Why is it that whilst some regions in the world consistently produce food surpluses, in others malnutrition is chronic and they have periodic food shortages?

Whereas in LEDCs, such as many countries in West and East Africa, certain social, economical and environmental factors have prevented them from intensifying and consequently, increasing food production. There is a lack of capital investment, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) from overseas often increases the country's debt making it almost impossible to mechanise and increase output. In addition, extreme absolute poverty in much of South Asia (44% of the population live below $1 a day) and Africa (24% live on less than $1 per day), means that farming is more about survival and farmers work to provide food locally for their families rather than as a business. This makes it difficult to create the investment needed. On a larger scale, some argue that the main reason for food shortages and malnutrition in some regions, is the climate. Almost all LEDCs have a tropical monsoon climate. Much of the famine and disease is caused by the unpredictable droughts, which may last months meaning crops are unable to grow and the soil becomes dry and impermeable, followed by severe monsoon rains , which can cause terrible flooding and destroy large areas of land. As few crops can be grown, the necessary food for healthy living cannot be supplied, leading to malnutrition. Whereas in MEDCs such as the UK and Canada, the temperate climate allows stable and reliable growth of staple crops such as wheat and barley and natural disasters such as flooding rarely affect food production.

Problems of overpopulation in many LEDCs only enhances the problem of food shortages. In India, the population has reached 1 billion and the lack of efficient farming means that they are unable to provide sufficient levels of food for the constantly growing population. In addition, overpopulation has lead to overcultivation of the land which has caused the soil in some areas to become infertile. Soil infertility is a significant problem in Africa as well, especially in the Sahelian countries. However, farmers and companies from the MEDW (mainly European countries) instead of helping, kick locals off their land and set up plantations for export crops on the most fertile land, meaning that local farmers are forced to grow staple crops such as maize and millet on the less fertile land and therefore produce less. The periodic droughts also affect the soil structure and in contrast to the majority of people in MEDCs, many Africans lack the finance and knowledge and education to adopt and develop better growing methods such as crop rotation and contour terracing. Instead, methods such as 'slash and burn' are used, which cause the soil to deteriorate and desertification to increase, meaning each year, there is less and less land, which can actually be used for farming and growing crops.

However, during the 1960s and 1970s, there was the 'Green Revolution' , which aimed to increase food production and encourage self-sufficiency by changing methods of farming and using high yielding crops. In some ways this was successful in reducing food shortages. For example, in Punjab and Hariana, the yields of rice and wheat trebled and in the Philippines, rice yields increased by 15% in 15 years. However, the majority of farmers in LEDCs cannot afford the machinery or fertilisers to produce high yield crops and even if they could, it would probably not solve the problem of food shortages as populations are still growing at rapid rates.

On another aspect, one of the main reasons for there currently being food surpluses in many European countries and shortages in many African countries, is the level of political stability and efficiency of the economy. Most African countries are run by dictators who often waste the country's wealth and resources on their own personal luxuries rather than for improving the economy and standard of living of their people and often lead them into either war or civil unrest. Whereas in the EU, there is political stability and organisations have been set up to ensure that there is always sufficient food supply. The main organisation within the EU is CAP (Common Agricultural Policy), which was founded in 1957. A minimum price was set for agricultural produce and the EU guaranteed to buy up any amount at this price. If there was a glut of produce one season, the EU would by some of it and store it. The next season, if there was a shortage, the EU could take the produce out of storage and sell it. (Buffer stocks) However, the constant good seasons meant that food kept building up as the EU could not sell any and the high minimum price set caused severe food surpluses such as the 'butter mountains'.

MEDCs developed long before the majority of LEDCs, and in that time, were able to build up their wealth and political status and therefore create the investment and technological intelligence needed for ensuring sufficient food supplies. In addition, the stable climatic conditions and slowing population growth rates have meant that countries such as the UK have less difficulty in sustaining food supplies. Whereas in many LEDCs, vast poverty mixed with unpredictable natural disasters and high population growth rates prevents agricultural development and therefore leads to periodic food shortages and malnutrition.