One of the major agendas of the United Nations in the Sustainable Development Goals is eradicating hunger and poverty worldwide. This agenda is targeted to be achieved in 2030. The SDGs are a series of UN programs that seek to prosper life in world countries with a sustainable economy and maintain the preservation of the earth and peace in the world. This program has been formed and implemented since 2015, initially the UN targets and efforts in eradicating hunger and poverty went well, the development curve showed an increase until at the end of 2019 the global was blocked by a pandemic that was endemic throughout the world, along with the spread of the virus, global warming and climate change which have long been a shared world problem also continue to skyrocket, efforts to control geothermal by 1.5 degrees have not been comparable to the increase in global warming rates which are higher than that number, even some scientists predict higher heat increases every year. Not only that, at the beginning of 2022 the world was again shocked by the war between Russia and Ukraine. The war between the two countries plays an important role in the stability of world energy and food because the two countries at war are exporters of energy and basic materials. The thing that needs to be understood is that the threat of food security is getting bigger from day to day with various interrelated causes such as the food chain.
World Hunger Index Repot
Based on a report by the Global Network Against Food Crises, the risk due to rising global food prices is the biggest catalyst for the increase in the number of people who are hungry in the world. The number of hungry people around the world will jump by 25 percent in 2021 from the previous year. About 50 countries in the world are facing serious hunger levels. In 2020, around 2.4 billion people were reported to have lost access to nutritious food, this number is almost equivalent to a third of the human population from the previous 320 million. A recent report on the Global Hunger Index (GHI) released by Welthungerlife and Concern Worldwide indicates that “the fight against hunger is very far off track. As on its website, Greenpeace writes that at least 276 people in the world are currently at risk of food shortages worldwide. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that world food prices rose by around 30%.
The increase in world food prices since the last 10 years has defeated many parties, with an increase since the pandemic, then war adding to the crush of the global economy. The atmosphere of the price of goods that go up high and then fall only a little, has become an open secret that is always wary of. The figure of 30% is actually not a big thing, but the thing that becomes a ghost is when the increase is not followed by good economic growth, this causes efforts to achieve food and nutritional needs to also weaken.
Understanding the Triple Cause of Food Security Threats
Although the price of basic foodstuffs is not as expensive as gold or energy and other valuables, humans will not be able to survive long in nature without an adequate food supply. Staple food is human fuel that must be obtained for activities and survival. If we return to the food chain, humans who are the top inhabitants of the food chain will not be able to survive without producers and consumers, if the previous chain is disrupted, then the last inhabitants of the chain will also be threatened. Food is the primary producer early in the food chain. What is currently being experienced are several conditions related to this first producer, if we look at two scenarios that are currently taking place First, the food and food supply is there and sufficient if circulated, but it is stuck in one place so that it becomes a scarcity which then results in a high purchase value, eventually creating a situation where there is weak purchasing power which ends in starvation. Second, the situation where food is not available, even though there is very limited. This is usually caused by the weakness of nature in producing food for humans. The first scenario has a tendency to be temporary, in a matter of months at most. As for the second condition, it could take years or even more. Therefore, until now there are three factors that threaten food and global hunger
- Climate Crisis
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2021 report has explained that global warming results in climate and weather changes. The stages of the climate crisis that can affect food can be explained as follows: Initially, CO2 emissions increased and the earth’s temperature rose. With the increase in the earth’s temperature, it causes hydrometeorological disasters such as floods, droughts and heat waves. These disasters certainly do not exist in the cycle of calculating agricultural time, as a result of changing planting time, reduced soil fertility, pests and plant diseases are rampant, farmers’ productivity is also reduced which in turn causes crop failure and food prices soar. This has been experienced by Indi in April-May 2022. India, which is a wheat exporting country after Ukraine was forced to close wheat exports, was hit by a heat wave that resulted in crop failures and reduced production.
- Plagues and Infectious Diseases
The enduring outbreak resulted in supply chain damage and restrictions to stem the spread of the outbreak (Covid-19). This causes a decrease in food security for the poor in urban and rural areas because, when an epidemic can hamper the spread of food and agricultural activities, it will cause food prices at the consumer level to rise, while prices at the producer level are low.
- Conflict and War
Even before the Russo-Ukrainian war broke out, the conflict had become a vicious circle. The Hunger Index report reveals that 8 out of 10 countries with an alarming or very worrying level of hunger are the main driving factor is conflict. When conflicts and wars occur, fields are destroyed, livestock will be stolen, scarcity and limited access to food will cause conflict in the community.
Food Security in Indonesia
According to data from the Global Food Security Index (GFSI), Indonesia’s food security in 2021 will indeed weaken compared to the previous year.
GFSI recorded that Indonesia’s food security index score in 2020 reached the level of 61.4. However, in 2021 the index fell to 59.2. The index makes Indonesia’s food security in 2021 ranked 69th out of 113 countries.
Just like at the global level, Indonesia is also experiencing being haunted by hunger. Crop failure due to hydrometeorology, reduced imports of staple goods such as wheat and soybeans due to war are challenges for this agrarian country. Even though Indonesia has a tropical climate, some of the basic household food needs are imported from various countries. Although it is not yet felt so severe, the current triple threat of global food security is an important alarm for Indonesia to become food independent and have food security and sovereignty, because in essence Indonesia is a fertile tropical country. The climate in Indonesia makes it possible to grow crops throughout the season, this is a capital that other countries do not have. Food is the most crucial thing in human life, especially the people of Indonesia, while sugar, rice, corn and soybeans, which are native Indonesian commodities, still have to be imported to meet domestic needs.
Toward SDGs 2030 The United
Nations targets zero hunger by 2030, ending hunger, achieving food security, and improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. With the current uncertain conditions, the best possible way to control food stability is to meet food needs on a small scale, either on a family, regional or local scale (respectively), not depending on other countries. . This may not have a big impact, but if it is done it will accelerate the achievement of the SDGs goals, especially countries that have tropical climates, mostly developing countries like Indonesia, should be able to become centers of food security. However great a country is, it still can’t always be a place to depend. Although the SDGs are a UN program for the world, food security and good nutrition are the rights of every individual living in the world.
