Growing up, cereal was probably my favorite food. All the worst kinds too. Waffle Crisp. Trix. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Bowl after bowl, slurp after slurp, my brothers and I would go through a gallon of milk a day.

So the word cereal for me is tied to what you put in a bowl and pour milk over and then eat while watching cartoons.

Source: Giphy

More broadly speaking, cereal is a type of grass cultivated for its various grains. Maize (Africa), rice (Asia), wheat (western nations) and barley are the four most prominent cereals.

Production of these four cereals has quadrupled or quintupled since the 1960s.

Today, cereals provide more energy worldwide (two-thirds of all consumed energy!) than any other food source and have been central in the fight to end extreme poverty.

Maize, rice and wheat are staple foods for 4 billion people. In Africa, 46 percent of energy intake comes from grains, compared to 26 percent in Europe.

Last year, global cereal production reached a record high. 2.5 billion tons of cereal were produced, a 0.3 percent increase from the year before, allowing storage of wheat to rise to its highest levels since 2000.

Despite apprehension of El Niño, cereal production is expected to remain strong this year, declining by only 1.1 percent from last year’s high.

This does not mean that every country is cruising along with a brimming bowl in hand.

The why and where of food insecurity

34 countries remain vulnerable to food insecurity, 28 of which are in Africa, and a growing number of refugees means more vulnerability.

Here are some of the most affected countries:

1) Zimbabwe
An extended dry season in Africa is expected to trigger declines in cereal production across the continent, except in Central and North Africa, with some countries facing steep drops.

Countries that import more grains than they export will be the most adversely affected.

Zimbabwe, a cereal-deficit country, is expected to see output fall by half of 2014 levels. The country grows maize, wheat, barley, groundnuts and soybeans for consumption. Major exports are tobacco, sugar and cotton--reliance on non-cereal products makes the economy vulnerable to regional food shortages.


Zimbabwe’s cattle industry, an important part of the economy, has suffered due to grain shortages.

This is at a time when more and more people expect their meat consumption to shift from occasional to routine, from once a month to once a day, meaning more and more cereals are needed to feed cows, pigs, goats, etc.

2) Central African Republic and the Dominican Republic of Congo
Security issues in these countriescancel out otherwise favorable weather conditions.

3) South Sudan
South Sudan has 4.6 million people, doubled from the beginning of 2015, facing food insecurity due to escalating conflict.

The country has a broad history of pastoral life and has many agricultural resources, but only 4.5 percent of available land is cultivated, leading the country to depend on foreign imports.

South Sudan is currently trying to court foreign agricultural investors to complement small farmers who constitute 80 percent of cereal production, but instability makes the country unattractive.

4) Yemen
Some countries are so roiled by conflict that food production has all but stopped.

Yemen currently houses 12.9 million food insecure people. 6.1 million are in a state of hunger “emergency.”

Image: Imgur

Yemen has never been a lush wilderness. 90 percent of the country is semi-arid and desert.

The country does have a broad coastline, though, which in peacetime fosters the country’s second biggest industry behind oil, fishing.

Shoring up food insecurity

Cereal production remains robust throughout the world and adverse conditions this year could give way to promising conditions next year. So the challenge remains: how does the world fill the deficits that exist today?

In crisis countries, humanitarian agencies have to intervene. Battered infrastructure and faltering economies make it necessary for experts to fill food gaps.

Elsewhere, subsidies should combat food costs that rise due to inflation and transportation. When a country’s agriculture is threatened, incomes fall and everything becomes more expensive.

In countries such as South Sudan, farmland has to be put to more effective use. Citizens, especially women, have to be trained and empowered to cultivate their own plots.

Food waste is also a major problem that can be resolved with more accountable distribution systems.

Get involved and increase food security around the world by signing the petition to increase US funding for food security in TAKE ACTION NOW.

Editorial

Defeat Poverty

Flowing cereal is key to ending hunger

By Joe McCarthy