Introduction
Africa is the world’s second-largest and second-most-populous continent, covering 20.4 percent of Earth’s total land area (Fima. L, 2009), with rich natural resources and lots of mighty rivers.
In this essay, three main factors causing low food production in Eastern Africa will be analysed and discussed. Firstly, rapid growth of population in Africa is responsible for degradation and soil erosion, decline of the land’s ability to recovery, and retain productivity. The unpredictable droughts or floods also introduce high levels of risk into farming, particularly in food production (Mortimore. M. 2005). In addition, limited smallholder agriculture and agricultural investment are also the main concerns that are causing the low food production in Africa. Other concerns including limited agricultural science and technological skills as well as the unreformed land tenure will also be discussed briefly in this essay.
Rapid growth in population leading to land degradation
First of all, it is important to understand about the percentage growth in population in Africa. One statistic obtained by United Nations Environment Programme (2011) indicated that the population of Eastern Africa has doubled since 1960. According to Table 1, the total population is gradually increasing from 377 million to 965 million from 1961 to 2007 and Eastern Africa has the greatest population increase from 111 million to 303 million.
In terms of the World’s per capita food consumption of
Like many other continents in the world Africa has a lot of differences in itself for example there are differences in geography ,language, politics, religion and other things in life due to Africa’s lack of political government over an extended period of time.
Environmental factors are a factor that affect living and nonliving organisms and have participated in Ethiopia’s problem in food deficiency and food insecurity. A large environmental factor that can affect food deficiency and food insecurity is natural hazards and disasters. These can include droughts and floods which can upset agricultural production. For example, grain production and stocks are very low and droughts have hit harvests in grain-producing areas around the world. A more specific example for Ethiopia is that because of Ethiopia’s seasonal rainfall from mid-June to mid-September, soil erosion and
Africa is the second largest continent in the world that was shaped 550 million years ago. Houses 800 million people that speak more than one-thousand languages and regional dialects. I was amazed that the native people of this region could speak many different languages. Africa is known for its vegetation, rainfall, mineral resources, and topography. The vast majority of its geography is grassland and woodlands that support the migration of animals and livestock. There must be warm weather and rainfall, which is heavily relied upon for vegetation. The largest river that flows upward, but has a span that runs from the top of Africa to the bottom is called the Nile River. Africa is mostly recognized for its enormous enriched deposits of mineral resources. Learning about the importance of Africa is truly exceptional. Whenever someone thinks about Africa the first thought is, this is where blacks come from. People don’t talk about how wealthy Africa is nor do they shed positive light on this region. This continent is thought to be poor and a developing country, but this the ideal place for humankind to emerge. Although, I was unaware of the mitochondrial DNA tree study I was mind-blown. This study shows
Although some may think of Africa as being of a single climate and terrain description, in reality a wide variety of land types can be found throughout Africa. How does this wide variety of climates and physical terrains affect human life and settlement patterns on the African continent? Different terrains and climates allowed for different lifestyles for Africans in different regions. Those close to the sea were susceptible to invasion, but had the advantage of maritime trade. Those living more in land were isolated but protected by the diseases visitors would contract that did not affect the locals. Due to the fact that Africa is so massive, it has many
Africa is one of the most prominent continents among all others in the world. Due to its unique culture and historical background, it has been a centre of attraction for many scientists and archaeologists. It is one of the most blessed continents with regards to human and natural resources and stands unique containing the world’s largest dessert Sahara. There is no denial of the fact that Africa stands as the second largest and the second most densely populated continent of the world. It has been recognized throughout the world and has the highest percentage of youngest population and had about 54 countries across the continent. Scientists believe that it as the place where human kind has started to originate. This continent is culturally diverse as it has many countries in it. Africa has been a centre of consideration for historians and archaeologists due to its ancient development and diversified history. It has remained under the rule of many prominent nations of the world including Romans, Arabs and Portugal. It is a place
When learning about the history of the world, we can not ignore the fact that Africa plays a significant role. Many believe that Africa is the birth place of all races, and although that is true, the history and cultures of Africa and its natives are misunderstood among Americans. People do not take the time to expand their knowledge about Africa, yet they create their own perceptions of the continent based upon the image that America created. America creates this stereotype that Africa is inferior to the other continents by picturing them as savage like individuals who live an insufficient life. To truly understand Africa, you must understand these two important elements: the demographics of Africa and the true history of Africa
Food is a necessary part of ever individual’s daily life. Without food, the body cannot function properly, resulting in poor health, exhaustion, and even death by starvation. Therefore, food insecurity continues to be an international global epidemic. The journal article by Harrigan suggests that the citizens of the Sub-Saharan African country of Malawia are in further poverty due to their lack of food and agricultural resources. The newspaper article from the Guardian tells the real life story of African citizens struggling to farm and find food due to the crop shortages that have spanned Africa for the past two years. This is a current global issue, and the journal and news article prove that there is much to be done in order to help restore
When you watch commercials depicting starvation in African countries like Mali, do you wonder what it would actually take to end hunger? Plenty of answers appear successful in concept, but have unforeseen complications, such as building factories in Africa to produce and process biofuels. And other obstacles such as civil wars, poor sanitation, and massive debt keep countries like Democratic Republic of the Congo from advancing. Maybe we complicate the solution to the hunger crisis by focusing on economy instead of food sustainability. Before a country can advance economically and technologically, it has to be able to feed its inhabitants. Therefore, by altering the crops currently grown in the African savannas to create agricultural sustainability, it will diminish hunger, and lead to economic growth.
Africa is a continent and it is considered to be the second largest continent after Asia. The continent has the second largest population with an estimated number of 1.2billion inhabitants and has 54 countries being divided into sub-regions which is made up of Eastern, Central, Northern, Southern and Western. However, there are over thousand languages and which been classified into four largest family’s languages such as Afro-Asiatic, Nilo-Saharan, Niger-Congo and Khoi-San. According to the United Nation’s population prognostication, Africa has the world’s youngest population and it expected to be doubled to 2billion by 2050. During the 16th century the Europeans came to occupied the African continent in the form colonization. Colonization
One of the biggest problem in today’s world is the struggle of African Countries and others. Seventy-five percent of the world’s poorest countries are located in Africa. Approximately one in three people living in Africa are undernourished and millions even lack the opportunity to have clean water. Only around twenty percent of women in Africa have access to education. This data proves that modern world
Beginning with demography, the population of sub-Saharan Africa is 973.4 million individuals. Sub-Saharan Africa averaged about 239 million people that were hungry or malnourished in 2010 (Africa Hunger and Poverty Facts). The largest proportion of its population is malnourished, meaning one out of three people are starving. In 2008, 47 percent of the population lived on $1.25 or less every day (Africa Hunger and Poverty Facts). The sub-Saharan has had the largest population growth rate and has grown from 221 million to 1 billion.
Analysis predict that if uninterrupted Africa’s population will jump from the 511 million people that it currently has all the way up to 1.433 billion in 2020.
The region is made up of 48 countries with a population of 973.4 million as correct of 2014 (The World Bank). Furthermore, over 60% of that demographic is under 30, showing promise for an increasing working age population. Africa can use this vast labour potential to increase GDP and therefore increase the wealth of the continent.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the second largest of the earth 's seven continents, covering about twenty-two percent of the world 's total land area. From its northern most point, to its southern most tip is the distance of nearly five thousand miles (Frederickson & Fossberg, 2014).
Overpopulation, this is so with any society that largely depends on agriculture, African families are often very large. Most of the elderly rely on their children for support, and as much agriculture in Africa is labor-intensive, large numbers of children provide much needed labor for plowing, planting and harvesting. However, overpopulation is a serious problem in urban areas, which have grown enormously since the beginnings of African independence in the in the late 1950s and later. For example, in 1960, 14.5% of Nigeria's population lived in urban areas, that number had grown to 43% by 2000, and is growing at an estimated 5.5% per year, compared to a 2.9% national population growth rate. This is a trend that can be seen throughout the continent.