Hello! there reader, I trust you’re doing well. I would like to pose a question to you. It goes like this; do you think the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 is achievable?
For those who don’t know, SDG 2 seeks to end hunger in all forms by 2030 and also to achieve food security. So basically, zero hunger and food security. But why am I asking this question? First and foremost, let it be clear that I’m not against the idea of zero hunger, I fully support it, but with how things are currently going in this country and abroad, I am sceptical about the achievement of this said goal.
Let me share with you why I am not easily convinced about the achievement of SDG 2.
Currently, there is a fertiliser crisis. There is a global shortage of fertilizer which has, in turn, led to an increase in fertilizer prices. Farmers are not getting the required fertilizer to produce food crops that are of good quality. The keyword here is needed because farmers can decide to substitute the inorganic fertilizers (chemicals) with organic (animal droppings) and Compost. Using these the crops would grow alright but won’t produce better yields.
Before the Russia-Ukraine conflict, global food prices were already higher than in the past 10 years, driven by factors such as climate change variability and extremes, and the COVID-19 pandemic, all of which led to food systems and supply chain disruptions.
The food price instability, fueled by the conflict, further risks reversing development progress and making it more difficult to attain food and nutrition security goals in many countries that are already experiencing high levels of food and nutrition insecurity. The current food prices are already at a 10-year high and will continue to increase if the war-induced global food supply chain disruptions continue.
There is an increased need for strengthening food security and price monitoring mechanisms. The poor and vulnerable populations, who are already reeling from the economic brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic, which induced income and livelihood losses, stand to be severely affected by food price hikes fueled by the conflict.
These are my personal reasons why I don’t believe SDG 2 can be achieved by 2030. Maybe 2099 sure but definitely not 2030 you may think, 2030 is far but we have just eight more years to go. Who knows I may be wrong, but according to a poll conducted on the question of interest, a total of 63% of the respondents voted for NO (it cannot be achieved) whilst a total of 38% of the respondents voted for yes (it can be achieved). Well