GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 75
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
In spite of the advances made in agriculture, many people around the world still go hungry.
Why is this the case?
What can be done about this problem?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
Despite the agricultural revolution and the use of technology to increase food production, millions of people across the globe still do not know when or where their next repast will come from. Many factors such as poverty, unfair distribution of resources, climate change and war contribute to the state of hunger. However, we still can do a lot to reverse it.
Poverty and hunger live in a vicious cycle. People living in poverty most often cannot afford healthy food and don’t have access to decent jobs, which results in malnutrition and severe poverty; which in turn makes it difficult for them to earn more so that they can afford nutritious food. The disparity in resource distributions keep many of people in the world under the poverty line and they struggle to buy food even though markets have enough food items to sell. Secondly, climate change is damaging food production substantially. Floods, droughts, rains, tsunami and other extreme weather can destroy the harvest. In countries like Zambia, hundreds and thousands of people are plagued by hunger because of extreme climates. Besides, wars and conflicts leave their victims to starve. Millions of people abandon their homes and jobs out of terrible fear due to wars. A case in point is Syria, where conflicts have led to mass displacement and left people food-insecure.
There is, however, an array of solutions to global hunger. First of all, education is the best weapon to combat poverty and hunger. This means that it offers job prospects and can help disadvantaged people to ward off their poverty. Therefore, poor people should be taught some specific skills set so that they can earn a decent wage. In addition, we need to carry out adaptation programmes that help cope with the adverse effects of extreme climates. For instance, we should conduct research on how to make crops endure hot temperature. Lastly, the United Nation should instigate peace negotiations and cease-fire agreements so as to reduce violent conflicts so that people do not leave their houses and go hungry.
To reiterate, tens of millions of people on earth continue to struggle with hunger each day. Poverty, climate change and war create a vicious cycle of hunger. Education, adaptation programmes and peace initiatives, however, can mitigate the issue.