what causes famine
some facts about famine
Famines develop when countries aren’t able to grow or provide enough food during difficult times.
Some facts about famine:
- Famines rarely happen because of a single event. They are often the result of many years of struggling to grow food in a harsh environment.
- Famine doesn’t usually cause the deaths of whole communities. Instead, it’s often children and old people who suffer from disease and malnutrition. They are the most vulnerable.
- Different factors can trigger famine – the choice of crops planted, ineffective farming techniques, political systems and civil wars.
- Famine is not the same as drought. Some countries provide enough food in spite of having little water. Famine happens when people don’t have the skills to cope during extreme natural conditions like drought.
- Lack of food leaves people weak and unable to work. Hunger makes people more likely to catch diseases.
what causes hunger?
Famine is when a large percentage of the people in a region or country have a severe shortage of food. But there doesn’t have to be a famine for people to go hungry.
- Crops don’t grow if there is no rain and families can't feed themselves.
- People who are poor can’t buy food when their crops fail. They have nothing to fall back on.
- Conflict is another major cause of hunger. Wars destroy farms and fields. Farmers may be killed. People have to leave their homes and farms and live somewhere else. Less food is produced in times of war.
- The HIV/AIDS pandemic has left many farmers sick and unable to grow food.
World Vision works with communities to help people produce enough food to survive, or earn enough to buy it. Their overall aim is to assist people to feed themselves, even in times of drought or famine.
simple solutions
There are many solutions to food insecurity, depending on what causes it in the first place. Often it’s simple things that make a difference.
- In dry areas, simple mechanical water pumps powered by foot are used to pump water into irrigation channels.
- Farmers can be trained how to store food for long periods so it is safe from rats or pests. This will help them get through the dry season.
- People who diversify their crops and grow food in vegetable gardens next to their houses will be better equipped during difficult times.
- Keeping small animals such as chickens and goats is another thing that helps. These are easy to look after, relatively cheap, and provide a source of income and food.
rice to the rescue
Sruen Yan and her family were looking forward to harvest time. They had grown lots of corn in their field in Cambodia. They also had 1,000 fish in their pond that they were fattening. And Sruen Yan’s mum, Tai Yien, had chickens and ducks that she was going to sell.
The corn and fish would feed the family all year round. And they could earn money from selling what they didn’t need. The family planned to buy a bicycle and new clothes for the children to wear to school. Sruen Yan, aged nine, could hardly wait.
But sadly their dreams turned into a nightmare. A flood destroyed nearly everything the family owned. When the water started rising, they tried to rescue the crops from their field. But there was nothing they could do. And that night, all the fish escaped from their pond during the flood.
Their house is built on stilts, so at least they had somewhere to live. But now they had no way to earn money. Sruen Yan’s dad, Logn Srey, cut down trees to sell for firewood. He had to dive under the water to get to them – not very easy!
But fortunately World Vision had started working in their village. They gave Sruen Yan and her family 25kg of rice and 25kg of rice seed. The rice gave the family something to eat. And the rice seed meant that they could plant again for the future.
Now the rice is growing well in their field. They hope to harvest 1000kg of rice. And Sruen Yan’s oldest sister has opened a coffee shop next to their house as a way of earning extra money.
World Vision is also helping to build roads to help villagers get around, and canals to make it easier to water their crops.
Bamader lives in Chad, which has been hit by famine. The family grows sorghum in their garden, which helps them survive.
Sruen Yan in the family’s rice fields after the flood.