Food security can seem complex, but it really isn’t: do you have enough food on a daily basis, is it nutritious, and is food available and accessible during and after a disaster?
For example, even if food is present in your community after a disaster, people may not be able to access it because they do not have enough money, and we all know that the price of food and other goods always goes up after a disaster. So, people will eat less, which can be very harmful for children, the elderly, the sick and pregnant women especially.
We also know that because economies in the Pacific are becoming increasingly monetized, people are more inclined to work in wage-based jobs rather than in fishing and agriculture to the extent that they did 20 to 30 years ago. And this means that there is less food produced locally, and thus less food available after a disaster.
This week we’re linking you to some important reports and articles that provide more detail in the risks of food insecurity in the Pacific and what communities and local governments can do about it. For now, here are some facts for your consideration:
In Solomon Islands, population growth is taking place so fast in urban areas that food security will be an issue even without climate change factored it, and once you factor in climate change, it is anticipated that the proportion of the population which will be food insecure will increase by 45% by 2050.
In Vanuatu, bread and rice make up 64% of total household food consumption in urban households, which have negative impacts on health and increase vulnerability to price increase during economic crises.
In Fiji, man-made hazards such as landslides due to logging and flooding due to soil erosion are increasing vulnerability to food insecurity as local agriculture is affected more often, and logged land reduces the availability of land for subsistence and export food production.
In Tonga, imported food comprises approximately 45% of a typical household diet. Most households are therefore extremely vulnerable to price increases in imported food. Moreover, reliance on imported food means that it is likely local agriculture is not productive enough to feed the country in times of crisis.
In Samoa, subsistence agriculture constitutes nearly half of all agricultural output, but production is not enough as consumption of imported food has doubled since 1990.
In Marshall Islands, the remoteness of some islands and limited agricultural land means that food accessibility is an issue. In times of economic crisis, it has been estimated that some 43% of households are food insecure.
In Kiribati, most local food is produced on outer islands, and inconsistency of transport and the cost of shipping limits how much food is transported to the capital, and how often, making urban households much more reliant on imported food, and much more vulnerable to price shocks.
In Cook Islands, urbanization and a decrease in soil fertility due to climate change and saltwater inundation following cyclones has meant a decrease in agricultural productivity by 77% since the 1980s.
In Tuvalu, taro is imported from Fiji to feed urban households despite the fact that it is grown on outer islands - but production levels are not sufficient to feed the significant urban population
In Nauru, limited land for agriculture and food production means that 90% of food is imported, leaving the country highly vulnerable to food price increases.
In Tokelau, 88% of food is imported, apart from fruit and fish which are sourced locally. As local agricultural land becomes increasingly inundated by saltwater due to rising sea levels, it is unlikely that local fruit and vegetable production will be able to maintain current productivity levels and therefore more food would need to be imported.
In Pulau, local agriculture and fishing used to be sufficient to feed the entire population. However, urbanization has meant a reduction in agriculture and thus less production, resulting in an increase in food imports. Currently 90% of all food consumed is imported.
What can you do as an individual, family and community?
There are a few actions that can be taken. Certainly they won’t solve the entire complex problem but they can put us on a path to a more food secure future, reduce vulnerability and increase overall resilience.
The first is to begin to change individual and household consumption patterns. We all know bread and noodles in large quantities is not good for us, but we’ve become dependent on them. Small changes in household consumption to reduce reliance on these imported foods and refocus on eating habits to rely on what’s available locally is key. This doesn’t happen overnight but it can and should happen.
Reintroducing and reviving traditional preservation and food storage practices to support families and communities during droughts or other crises - including economic crises when the cost of imported food is too high for household budgets to adjust to and accommodate. While undertaking food preservation can be onerous on an individual household, community groups working together can perhaps lessen the burden.
Finally, communities and local governments need to work to introduce more productive, larger scale agriculture as a business - not just for subsistence but to eat as well as sell at markets within the country so that urban areas are not so reliant on imported foods and to help increase the overall food self-sufficiency of the country.
These are not ground breaking ideas but they aim to help break us of our habits of relying on imports when we have the skills and resources to feed ourselves.
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