Analysis of Food Security in Armenia

Analysis of Food Security in Armenia

Introduction

One of the adverse effects of population growth is food insecurity. To maintain healthy lives, people need to have access to sufficient and safe food at all times. Ensuring food security is the primary role of the United Nations. As a consultant, the United Nations has tasked me to provide an analysis of the issues related to food insecurity in developing countries. In most developing countries, the problem is not the food but how to access food. In Armenia, most of the households currently depend on food assistance for survival. Depleted productive assets, persistent conflict, and rapidly growing population are the major causes of food insecurity in Armenia. Integrating the emerging technologies in the production and supply of food can effectively solve the issue of food hunger and improve food security in developing countries.

Background

Food insecurity is the state of lack of sufficient, affordable, and safe nutritious food. Many people in developing countries have been affected by hunger (Martin, 2010). Hunger kills more people in developing countries than the world’s most deadly diseases. In Armenia, the available food provided through agricultural activities is not enough for the country’s population. Lack of enough food has led to poverty and hunger in the country. Without sufficient and safe food, people’s health tends to deteriorate. With poor health, people cannot effectively contribute to economic activities, which adversely affects the economy of the country, resulting in food insecurity. Migration from rural to urban areas is a common trend in Armenia. In Armenia, farming is considered as an activity that is carried out by poor people. With poor perception about agriculture, many people in Armenia are unable to access food for their daily use, and they only depend on relief food.

Rapid population growth is a critical factor that contributes to food insecurity. Most of the countries with a high population are faced with the problem of food insecurity (Prosekov & Ivanova, 2018). Croplands and water supply are crucial for food production. With an increased population, vital forests are destructed in search of settlement lands. Deforestation leads to reduced rains, which negatively affect food production because of the unavailability of water. Also, when more land is used for settlement purposes, the land used for farming reduces, resulting in low food production. With a high population, urban areas have to accommodate more people. Urban residents purchase food products without having a farming land. Low-income families residing in urban areas spend a high percentage of their income on food. High food prices, combined with low income, increase the risk of hunger.

Technologies that can Improve Food Security

Food security can be achieved through the application of new technologies in food production. In Armenia, changes in weather conditions and natural disasters negatively affect agricultural activities leading to food insecurity. The application of technological tools can be used to predict future weather changes with a high degree of accuracy (Abu & Soom, 2016). Satellites, algorithms, and remote sensors can predict the present and future weather. The results from the weather forecasts help farmers to determine the type of crops to plant, hence providing sufficient food to the population. Secure transfer of funds and mobile banking are emerging technologies. In Armenia, many farmers are restricted from producing perishable foods due to poor market connectivity. Applications should be developed that can easily connect farmers to potential agricultural product buyers. The connectivity will allow farmers to access accurate price information and other logistics, which facilitates easier exchange of nutritious foods such as vegetables and fruits. The use of social media can assist Armenian farmers in increasing the marketability of their agricultural products.

Soilless farming is a new technology in agriculture. In Armenia, rapid population growth is one of the major causes of food insecurity. A small land has been reserved for farming in Armenia because more land is used for settlement purposes. The use of soilless farming can solve this problem in Armenia (Tajudeen & Taiwo, 2018). Soilless farming involves suspending crop roots in the air, hence reducing land requirements in agriculture. Also, minimal water and labor are other benefits of soilless agriculture. Soilless farming technology is an environmentally friendly method that can improve food production in Armenia. Food products in developing countries go to waste due to a lack of access to the market. The use of a modern transportation system can improve food security in developing countries. Advanced technology systems allow farmers to have easy access to the food markets, which reduces food wastage.

Specific Factors in Chosen Developing Country

Inadequate transport infrastructure interrupts the flow of food from the farmers to the consumers in Armenia (Tacoli, 2017). Farming is practiced in rural areas due to the availability of farming land. However, most of the farm products are consumed in urban areas rather than in rural areas. In Armenia, poor roads connect farmers with the available market. Due to poor roads, a long time is taken to transport agricultural products from farms to the market, which leads to wastage of food. Poor connectivity also affects the flow of food from the source to the people. In Armenia, the lack of a ready market due to poor connectivity contributes to food insecurity. Perishable products such as vegetables and fruits solve the problem of hunger. In Armenia, many farmers are limited from producing perishable products because of the lack of a ready market.

Some policies in Armenia contribute to food insecurity. In Armenia, policies focus on food production without concentrating on access to food (Martin, 2010). For instance, in Armenia, high taxes are imposed on food products from foreign countries. The policy aims to protect and promote domestic farming. High import taxes discourage foreign countries from importing their food products to Armenia. With limited international food, large scale farmers are the only sources of food in Armenia, which makes them increase food prices. Poor farmers produce less food than they consume. With high food prices, poor people in Armenia cannot access food resulting in hunger. Also, small scale farmers are restricted by policies from producing cash crops. The inability to produce cash crops negatively affects the economy in Armenia, which contributes to food insecurity.

Conclusion

Food insecurity is prevalent in most of the developing countries. Many people in Armenia cannot access safe and nutritious food because of food insecurity. Rapid population growth is the primary cause of food insecurity in Armenia. Poor road infrastructure, lack of ready market, poor policies, and weather changes are other causes of food insecurity in Armenia. United Nations should encourage the use of satellites and sensors in the quest to improve food security. Satellites provide accurate data on future weather, which guides farmers on the crops to produce. Applications and social media can connect farmers to a ready market, which reduces the wastage of perishable food products. The United Nations should encourage the Armenian government to create policies that support the use of technology, such as soilless farming, to improve food security.

References

Abu, G. A., & Soom, A. (2016). Analysis of factors affecting food security in rural and urban      farming households of Benue State, Nigeria. International Journal of Food and       Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), 4(1128-2016-92107), 55-68.

Martin, W. (2010). Food Security and Poverty—A Precarious Balance. World Bank Group.

Prosekov, A. Y., & Ivanova, S. A. (2018). Food security: The challenge of the       present. Geoforum, 91, 73-77.

Tacoli, C. (2017). Food (in) security in rapidly urbanising, low-income contexts. International       journal of environmental research and public health, 14(12), 1554.

Tajudeen, A. L., & Taiwo, O. S. (2018). Soilless farming–a key player in the realisation of “zero   hunger” of the sustainable development goals in Nigeria. Int. J. Ecol. Sci. Environ.             Eng, 5, 1-7.