From Rwanda to Mexico to the Pacific Islands, scarce food, water, and land resources create environmental degradation, poverty, war, and migration. And once conflict begins, food security becomes truly impossible. The agricultural cycle is disrupted. Farmers are recruited into the army, forced from their land, or killed by direct attacks. Refugees, who have no way to feed themselves or make a living, pour across borders.
Production falls, hunger worsens, and conflict spreads.
Hunger is used as a weapon of war as well. Adversaries try to starve their opponents into submission. Wells are poisoned and farmers' fields are mined, often halting agriculture until long after the conflict has ended. Without adequate means of producing food in the future, the nation is then likely to see more conflict in the years to come. Improved agriculture, which can increase production, raise farmers' earnings, and replenish depleted resources, is a powerful and effective means of promoting peace and stability.