Most people have forgotten the meaning behind traditional or religious festivals

 
77 
January 1, 2020 
67.
 
Agriculture versus hunger 
In spite of the advances made in agriculture, many people around the world still go 
hungry. Why is this the case? What can be done about this problem? 
Recent years have witnessed tremendous developments in agricultural science yet every 
day people all over the world continue to suffer and even die from hunger. In my opinion, 
this is because innovations rarely impact the developing world and the best solution for it 
is to direct humanitarian funding towards these advances. 
The main cause of more advanced agricultural methods not reaching the people who need 
it the most is that the developing world has trouble implementing these methods. There 
are a number of reasons for this ranging from limited financial resources to poor existing 
infrastructure to political instability, depending on the country in question. One example of 
this would be in many African nations, where malnourishment has historically been 
highest. Countries like the Congo have seen revolution after revolution over the last several 
decades, which has effectively destabilised the entire country. The universities where 
students would learn about changes in agriculture are frequently shut down or destroyed. 
The young people who would become agricultural scientists end up drawn into the conflict 
as soldiers or victims. Long-term economic neglect means that the government has very 
limited ability to subsidise farming. These problems are present to varying degrees in 
countries around the world and offer one possible explanation for the continued 
prevalence of hunger. 
The solution that I believe would be most effective is directing humanitarian funds 
previously focused on food aid towards education and agricultural infrastructure. Food aid 
is a notoriously poor solution because it only offers an immediate solution and warlords 
often exploit it to support their continued mistreatment of their people. It hurts more than 
it helps. However, there would be better long-term effects if international organisations 
and governments redirected that money into helping build better farms, provide more 
modern equipment, and sending qualified professions to train people in need. There is a 
TedTalk by a young man in Kenya who built his own windmill out of old bicycle parts and 
by reading a book in the local library. It is large enough to power his own house and he was 
seeking financing for a larger one that would power irrigation channels for the entire 
village. If more people like him can be found or trained then this will have an impact that 
lasts for decades and is relatively impervious to the factors preventing agricultural 
advances from taking root in developing countries. 
In conclusion, developing companies face myriad problems that hinder their ability to take 
advantage of newer agricultural models and we should direct more funding to helping 
these countries learn more about new farming methods. This is likely to be an important 

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Essays From Examiners 
 
78 
January 1, 2020 
issue in the world as the gap between rich and poor, develop and undeveloped widens 
while technological progress continues its indifferent march forward. 

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Essays From Examiners