In 2017, the Food Security Information Network
reported that over 120 million persons from 51 countries researched faced acute
levels of hunger and other food insecurities.
While America may not appear to have the kind
of hunger that is pervasive in other countries, that’s not to say it doesn’t
exist. Feeding America reports that more than 35 million people faced hunger in
the United States, including more than 10 million children.
A household that is food insecure has limited
or uncertain access to enough food to support a healthy life. Since children
and adolescents are more likely to face food insecurity than any other group in
the United States, the approach to ensuring food security is important.
As politics and policymakers are still
grappling with food insecurities, technology may come in handy to solve this
conundrum.
Food insecurity is defined by the U. S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a lack of access, at times, to enough food
for an active, healthy life for all members of a household. According to the
USDA, the number of Americans identified as food insecure decreased from 50
million in 2009 to 42 million in 2015.
It is
disheartening to realize that millions of hardworking, low-income Americans are
finding it increasingly difficult to feed themselves and their families at the
same time that our economy is showing many signs of improvement, including a
substantial decline in the number of people who are unemployed.
Technological advances in farming techniques
may need to be improved if they are to meet demand or serve impoverished
communities, according to experts.
For instance, the use of technology to improve
farm and production practices (Precision Agriculture), will have a transformational
effect on farming and will aid in reducing post-harvest losses of agricultural
produce.
Most of the increase in agricultural production
over the coming decades will come from yield improvement as increasing arable
land is difficult. Precision agriculture will probably play a role in boosting
productivity while preserving some resources by optimizing or reducing the use
of inputs like seeds, fertilizers, and crop-protection products.”
Encouragingly, the use of precision agriculture
goes way beyond pure crop production and management.
There are several attractive secular growth
drivers for animal protein production with precision agriculture: increasing
demand for protein and smart farming adoption, constraints on production
driving the need to produce more with less, food safety and supply chain
efficiencies, and animal welfare.
Unquestionably, these trends require the use of
and investment in smart farming solutions, which can accurately monitor and
calculate how much water or feed is necessary to operate farms in a
cost-effective and environmentally sustainable way.”
The latest international statistics on
malnutrition make for uncomfortable reading, but evidence shows that the
solutions exist through supply chain management and precision agriculture
techniques.
For these solutions to be successful, there will need to be buy-in at the global level from both government and investor stakeholders. Ultimately, it is these two groups that have the greatest opportunity to banish malnutrition for good.
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