zero hunger

Food security exists “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”. The most frequent cause for hunger is poverty; so people don’t have adequate income to purchase or produce enough food for themselves and their families. In addition, if there is inadequate investment in agricultural research, training and/or infrastructure, food production is likely to decline instead of increase. This happens if farmers lack access to improved seeds, fertilizers, pesticides due to lack of money and if they also lack knowledge and information on how to use what they have effectively and efficiently.

Farmers can also lack the needed skills to protect food crops in the fields as well as the needed skills to process and store food. Also, inappropriate land-use can damage natural resources. It is crucial to invest in human resources, meaning putting their knowledge and information at the center of agricultural and development efforts to enhance food sustainability and fight hunger.

In light of the pandemic’s effects on the food and agricultural sector, prompt measures are needed to ensure that food supply chains are kept alive to mitigate the risk of large shocks that have a considerable impact on everybody, especially on the poor and the most vulnerable. 

Universities, are major stakeholders in this issue, since they have the access to research, information, and international collaborations to assess, analyze, and help resolve the issues that are related to agriculture. Universities can also assess the requirements of the local and national economies and leverage their internal facilities, collaborate with other educational institutions, and other local organizations, to fight hunger. KAU, and as part of its social responsibility, is taking the needed measures to fight hunger through conducting research in agricultural topics, providing the farmers and food producers with the needed information and knowledge, as well as the needed access to facilities and tools that they may need to fulfill food production.

Sustainability Development Goal 2, "Zero Hunger", seeks to end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round. This is very important because extreme hunger and malnutrition remains a barrier to sustainable development and creates a trap from which people cannot easily escape. Hunger and malnutrition mean less productive individuals, who are more prone to disease and thus often unable to earn more and improve their livelihoods. Food security requires a multi-dimensional approach – from social protection to safeguard safe and nutritious food especially for children - to transforming food systems to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable world. There will need to be investments in rural and urban areas and in social protection so poor people have access to food and can improve their livelihoods.

Universities can make changes in people's lives, whether on campus or in the community, supporting local farmers or markets and making sustainable food choices, supporting good nutrition for all, and fighting food waste. Universities can also use their social power as a consumer, to demand businesses and governments to make the choices and apply the necessary changes that would empower Zero Hunger.

Hence, KAU, and as part of its responsibility in this aspect, is striving to:

• Prevent all forms of malnutrition to everyone on campus, by availing the nutritional needs for all.

• Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems.

• Increase investment, including through enhanced international cooperation, in agricultural research and extension services, and technology development in order to enhance agricultural productive capacity in the Kingdom, as well as other developed countries.

• Adopt measures to ensure the proper usage of food for the sake of reducing food waste.

KAU Efforts towards Zero Hunger

The below areas explain, in details, how KAU is approaching this SDG while enhancing aspects related to Zero Hunger.