World Hunger
Fred Boadu, PhD; J.D. (Law)
Department of Agricultural Economics,
Texas A&M University, College Station
Outline
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Basic Definitions
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Overview – The facts
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Income, Price
Role of Institutions
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Land, Labor, Capital, Technology
Other Supply Shifters
Factors influencing Food Demand
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Grain Production and Demand - 2020
Factors influencing Food Supply
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The Location of the Hungry
Government, International Organizations
Conclusions
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Millennium Development Goals, Indicators
Basic Definitions
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Malnutrition is a general term that indicates a lack of some or
all nutritional elements necessary for human health. (Medline Plus
Medical Encyclopedia).
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Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) is by far the
most lethal form of malnutrition/hunger and the one referred to when
world hunger is referred to. Children are its most visible victims.
Malnutrition plays a role in at least half of the 10.9 million child
deaths each year (FAO, 2002).
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Food Insecurity is when people must live with hunger and
fear of starvation (FAO).
Regional Proportions
Child Malnutrition
Undernourishment
Overview – The Facts
 Over 800 million people go to bed hungry each night;
most of them are women and children, World Food
Programme (WFP).
Grain Production and Demand - 2020
Table 1: Growth Rates of Population and
Total Cereal Demand, 1967 - 1997
Table 2: Per Capita Cereal Production and Annual Growth
Rates in Developing-country Regions, 1967-1997
Table 3: Per Capita Meat Demand 1967 and 1997
Some Microeconomics
Households, Firms, and Hunger
Factors Influencing Food Demand
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Income
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Per Capita Income
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Price
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Other Demand Shifters
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Population
Household Size
Household Expenditure
Table 4: Population and Per Capita GDP 1967 and 2020
Table 4: Population and Per Capita GDP 1967 and 2020 Contd.
Table 5: People Living on Less Than $1 and $2 a Day
Since 1990 and Projected to 2015
Table 6: Income Demand Elasticities, 1967 and 2020
Factors Influencing Food Supply
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Land
Labor
Capital
Technology
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Other Supply Shifters
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Land rights and ownership
Diversion of land use to non-productive use
Price
Inefficient agricultural practices
Governance
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Lack of Democracy and Rights
 Politics
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Conflict, Drought, Famine
Table 11: Total Projected Investments, Baseline Scenario,
1997-2020
Supply Shifters
 Poverty is the principal cause of hunger.
“There are 1.2
billion poor people in developing countries who live on $1 a day or less.
Progress in poverty reduction has been concentrated in Asia, and
especially, East Asia. In all the other regions, the number of people in
extreme poverty has increased. In sub-Saharan Africa, there were 58 million
more poor people in 1999 than in 1990 (Food and Agriculture Organization
– FAO, 2002).”
 Hunger is also a cause of poverty. By leading to such effects
as poor health, low levels of energy, and even mental impairment, hunger
can lead to even greater poverty (FAO 2002).
 Conflict as a cause of hunger.
“Worldwide, there were some
21.5 million refugees and displaced persons in 1999– largely as a result of
wars, political turbulence, civil conflict and social unrest (e.g. Afghanistan,
the Balkans, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, East Timor, Somalia
and Sudan). In such emergencies, malnutrition runs rampant, exponentially
increasing the risk of disease and death (World Health Organization 2002).”
Factors affecting Food Shortages
Role of Institutions
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Government
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Freedom and Democracy
Intellectual Property Rights
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Patents – World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
International Organizations
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Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
World and Food Programme (WFP)
World Bank
World Health Organization (WHO)
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
(CGIAR) – IITA, CIMMYT, IFPRI, ILRI etc.
Table 12: Annual Freedom in the World Country Scores,
2000-2001: Africa
Conclusion
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Millennium Development Goals
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Goal 1 - Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Target 1: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of
people whose income is less than $1 a day.
Target 2: Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of
people who suffer from hunger.
Indicators
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Proportion of population below $1 a day a
National poverty headcount ratio*
Poverty gap ratio at $1 a day (incidence x depth of poverty)
Share of poorest quintile in national consumption
Prevalence of underweight in children (under five years of age)
Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy
consumption
Source: http://www.developmentgoals.org/About_the_goals.htm
Table 13: Progress Toward the Poverty Goal and Projections
to 2015