Food Security in Haiti Paper Example

It is understood that in the current world, the food consumption rate is outpacing the food production rate. Many countries have now invested heavily in sectors such as in technology in order to meet the people's consumption rate. According to Godfray, Beddington, Crute, Haddad, Lawrence, and Toulmin, the low productivity and the increasing population are the two factors that are becoming a threat to the food security in most of the countries in the world (815).

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The US Agency established the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS) for International Development (USAID) in the year 1985 to provide for the evidence-based analysis of food security. FEWS currently is the leading provider of information regarding food security and it has helped many countries to make major decisions in response to humanitarian crisis. The establishment of FEWS was because of the devastating cases of famines in East and West Africa (Ivers, Chang, Jerome, Freedberg 33)

Currently, FEWS provides coverage to over 36 countries in different parts of the world. It also provides monthly reports on the food security in these countries as well as alerts on the emerging crises. South Africa, Yemen, Somalia, Ethiopia as well as Nigeria are as per now the major countries of concern for FEWS.

In Haiti, the food security status has been an issue of concern and it is still alarming. It is estimated that over 50 percent of the population in Haiti is undernourished. The causes of the food insecurity in the country have been linked to the longstanding drought as well as the devastating Hurricane that was experienced in the country in 2016. Due to the food security status in the country, other sectors in the government have been affected for instance there has been poor economic growth as well as the national stability. Currently, FEWS has established itself in Haiti in the attempt to monitor the food security in the country (Ivers, et al. 33).

Undeniably, Haiti has been on the receiving end for some of the natural disasters which include the droughts, floods, earthquakes as well as the hurricanes. Some may claim that the country is condemned to suffer from such disasters. However, consequences as a result of these disasters are to a large degree attributed to the country's vulnerability to them. This vulnerability to the natural disasters is all closely linked to the human policies as well as the international policies. This is to mean that this situation could be mended if there exists a political will.

In Haiti, rice is the staple food and much of this consumed rice is imported from the United States. Back in the days, the country could grow its own rice and relied little on the importation. Currently, the country faces high food prices due to the reduced food access as well as the importation. A large population is undernourished. According to Ivers, et al drought is one of the contributing factors to the reduced foods in Haiti (Godfray, et al 816).

The Famine Early Warning Systems Network in Haiti noticed that there were drought cases in June this year which negatively affected the spring crops including maize and beans. This has led to crop losses thus being the cause of drought in the country. Undoubtedly, drought is one of the most disturbing and less comprehended weather phenomena. The difficulty in predicting the weather worsens the situation.

According to Jones, Ngure, Pelto, and Young, the cornerstone for efficient drought policy lies in the timely and reliable information (483). This is where Famine Early Warning Systems Network comes in. FEWS has been monitoring on the drought conditions with the main aim of building resilience to drought in Haiti. Jones, et al. advises that need to reexamine the current focus on humanitarian response to offer a long-term solution to the drought crisis in the country.

For the 2016 spring season, The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) launched an operation to aid the hunger-stricken communities, especially in northern Haiti. More than one million people received food donations as well as cash donations. Although famine was averted in the country in the same year, the northern communities of Haiti are becoming less resilient as well as more vulnerable to hunger. FEWS is aiming towards making Haiti a hunger-free country in late 2018. Most of the communities were hoping for rains but surprisingly, this has not been the case. To date, the skies are crystal clear, with no signs of the rains as well as the favorable weather conditions. What has resulted is that the citizens of Haiti have begun appealing for aid in various humanitarian organizations (Jones, et al. 482).

In my own opinion, the early warning systems in Haiti are to some extent effective but more support from for instance from the donors and the humanitarian organizations is required. I claim that FEWS was effective in its operations as, despite the hunger issues in Haiti early this year, the markets had a good supply of the local products through these products were imported. Additionally, in terms of the crops price, there was the reduction of the crops price, for instance, the price of the local corn fell by 4 % and this was between May and June 2018. The price of the beans in the market remained relatively stable. The price of the rice remains an issue of concern, as it is still high (Jones, et al. 495).

Both the communication and information technologies could be harnessed to fight the global problem of food insecurity. E-agriculture could be a priority in this case. It is via the e-agriculture that the community members could become aware of the market prices, the weather forecasts as well as receive farming advice. This could be through the short messaging service (SMS), where the citizens could receive the texts in their local languages. Additionally, the citizens could go online to find news on the weather predictions as well as learn about new techniques in farming (Jones, et al.501).

ICT tools could also be employed and these include the stand-alone sensors for the measuring of the air temperature, the humidity as well as the atmospheric pressure. Satellites could also be applied with the combinations of other aspects such as the soil science. This, for instance, could provide detailed digital soil conditions all important in the fighting food insecurity.

Conclusion

Undeniably, the early warning systems are efficient when translated into the early action. It is essential for the donors, the humanitarian agencies and the government to develop policies that effectively ensures that action is taken as a result of early warning systems information. The governments could consider investing heavily in modern technology in order to respond to the food insecurity concerns. It is worth noting that in today's world, people are not purely hungry for food but also hungry for timely information and the technological skills essential for the preparation in cases of food insecurity. The traditional early warning systems such as observing the stars, the trees and reading the intestines of the goat no longer. Every individual should be connected and have first-hand information to official scientific early warning systems.

Works Cited

Godfray, et al. "Food security: the challenge of feeding 9 billion people." Science 327.20 (2010): 812-818.

Ivers, et al. "Food assistance with improved body mass index, food security and attendance at clinic in an HIV program in central Haiti: A prospective observational cohort study." AIDS research And Therapy 7.1 (2010): 33.

Jones, et al. "What are we assessing when we measure food security? A compendium and review of current metrics." Advances in Nutrition 5.4 (2013): 481-505.