NAKUL PARASHAR

DEVELOPMENT

UNSDG Goal 2: Zero Hunger

researches, surveys, and studies show that after decades of steady decline, there has been a gradual increase post-2020 in the global
food supply. But the question looms large whether we would be able to contain the monster and then kill it! The answer can be provided
by none other than the global saviour – mighty science and technology. Would science and technology be able to falsify predictions that
indicate the population affected by hunger would surpass 840 million by 2030? The majority of the starving populace is in Asia followed
by Africa. Nearly one in every ten persons is exposed to severe hunger. Alarming isn’t it?
These challenges in the path of achieving zero-hunger thus continue. Reasons like man-made conflicts, climate change,
unprecedented pandemic, and economic downturns continue to top the list of such challenges. Recent studies reveal that the COVID-19
pandemic has put an additional 130 million people suffering from hunger by December 2020. In fact, it would not be inappropriate to
say that we are heading towards a quarter billion of the population with acute starvation. Thus, we need nothing but swift actions, both
short-term and long-term ones, to combat this growing global menace. Science and technology, as usual, is the only way for humanity to
fight this growing threat.
Thus, it is important for all of us to understand the salient points of UNSD Goals #2, which is focussed on
achieving Zero Hunger. (see Box)
Science and Technology, as always, has stepped forward to take on any challenge that humanity ever faces.
• 2.1. By 2030 end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations,
including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.
• 2.2. By 2030 end all forms of malnutrition, including achieving by 2025 the internationally agreed targets on stunting and
wasting in children under 5 years of age, and address the nutritional needs of adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women
and older persons.
• 2.3. By 2030 double the agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers, in particular women,
indigenous peoples, family farmers, pastoralists and fishers, including through secure and equal access to land, other
productive resources and inputs, knowledge, financial services, markets and opportunities for value addition and non-farm
employment.
• 2.4. By 2030 ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase
productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change,
extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters, and that progressively improve land and soil quality.
• 2.5. By 2020 maintain the genetic diversity of seeds, cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated animals and their
related wild species, including through soundly managed and diversified seed and plant banks at the national, regional and
international levels, and promote access to and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic
resources and associated traditional knowledge, as internationally agreed.
• 2.A. Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in rural infrastructure, agricultural
research and extension services, technology development and plant and livestock gene banks in order to enhance agricultural
productive capacity in developing countries, in particular least developed countries.
• 2.B. Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets, including through the parallel
elimination of all forms of agricultural export subsidies and all export measures with equivalent effect, in accordance with
the mandate of the Doha Development Round.
• 2.C. Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their derivatives and facilitate
timely access to market information, including on food reserves, in order to help limit extreme food price volatility.
Source: https://indicators.report/goals/goal-2/
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dream 2047 / february 2021
 For food, agriculture is the prime representative of science and technology. Most of the countries that have gained the objective of
zero or almost no-hunger, have done it through enormous advances in agricultural techniques, plant breeding, and engineering schemes
for irrigation and drainage. India’s figures from the past when compared to the ones today speak volumes of efforts made by the
government in enhancing the production of various crops through newer and improved techniques of agriculture and associated
engineering.
Yet, much more still requires to be done. Improvement in agricultural production and technology, additional research,
improved biofuels, efficient farm produce business practices, educating the masses, and improving the storage facilities are
some major areas that require the immediate attention of those involved in the mission of eradicating hunger from the planet.
In order to enhance agricultural production, factors like quantity and quality requirements of the growing population need
to be balanced with those of the changed dietary requirements of the developed nations due to rising incomes. Striking a
balance between the nations that have and those that do not have or have lesser than the former need to be given due priority.
This is so due to increasing production that should correlate with expanding the caloric output of food and the feed.
From technology standpoint, increased productivity is majorly dependent on it. Researchers have indicated
that the use of biotechnology has played a key role in the growth and efforts made to combat challenges
emanating from the fight against hunger.
Farmers have always had the lead role in combatting the global crisis of hunger. Thus, climate change, which is
an integral part of the farming process, has made its presence felt in discussions related to agriculture, and in
turn our current agenda of zero hunger. We have all witnessed how our weather predictions have improved over a
period of time, thereby enhancing the efficacy of our farming practices. This has resulted in augmented
production of food. At the same time, scientists and technologists have laid emphasis on the production of more
drought-resistant, saline-resistant, and less-thirsty plants for the production of food crops. Besides, efforts to
reduce post-harvest-related losses through improved storage and transportability is yet another important point
in this discussion. Besides quantity, quality improvement through enhanced nutritional content of popular foods
with the help of biofortification is also an ongoing process.
Eradicating hunger from the planet of course is as important as UNSDG #1 (Zero Poverty), and these goals are
linked to each other. Producing adequate quantity and quality of food to meet the requirements through
advancements in science and technology has been found to have acquired notable milestones. Once the quantity
is produced, this produce is required to be sold and made available to the needy in time and at prices affordable
to them. Thus comes the scientific and duly calculated mechanism of setting up minimum support price of the
crop produced. The idea is that while hunger eradication remains the prime objective, the grower is duly
encouraged and rewarded by appropriate pricing. Agricultural produce, whether vegetables or animal produce,
needs adequate storage as well. In India, storage facility through cold storages and other physical storage has
improved over a period of time. Sources reveal that food storage and transportation infrastructure in the country
has also improved over a period of time by leaps and bounds.
In this journey to achieve zero hunger, it is heartening to see how science communication and popularisation have also played
an important role in highlighting this UNSDG through various media types like print, electronic, social, and digital. Instead of
showing pictures that depict the dark side of hunger, science communicators have highlighted the positive side of lush and vast
green fields of wheat and rice that depict growth in food production. At places, science communicators have relayed how
scenarios have changed with the adoption of best practices of farming and agriculture.
To sum up, challenges shall continue to arrive on the scene but as sentinel of human happiness, science and
technology would continue to own its responsibility and stand firm to assist vital UN Sustainable Goals even if
unprecedented challenges like COVID-19 continue to emerge.
Image Courtesy: UN SDG
Dr Nakul Parashar is Director, Vigyan Prasar and also a science writer and communicator. Email: [email protected]