The problems of development ( advencement raising quality of life in Africa - Research Paper Example

“In the midst of the election process, the people in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) are in danger. Why? Because of the fighting between the army and the militia groups. The United Nations World Food Programme sounds the alarm.” (Food Crisis in Congo) There is very wrong perception of the rich people that there is no food shortage in the world and this is because they have all the luxuries in the world, but they have just noticed the sharp increase in food price. However, food is becoming a scarce resource and this increase in prices is a result of food crisis which is one of the most important global issues.

According to The Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (OXFAM), there are 967 billion people who do not have enough amount of food to eat (2008). It is found that the global food crisis exists because of several causes. Oil crisis is one of the main factors which have a direct impact on the food crisis, the prices of food transportation and agricultural fertilizers have increased because of the oil crisis and the same directly affects the food crisis. Population growth is another cause especially in middle class countries such as India the same has led to an increase in the demand of meat that apply more grain in order to be produced than other commodities.

Climate change has also affected food production where drought covered several parts of the world such as south Asia. Trade is another cause of food crisis because imported goods might be cheaper than goods produced in the country, so poor farmers are forced to reduce the price of their products. Finally, Biofuel production is considered as one of the biggest causes of food crisis since the price of food has increased at the same time as biofuel production has increased. The food crisis not only affects the developing countries but it has also started taking a toll on the developed countries.

This essay considers the responses to food crisis in Congo which is a developing country in South Africa. To understand this issue, we fist need to explain the reasons for food crisis in Congo. Then, we will discuss and evaluate the current responses to this problem there. Finally, other appropriate responses to solve the food crisis in Congo will be presented. As a poor developing country in Africa, Congo has been suffering from economical Decline since its independence from the British in the year 1980, and this is exactly the main factor for food crisis.

Weak economical situation in Congo brings about less than 30 per cent of employment as a result of which, hunger expands in the country and more people live in extreme poverty (IRIN, 2008). 5.5 billion dollars as dept on the Congo government to be paid to other countries, this goes to show how fragile the Congo government is. According to the same source, irregular and delays in dept payment led some countries to stop trade with the Congo government. Many areas in Congo receive less rain than before which results in less food production (Care, n.d). For instance, maize, which is the stable food in Congo, harvests declined by one third from the production ten years ago (IRIN 2, 2008).

Even in areas where it rains regularly, many people are still hungry because farmers do not have enough amounts of seed and fertilizer to cover the demand (Famine Early Warning System Network, 2008). Now it is clear that economical decline, unemployment,