Kevin Larian Teach a Man to Fish We share our planet with hundreds of millions of helpless people, unable to pursue their dreams on account of their never-ending search for a next meal. Mainly born into such conditions within developing countries, they do not have the means to escape poverty and hunger. They’ve been calling on us for quite some time now. Starving people need a plan of action -- an agricultural productivity revolution. Bizunesh, a young girl who weighed under ten pounds at three years old, “[couldn’t] speak. She [didn’t] want to eat. Health officials [said] she [was] permanently stunted” (NBC News). See, for 2-3 weeks before dying of starvation, people must endure the pain of permanent organ damage as they continue to live and breathe. It’s a torturous and agonizing way to die. Apart from her suffering, Bizunesh’s loved ones experienced the degradation and depression which came with their state of helplessness, not having the means to save their child’s life. There are far too many of these stories –– people imprudently die of malnourishment, and their families are left mourning. Bizunesh was one of millions affected by Ethiopia’s 2008 food crisis. Sadly, the number of people starving in Ethiopia continues to increase. The Ethiopian government invests in dealing with it’s starvation problem, but has taken little action in solving this problem. In regards to his fight against world hunger, American actor, singer and producer Jeff Bridges argues that it wasn’t a matter of “not knowing how to end it, it was a matter of creating the political will.” I disagree. Sure, the political will to make strategic investments would have a tremendous impact on ending hunger, but the solution for the starving is not dependent on this “political will” to action. Those who have attempted and failed to solve hunger with little to no political support (including various charities which focus on importing food into developing countries) merely have not addressed the problem in a suitable manner. Regardless of political drawbacks, to remedy starvation in Ethiopia we do not need to look to their government or even to existing charities, but we must rather create organizations and technologies which address the malnourishment problem at its sources -- transportation and production efficiency of goods. As in most developing countries, hunger in Ethiopia is an issue with many problematic factors in farmer education and transportation of goods, which complicate the process of attaining a solution. The largest and most direct cause of Ethiopian malnourishment is inefficiency of small-holder farmers. They are responsible for feeding the majority of Ethiopia’s population. The World Development Report: Agriculture for Development, is a collective of over 50 authors, editors, and consultants who worked tirelessly to essentially create a handbook which “provides guidance to governments and the international community on designing and implementing agriculture-for-development agendas that can make a difference in the lives of hundreds of millions of rural poor” (WDR08). In their report they explain the many reasons why small-holder farmers tend to produce food inefficiently and unsustainably. Firstly, weak property rights often create hectic environments for farmers and can distract them from food production. Secondly, subsidies indirectly encourage the degradation of natural resources such as soil. Due to support of soil-nutrient mining, “the estimated annual productivity loss in Ethiopian highlands from soil degradation is 2-3 percent of agricultural GDP a year” (WDR08). Third, small-holder Ethiopian farmers do not adapt well to climate change. Most can only farm on small portions of land, so as they change their crops based off of season, they must farm various crops on the same plot of land, thus weakening their soil and disabling their ability to quickly adapt to the climate. Fourth, through value-chains (adding value to a product to compensate for production, marketing, transportation, and other factors) the food which farmers produce increases in price, and becomes less affordable for buyers. This is a particularly prevalent issue in Ethiopia, as there is a larger difficulty in transportation of goods: “farm households are on average 10 kilometers from the nearest road and 18 kilometers from the nearest public transport” (WDR08). This drastically increases food cost when small-holders do attempt to export goods. For these reasons, and due to a general lack of education among Ethiopian small-holders, farming productivity is inefficient, and small-holders often do not contribute to Ethiopia’s economy whatsoever, only farming for themselves and their families. Yet even those who farm only for their own family often have a hard time producing enough food due to the pressures of food crises (like the one in 2008 responsible for Bizunesh’s death), which “tilt public budgets and donor priorities toward direct provision of food rather than investments in growth and achieving food security through rising incomes” (WDR08). In other words, in response to food crises the Ethiopian government draws money out of its agricultural investments and, and invests it in importing food in attempt to save the lives of its citizens, regardless of the long-term agricultural drawbacks. This is one of the many reasons people lose motivation in their fight against world hunger and put responsibility on the political will. Unfortunately, the problematic factors which contribute to the greater Ethiopian malnourishment issue are yet to receive successful solutions. Technologies which attempt to provide solutions for Ethiopia often fall short of creating solutions which are genuinely effective, or are otherwise not prohibited within the country. For instance, scientists have found a way to replicate the fibers in our meat and produce meat in a lab with various ingredients. “Not long ago, a lab-grown burger patty was cooked and eaten in view of the public, touted as a way to help save both planet and people” (Smith, David). Perhaps further development of this technology will prove effective in saving “the people,” but as of today reports suggest that a lab-grown meat patty costs nearly eleven dollars to produce, whereas the common production of a natural meat patty only costs around two dollars. To add, the Ethiopian government is not so big a fan of food modified by technology, let alone food created by technology. Ethiopia has had laws in place for some time now, which prohibit plant gene editing or GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms). Keffyalew Gebremedhin -- an ex-member of The Ethiopian Foreign Service, ex-leader of the UN division in the international organizations department of Foreign Ministry, ex-senior diplomat of the Permanent Mission of Ethiopia to the United Nations in New York, and chief editor of The Ethiopia Observatory -- argues for the use of GMOs in Ethiopia, explaining that its prohibition is merely a means of maintaining the wealth of foreign companies. He insists that Ethiopia “should not be forced to eat what it does not like or appreciate, to keep foreign companies and individuals wealthy and wealthier.” Another factor which Gebremedhin identifies as a reason GMOs are prohibited in Ethiopia, is their past failures in other developing countries. He discusses an incident which occured with Kenya’s genetically modified corn years ago “that forced the government to declare corn emergency in the South Rift valley region in that country” (Gebremedhin, Keffyalew). Bill Gates is gradually persuading African countries, including Ethiopia, to be more accepting of GMOs and to realize its potential by “underlying the need to handle GMOs carefully” (Gebremedhin, Keffyalew). However, GMOs alone are not enough to put an end to malnourishment, and there are other forces which not only fail to provide viable solutions for starvation, but are detrimental to that common goal. When charities import goods into Ethiopia in attempt to directly combat world hunger, they often encourage the mis-investment of Ethiopian funds, and in this way, they continuously deal with malnourishment but fail to end it. This is mis-investment of funds is particularly prevalent in light of the food crises which strike the country. As reported by Humanitarian Response, the drought that has struck Ethiopia since 2015 has been “the worst drought in 50 years,” leading to Ethiopia’s current struggle with one of their largest food crises. A charity known as Save the Children had attempted to solve this food crisis in 2016 by urging the international community to donate food. “Mitiku Kassa, General Secretary of the National Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Committee of the Ethiopian government, said Ethiopia had so far spent nearly $150-million on relief efforts,” just by late 2015, “as well as dipping into strategic grain reserves. Ethiopian government spokesperson Getachew Reda recently raised the possibility of the country shelving some of its big infrastructure projects to meet the worsening humanitarian crisis” (Polity: African News Agency). As we see here, the government, along with supporting charities, invest too much into importing goods to. Though the immediate salvation of millions of lives is an extremely important and praiseworthy response, it leaves even more millions vulnerable for the next food crisis! Rather than investing into importing goods through charities, the Ethiopian government must focus their “$150-million” investments on boosting agricultural efficiency. This would then benefit the economy in light of each food crisis through mass production of their own food with the recources they already have available, and it would leave their country less vulnerable to the next food crisis, saving more lives in the long run. Yet, as detrimental as it is, the government’s misinvenstment of funds is not a barrier to solving their hunger predicament, but merely a drawback. To end starvation, I have conducted years of extensive research on various solutions which attack world hunger at its sources using the resources available, and have combined their ideas with some of my own to form a solution. This solution will be tremendously successful since each of the problematic factors in the general predicament of starvation have been accounted for. In addressing the factors which play into the inefficiency of food production -weak property rights, the degradation of natural resources (such as soil), climate change, and farmer education -- I propose the Epicenter Strategy currently being implemented by The Hunger Project, an organization which has improved the health and living conditions of millions of suffering people across the developing world. “An epicenter is a dynamic center of community mobilization and action, as well as an actual facility built by community members. Through the Epicenter Strategy, 15,000-25,000 people are brought together as a cluster of rural villages, giving villages more clout with local government than a single village is likely to have while also increasing a community’s ability to collectively utilize resources.” (The Hunger Project). By bringing rural farmers together to form one community, we avoid the drawback of weak property rights. Another strength of such a community, is its ability to collectively utilize resources in a manner which refrains from resource degradation. To amend The Hunger Project’s solution, we should utilize the paper tube -- a cheap and durable material -- in construction of epicenter facilities. This way we can ensure that each epicenter facility will last even longer than they are depended upon, and will be cost effective. Additionally, these facilities should, first and foremost, be used to educate the small-holder farmers (which constitute the epicenter) on methods of successful farming. Aside from the productivity problems addressed by the Epicenter Strategy, are the dire transportation problems involved in small-holder exporting of food. By locating the epicenters near roads which lead to larger cities of buyers, they will undoubtedly be much more effective in exporting food and will receive much more income. To further increase this income, our epicenters will focus on production of staple foods -- foods which are produced and eaten routinely in certain countries or areas. This will then increase the value of their export, and thus increase their returns. In fact, one particular staple food is rising in popularity, and it is produced almost exclusively in Ethiopia -- teff. Teff is growing in international popularity as a superfood due to its incomparable health benefits, and has already been endorsed by Victoria Beckam (of the pop group, Spice Girls, and wife of retired professional soccer player David Beckam) and Gweneth Palrow (the prestigious Hollywood actress). Through the production and exporting of such foods, our epicenters will thrive. Through such a solution, we can reach the majority of the 30 million+ people suffering from malnourishment in Ethiopia today, as the 2008 World Hunger Report estimated that nearly 75% of them live in rural areas. What’s even more exciting is the potential for such a solution in other developing countries around the world. The key rationale which ensures the success of my solution -- the amended Epicenter Strategy -- in developing countries across the world, is this revised way of thinking which it promotes: rather than feeding those who are starving like most governments and organizations addressing hunger do, we must ensure their ability to feed themselves. Just like the common saying goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” In that way, it’s a rather obvious solution isn’t it? Shine this light on the absurdity of organizations which feed the hungry, and on the brilliance of pioneering movements which help them feed themselves. Sure, governments do tend to serve as obstacles, but we undermine them for the greater good. We will no longer feed into the ignorance, and assume this matter is solely political. Politicians have proven their non fulfilment. We will no longer rely on them to be the change we wish to see in the world; We will be that change. Hundreds of millions of lives are at stake. Work Cited "Despite Ethiopia's Laws Prohibiting Plant Gene Editing, the Gates Push GMO into Nation's Agriculture." THE ETHIOPIA OBSERVATORY. January 14, 2017. Accessed April 27, 2018. https://ethiopiaobservatory.com/2017/01/14/despite-ethiopias-laws-prohibiting-plant-gene-edit ing-gates-foundation-pushes-gmo-into-nations-agriculture/. "Ethiopia." The Hunger Project. Accessed April 27, 2018. http://www.thp.org/our-work/where-we-work/africa/ethiopia/. "Ethiopia Again Revises Upward People in Need of Food Aid." Polity.org.za. Accessed April 27, 2018. http://www.polity.org.za/article/ethiopia-again-revises-upward-people-in-need-of-food-aid-20 15-12-08. "Ethiopia's Super Food Export Dilemma." The New York Times. March 17, 2014. Accessed April 27, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/video/multimedia/100000002772388/ethiopias-super-food-export-dile mma.html. "Food Aid to Run out in Ethiopia Unless Donors Step In, Says Charity (Reuters)." Food Aid to Run out in Ethiopia Unless Donors Step In, Says Charity (Reuters) | HumanitarianResponse. Accessed April 27, 2018. https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/fr/operations/ethiopia/article/food-aid-run-out-ethiopia -unless-donors-step-says-charity-reuters. Nurse, From Earl. "The Ethiopian Superfood That Used to Be Banned." CNN. December 18, 2015. Accessed April 27, 2018. https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/18/africa/ethiopian-superfood-teff/index.html. "Once Again, Children Are Starving in Ethiopia." NBCNews.com. May 20, 2008. Accessed April 27, 2018. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/24731042/ns/world_news-africa/t/once-again-children-are-starvin g-ethiopia/#.Wt1_Rja7N9k. "Why Technology Won't Solve World Hunger." The Borgen Project. February 21, 2017. Accessed April 27, 2018. https://borgenproject.org/technology-wont-solve-world-hunger/. Woodhouse, Philip. "Technology, Environment and the Productivity Problem in African Agriculture: Comment on the World Development Report 2008." Journal of Agrarian Change. March 20, 2009. Accessed April 27, 2018. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1471-0366.2009.00205.x. "World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development." Worldbank.org. The World Bank Group, 2008. Web. April 2018. <https://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTWDR2008/Resources/WDR_00_book.pdf>.
