People around the world are dying of hunger and thirst. The terrible stories of starvation wrench our hearts and our consciences. The easiest solution has been to give food and money to nations entrenched in poverty. These donations have doubtless saved the lives of millions of people worldwide. Yet, is giving food and money away a good long-term solution? There is an old proverb that says, “if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” The worldwide donations of food and money are not sufficient to solve the problem of poverty. Poverty will only be solved when poor nations are given the responsibility and capability to provide for themselves. This paper will examine the need for accountability in the water and food supply of poor nations. It will then suggest that education is crucial in enabling impoverished people to provide for themselves.
The lack of clean water is one key element of impoverished nations. Without water we cannot live. Where clean water is unavailable, water borne diseases, dehydration, and death abound. In an article entitled “The Last Drop”, Michael Specter describes the decrepit state of India’s water supply. Women sit in the sun for hours, waiting for water tankers to come and deliver their only source of clean water. When the tankers arrive, the people who had gotten along peacefully turn into a mob. It’s every woman for herself in a race for life. The nation’s water system is poorly maintained and poorly managed. The government charges almost nothing to farmers for their water. The farmers then waste huge quantities of water. Since the government charges so little for water, they are unable to maintain their pipes. In order to overcome India’s problems, government reform is needed. The solution presented in the article is that the government needs to start charging reasonable prices for water. By increasing prices they will decrease waste and be able to afford to repair the infrastructure.
Specter’s description of the Indian problem demonstrates how personal accountability is needed in order to eliminate poverty. The government attempted to solve poverty by subsidizing the farming industry. By doing this, personal responsibility and accountability was eliminated. If the farmers didn’t have to pay the water bill, they didn’t need to operate their farms efficiently. A business that has to face intense competition will seek to outperform their competitors. Good businesses seek to maximize their profit by making the largest quantity of goods with the lowest costs. By taking away the competition and costs, India’s government took away the incentive to operate efficiently. If these farmers had to pay their own water bill, they would reduce how much they used. They would work to produce as much food as possible at the lowest cost, and so make the most profit. By reducing their water usage, it would alleviate the water supply problems throughout the country. According to Specter, agriculture has always used more water than every other part of society (Specter). By increasing the efficiency of the farming industry, clean water will be more available for the rest of society. Efficiency will only be increased by eliminating the government subsidies on water for farmers. When people are personally accountable for their costs, then the poverty of lacking water will be solved in India.
While agriculture uses more water than other sections of society, the rest of the population needs to be accountable as well. Water prices are subsidized for most of the nation. This does not encourage people to be efficient in their use of it. It also does not supply the government with the money needed to maintain the water supply. The government subsidizes the costs of water because water is considered a human right. Yet by giving out water for free to some, water is actually denied to many more. People must be responsible for themselves. When nations try to solve poverty by supplying necessities for free, they trap their people further in poverty.
A second major aspect of poverty, and the one most commonly thought of, is the lack of food. Impoverished countries are often unable to produce enough food to feed their people. In order to provide enough food, these nations either need increase their agricultural capacity or depend on gifts from other nations. Many developed nations donate food to poor nations. Foreign food donations have saved millions of people from starvation. Shapouri and Rosen reported that “during Somalia’s 1992-93 civil war, food aid contributed to about 70 percent of its consumption (Shapouri and Rosen). Without these food donations, many would have starved. Clearly, donations of food from one nation to another have been crucial in alleviating the hunger faced by many in poverty.
However, donations of food from rich nations to poor nations are not wholly beneficial. Even the USDA, which donates more food than all other nations combined, admits that foreign food donations harm the domestic agriculture industry (Shapouri and Rosen). When foreign food is sold for low prices in poor markets, it drives down the price of food in that nation. Farmers who previously sold grain for one dollar per pound then have to sell for 10 cents per pound. Since farmers cannot cover their costs, they are forced out of business. Since the farmers stop producing food, the nation’s total food supply falls. With a lower food supply, the nation becomes even more dependent on foreign aid. A study by Getaw Tadesse of the University of Life sciences, and Gerald Shively of Purdue University found a direct relation between the amount of food aid received, and the drop in local food prices. They reported, “we find, on average, that a 1% increase in annual per capita food aid reduces monthly prices by as much as 5%. (Tadesse and Shively).” A 5% decline in price means a 5% decline in revenue for local farmers. When large amounts of food aid are received, prices and revenues can drop dangerously.
Giving food to poor nations hap hazardously can be a great detriment to those nations. These nations need to become self-sustaining in their food production. To escape the poverty of hunger, local agriculture needs to expand. The people need to be given responsibility to provide for themselves. Foreign nations do have great ability to help poor nations in this area. Instead of solely donating food, they can contribute the expertise and finances to train and enable farmers to produce more food for themselves. Developed nations can assist poor nations by donating education, training, and capital financing rather than just food. In this way, the population will be given the tools they need to feed themselves. Impoverished nations will escape hunger only when they are given the responsibility and capacity to grow their own food.
Improving education is a key requirement in giving poor nations the capacity to supply their own food and water. In order to escape poverty, poor nations need improved educational systems. When they are educated, they will be able to solve many of the economic problems that keep them trapped in poverty. Education is a key factor in economic development, as proven by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. They analyzed data from 120 countries over thirty years to accurately determine the economic effects of education. They found that a nation where 50% of the population had no education, and 40% had only elementary education had a GDP growth rate of just under 2%. An otherwise identical nation where 50% of the population had elementary education, and the other 50% had a high school education, GDP growth was almost 13% (“Economic Growth”). With just half the population completing high school, and no college education, economic growth would be 6.5 times higher. When there is economic growth, people are more able to purchase their own food. They are more able to purchase their own water. Since they can afford the food and water, local farmers and water suppliers are able to make more money. They are thus able to supply more food and water, decreasing hunger and dehydration throughout the nation. Education is fundamental in enabling people to take responsibility for themselves.
World poverty is a terrible tragedy. The rich nations of the world have often come to the aid of the poor. They have supplied food for millions, saving them from starvation. Yet this aid has not been entirely beneficial. By giving away food and water, people become entrenched further in poverty. To obtain sufficient water in India, the government needs to cut water subsidies and start charging for the water they supply. To increase the world food supply, foreign nations need to start helping poor nations grow their own food rather than just giving it to them. Education is the key in obtaining both clean water and sufficient food. By changing the way that we help the poor, we can actually help them escape poverty, rather than just coping with it.
Works Cited
“Economic Growth in Developing Countries: Education Proves Key.” International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. August 2008. Web. 5 April 2012.
Specter, Michael. “The Last Drop”. The New Yorker. 23 Oct 2006. Web. 26 May 2012.
Shapouri, Shala and Rosen, Stacey. “Fifty Years of U.S. Food Aid and Its Role in Reducing World Hunger”. Amber Waves. USDA. May 2004. Web. 5 April 2012.
Tadesse, Getaw and Shively, Gerald. “Food Aid, Prices, and Producer Disincentives in Ethiopia.” Basis Research Program. University of Wisconsin. June 2010. Web. 5 April 2012.
