Causes of Famine: Poverty, Politics, and Food Security
This paper examines the multifaceted causes of famine in developing regions, with particular attention to Africa and countries such as Kenya. It explores how natural disasters, political instability, poverty, trade barriers, corruption, and unequal food distribution combine to create food crises. The paper also considers structural barriers to famine relief, the role of agricultural technology such as the Green Revolution, soil degradation, and the broader dynamics of globalization and economic inequality. It concludes that famine persists not simply due to food scarcity, but because of systemic failures in governance, planning, and international cooperation.
- Introduction to Famine and Its Complexity: Defines famine and outlines its known causes
- Major Causes and Contributing Factors: Examines poverty, war, politics, and relief barriers
- Famine in Africa: Focuses on African famines and Kenya's food crises
- Food Access, Entitlement, and Economic Inequality: Analyzes economic and social dimensions of food access
- Agricultural Technology, Soil Degradation, and Globalization: Reviews Green Revolution, soil loss, and global poverty
- Conclusion: Reflects on political barriers to ending famine
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- It organizes a wide range of causes into a coherent framework, distinguishing between primary causes (drought, war, politics) and secondary consequences (migration, conflict over resources).
- It draws on concrete regional examples, such as Kenya's North Eastern and Eastern provinces, to ground abstract arguments in specific human realities.
- It balances environmental, political, and economic dimensions, showing that famine is a systemic problem rather than a simple shortage of food.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper employs a causal chain analysis, tracing how primary triggers such as drought or war generate secondary consequences such as migration and price shocks, which in turn compound the original crisis. This layered approach helps readers understand why famine is classified as a "complex emergency" rather than a single-cause event.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a definition of famine and a brief overview of its known causes. It then deepens the analysis by examining barriers to relief, regional case studies in Africa and Kenya, the economics of food entitlement, and the role of agricultural technology and globalization. A short conclusion reflects on why political diversity and governance failures make famine difficult to eradicate.
Introduction to Famine and Its Complexity
Despite the enormous technological advances of the last 50 years, famine remains a feature of everyday life in many poorer regions, mainly developing or third-world countries. In principle, a famine is an incident in which a large percentage of the population of a region or country goes hungry and death by starvation becomes increasingly widespread (Famine, 2006).
Famine is known to be caused by a variety of factors, including natural disasters such as floods, drought, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes; overpopulated areas that are not capable of feeding their inhabitants; poor health facilities; lack of aid from other countries; and governments that manage their resources poorly (Famine, n.d.).
Famine does not simply happen — there is always a cause behind it. Some of these causes are apparent, such as war, drought, or flooding. Rarely, if ever, is there only a single cause of a food emergency. Famines are regularly described as complex emergencies because they have many causes and consequences. One way to analyze these disasters is in terms of a primary cause, such as politics, war, or drought, and secondary or resulting causes, such as migration, which are themselves consequences of the primary causes. Drought, for example, often causes people to move to other areas, which can then create food shortages and conflict in those receiving areas (FitzGibbon and Hennessy, 2003).
Create your account
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.