Scarcity Problem

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INTRODUCTION In recent years, the population has been increasing exponentially which brings about the question of overpopulation and resource scarcity, especially in lesser developed countries. One of the major causes of this problem is poverty. This, in turn, leads to issues regarding resource scarcity like overcrowding, food scarcity, and water scarcity. CAUSE Poverty has led to overpopulation for several reasons. In 2012, world population hit the 7 billion mark, with the population in lesser developed countries accounting for 97% of that growth. It can be observed that one of the factors involved in this trend is that generally, residents of…show more content…
Mahmood Mamdani, when conducting a study in Manupur, quoted a carpenter, “if I have sons, they will work outside, labour even as animals do, but save. While the rest work, one son will learn the new skills. And maybe we will even be able to get some machinery with the savings of the other sons. A rich man invests in his machines. We must invest in our children.” By 1940, most of these familes’ houses had been upgraded and half of them owned tractors, in a way, proving that having more children did assist…show more content…
Much of the land has gone into urban development to counter the problem of lack of housing. At the same time, agriculture relies heavily on the availability of water. 75 to 90 percent of freshwater usage is channeled into agriculture. With all these factors in play, there will no doubt be a higher risk of food insecurity, especially in LDCs. In Sub-Saharan Africa, one in four people are malnourished, as the agricultural output is much less than what is required for their population of 1.006 billion, as the population has simply been growing too quickly. Despite the fact that this is a drastic example, many LDCs have reflected similar worrisome trends, making overpopulation a serious problem. With the increase in demand for food, the cost of food has also gone up. According to the United Nations Development Program report, 1.3 billion people live on incomes of less than $1 a day, many of whom spend 60% of this on food. A huge percentage of these people live in LDCs. All this serve to brand overpopulation as a serious obstacle that has to be
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