FACT: Availability of food is not the primary cause of hunger.

Famines are commonly thought to be caused primarily by a large and sudden drop in food production. But, as Nobel Laureate and economist Amartya Sen points out, huge famines have occurred without such a drastic plummet of food availability in both Asia and Africa. In fact, at times, famines have coincided with years of abundance in foodstuff, as in the Bangladesh famine of 1974. This kind of situation is common even today.

Like other commodities, food is not available free of cost. Very often, during a famine, people lose the purchasing power to buy food—and so, goods remain on store shelves and in warehouses or, if perishable, are tossed away by the truckloads. The causes of famine are often the result of a ripple effect. During a period of severe weather—a drought, for example—farmers may find they have no crops to sell and make money. Landless laborers working on farms may lose their jobs. Small artisans and business owners may find that the drought has destroyed their sources of raw materials with which to produce goods for profit. If there is no form of social security – and this is often the case - then whole communities can experience a collapse in their earnings and face hunger even if food is available in the market. Also, in situations where food is scarce and demand is high, food prices, which are reasonable under normal conditions, skyrocket, leaving those who are poor without the ability to buy food.

What then is needed to tackle hunger caused by famines? It is tempting to argue that the ‘best’ solution is to rush food to famine-affected areas or distribute free food to victims of famine. Such a response stems from thinking that hunger caused by famine is largely due to a decline in food availability. The picture is often more complex.

In the short run, if hunger is caused in part by famine, ensuring that people are able to earn a decent income must be made a priority. This is best done by the government promoting public employment with cash wages. Getting unemployed persons to work not only creates public assets such as roads but also puts cash the hands of people who can then buy food and other goods.

In the long term, many other interventions are needed to prevent famines. It is important to expand overall economic opportunities, increase and diversify food production, and focus on environmental regeneration. It is equally important to end conflicts. Many recent famines in sub-Saharan countries, for instance, in Chad, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Somalia and Sudan have been directly linked with military conflicts affecting the region.

Amartya Sen points out that “in the terrible history of famines in the world, there is hardly any case in which a famine has occurred in a country that is independent and democratic with an uncensored press… The persistence of severe famines in many of the sub-Saharan African countries - both with "left-wing" and "right-wing" governments - relates closely to the lack of democratic political systems and practice.” Public action to prevent famines and starvation tends to be strong in countries where elections are held regularly, politicians are accountable to the public, and the press and media are vigilant. Strengthening the practice of democracy and ensuring that people have to power to affect change have an important role to play in ending and preventing hunger.