by the climate emergency, according to a new analysis [pdf].
Madagascar’s chronic food crisis, where 2.6 million people were affected by drought in 2019, came top of the list of 10 of the most under-reported crises last year, Care International’s annual survey found.
Continue reading...Researchers sound the alarm after statistics reveal almost half of impoverished children in rural areas do not have enough to eat
Poverty has reached unprecedented levels in Zimbabwe, with more than 70% of Zimbabwean children in rural areas living in poverty, a UN study has found.
The report, compiled by Unicef and the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, shows high levels of privation in rural areas, where 76.3% of children live in abject poverty. Statistics seen by the Guardian suggest that almost half of these children do not have enough of the right food to eat.
Continue reading...From Somalia to South Sudan, torrential rains have devastated crops and made roads impassable, sending the cost of food soaring
Before the floods hit her village, crumpling buildings, ripping out pathways and submerging swathes of land, Nurto Mohamed Hassan could buy a kilogram of rice for the equivalent of about 70p.
Now the cost is more than £1. This may not seem a lot in isolation but, for people with little money and families to feed, it is a significant rise.
Continue reading...Government races against time to contain threat to key food-producing regions in country still reeling from droughts and floods
The UN has warned of a “significant and extremely dangerous” escalation in the number of desert locusts descending on Kenya, as the government strives to contain the threat before it reaches the country’s food-producing regions.
The tropical grasshoppers have been wreaking havoc on Kenya’s neighbours to the north and east, devouring tens of thousands of hectares of crops in Ethiopia and Somalia since last June.
Continue reading...Women and children bear brunt as drought and extreme weather leave tens of millions short of food
Southern Africa is in the throes of a climate emergency, with hunger levels in the region on a previously unseen scale, the UN has warned.
Years of drought, widespread flooding and economic disarray have left 45 million people facing severe food shortages, with women and children bearing the brunt of the crisis, said the World Food Programme (WFP).
Continue reading...Mired in poverty, corruption and violent unrest, Haiti faces a fresh problem in the form of paid gunmen out to settle scores
At the barricaded junction next to the international airport in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, protesters burn tyres and block the road with stones and a large truck.
Cars and commercial vehicles that approach turn back or risk being stoned, while pedestrians wade on through the smoke.
Continue reading...Food shortages affecting 60% of country’s population threaten to make political instability worse, says UN expert
Zimbabwe is on the brink of manmade starvation with close to 60% of the population now food insecure, a UN envoy has said.
Hilal Elver, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said the situation was likely to escalate political instability in the southern African nation. After an 11-day visit to parts of the country worst hit by the El Niño-induced drought, Elver said widespread food insecurity was being exacerbated by hyperinflation.
Continue reading...Global hunger index finds countries affected by drought and conflict in sub-Saharan Africa have seen biggest increases in undernourished people
The climate crisis is driving alarming levels of hunger in the world, undermining food security in the world’s most vulnerable regions, according to this year’s global hunger index.
The annual report, a ranking of 117 countries measuring hunger rates and trends, shows progress since 2000 but warns that the world still has a long way to go to reach the zero hunger target agreed by world leaders by 2030.
Continue reading...Swamped by sewage and prone to floods, Cité Soleil is a hotbed for gangs and violence. But for a lucky few, an education initiative offers a glimpse of a better future
Billy Lafalaise has spent much of his 16 years avoiding the allure of gang life in one of the world’s most notorious slums. He was born in Cité Soleil, the sprawling shantytown of Haiti’s downtrodden and chaotic capital, Port-au-Prince.
“Everyone wants to be in a gang here,” Billy says, his mother Jinette nodding in agreement. “And every gang is always looking for recruits.”
Continue reading...The 14,000m² farm is set to open in the south-west of Paris early next year
It’s a warm afternoon in late spring and before us rows of strawberry plants rustle in the breeze as the scent of fragrant herbs wafts across the air. Nearby, a bee buzzes lazily past. Contrary to appearances, however, we are not in an idyllic corner of the countryside but standing on the top of a six-storey building in the heart of the French capital.
Welcome to the future of farming in Paris – where a whole host of rooftop plantations, such as this one on the edge of the Marais, have been springing up of late. Yet this thriving operation is just a drop in the ocean compared to its new sister site. When that one opens, in the spring of 2020, it will be the largest rooftop farm in the world.
Continue reading...Research suggests one in five people have a food, drinks and medicine hoard worth £380
Britons have spent £4bn stockpiling goods in preparation for a possible no-deal Brexit, new research suggests.
One in five people are already hoarding food, drinks and medicine, spending an extra £380 each, according to a survey by the finance provider Premium Credit. The survey found that about 800,000 people have spent more than £1,000 building up stockpiles before the 31 October Brexit deadline.
Continue reading...Despite poverty, lack of refrigeration and a constant battle for cleanliness, the residents of Kibera are resourceful with the food they eat and sell. Fried fish, samosas, and bean dishes are all on the menu, reflecting the cultural mix of those who call the area home
Continue reading...Ripping off the bandage of food aid and investing in self-sufficiency is the only way to fight malnutrition
Billions are spent on humanitarian aid, yet nearly 60 million children across Africa go to bed hungry.
Efforts to alleviate the constant cycle of droughts, poverty and war have caused new problems. The biggest of these is a crippling dependency on food aid that is undermining much of the continent’s efforts to feed itself.
Continue reading...Cancer rates are the highest in the country, drug addiction is rife, and 900 farmers have killed themselves in two years. How did Punjab turn toxic?
The road to Langroya village weaves its way through fields rich with crops that offer a vivid snapshot of India’s kitchens. There is wheat, rice, sugarcane, maize, mustard seed and a rich variety of vegetables that have made this corner of the country India’s most important agricultural region.
Like the majority of their compatriots in Punjab, Langroya’s residents rely on farming for their existence. About three-quarters of the state’s 30 million-strong population is involved in agriculture, with wheat the number one commodity. But while Punjab is known as “India’s bread basket”, there are challenges amid the abundance.
Continue reading...Head of UN’s World Food Programme threatens suspension of food aid if safe delivery not assured
The head of the United Nations food agency has accused Yemen’s Houthi rebels of diverting food from the country’s hungriest people and threatened to suspend food aid.
David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), said the agency had found “serious evidence” that food supplies had been diverted in the capital, Sana’a and other Houthi-controlled areas in the country, which is in the midst of a four-year civil war. He called on the Houthis to implement agreements that would allow the UN agency to operate independently.
Continue reading...Agencies sound the alarm over ‘climate crisis’ after devastation of crops and livestock
More than 2 million people could face starvation by the end of the summer, unless there are urgent efforts to respond to the drought in Somalia.
Mark Lowcock, the UN’s humanitarian chief, said the country is facing one of the driest rainy seasons in more than three decades, and a “rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation”.
Continue reading...Almost 60 million children deprived of food despite continent’s economic growth, in what is ‘fundamentally a political problem’
One in three African children are stunted and hunger accounts for almost half of all child deaths across the continent, an Addis Ababa-based thinktank has warned.
In an urgent call for action, a study by the African Child Policy Forum said that nearly 60 million children in Africa do not have enough food despite the continent’s economic growth in recent years.
Continue reading...Sherrie Silver, who was behind acclaimed video This is America, launches virtual dance ‘petition’ to promote investment in farming
She made a name for herself as the choreographer behind one of the most controversial yet critically acclaimed music videos of last year.
Now Sherrie Silver, the creative force behind the dance moves in Childish Gambino’s This Is America, is using her success to drive a social media campaign promoting investment in young people in rural Africa.
Continue reading...In Mozambique, where many people rely on crops to live, Idai’s impact on two key agricultural areas has been devastating
Marie Jose stares out at her field of broken maize stalks, the cobs yellow and mouldy from days of excessive water followed by weeks of extreme sun. She should have harvested them last month, but Cyclone Idai struck her village in Buzi district, in central Mozambique, and destroyed them all.
She is still dealing with the trauma of losing her grandparents and niece to the tropical storm. “They couldn’t hold on in the trees where we were sitting and the wind pushed them into the water,” she says. Their bodies are still missing.
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