Hunger and conflict

"Conflict is one of the most common causes of food insecurity. Conversely, food insecurity may lead to or exacerbate conflict, particularly when compounded by other shocks and stresses.

Armed conflict often prevents farmers from producing food and cuts off access to food by disrupting transport, trade and markets. According to FAO, conflict in sub-Saharan Africa resulted in losses of almost US$52 billion in agricultural output between 1970 and 1997. For all developing countries, average losses in agricultural production were estimated at US$4.3 billion per year - enough to have raised the food intake of 330 million undernourished people to the minimum required levels.

While the impact of conflict on food security can be identified and quantified with some degree of certainty, the way in which food insecurity contributes to conflict is more indirect. What can be documented is that food insecurity and conflict tend to be prevalent in the same locations (see graph) and that they are both consequences of a common set of risk factors.

One example of these common risk factors is environmental scarcity. Depletion or degradation of natural resources, population pressure and unequal distribution and access can trigger competition for increasingly scarce land, water and other resources. This heightened competition can, in turn, spur hungry farmers to abandon sustainable methods and exploit marginal lands. When this process leads to deepened poverty, large-scale migration, sharpened social cleavages and weakened institutions, the depleted environment and resulting food insecurity become fertile ground for conflict." [3]