25/12/2011 Reporters

is believed to be among the victims. As the world's population hits 7BM,

we look at the factors driving Sabir's baby boom. We report on the

plight of farmers in India who are struggling to survive. And with 7

billion mouths to feed, Hakem we stop anybody going hungry. Hello

and welcome to this special edition of reporters. We will look at

population growth. This has been a controversial topic. It has hit the

headlines again as the world's population passes the 7 billion

mark. The United Nations gave this figure based on the analysis that

the global population is growing at 80 million per year. The U in warns

that the rising population threatens growth and prosperity in

poor countries, especially in Africa. We will look at the

implications of the rising population. First we report from

Zambia, with the population is projected to triple by 2050.

Welcome to the world. Like each and every one of us, these newborns

help make up the 7 billion people on our planet. Catherine has just

given birth for the 4th times, to a daughter. Hours or old, she does

not have a name. Despite living in poverty, the parents what more

children. They are ambitious for their future. TRANSLATION: I want

my daughter and sons to become important people. Then they can

help us. But I do not know if there will be enough money for them all

to go to school. Big families are the norm. Six children is the

average. It is causing a huge increase in numbers. Zambia's

population will triple by 2050 and keep rising. That is despite an

array of modern contraceptive mess, including injections, the Pill and

condoms, available without charge. The contraceptives are free. But

health facilities need travel and people cannot afford that. They

would rather spend money to buy food to feed the family. This is a

youthful country. Half the population is aged under 16. More

families are leaving the country to live in the capital in search of

work. Population growth can be good for the economy, with a young

workforce and few elderly. But the increase he is so rapid that the

fear is it could perpetuate poverty. Zambia is barely able to feed 13

million people now. How will it cope with 100 million by the end of

the century? How do you encourage the young to have fewer children

than their parents? Aid agency say it starts with more rights for

women stop you there if you are married to a man with ten children,

you have no say, even when you know the children will not be looked

after. Women must be able to make their own decisions. What things

can the new government do for you girls? That begins in the classroom,

where attitudes are changing. These teenagers what Korea's first and

mother would second. Or I want to kids. I want to reduce the

population. Sam beer is a big country, three times the size of

Britain, so there is plenty of room. But the expanding population will

be more schools, jobs, or hospitals and homes if it is to be lifted

from poverty to prosperity. China and India are often subjected to

many statistical comparisons. In the next 20 years, India will

overtake China as the world's most populous country. But with fertile

land available shrinking, it will face a big challenge to provide

food. We went to one small corner off of India's agricultural

heartland in punch up to meet one of the millions of farmers

struggling. -- Punjab. This man is a farmer in Punjab. This is where

he lives. His nine-member family are squeezed in to two rooms,

sharing space with cattle. So his farmer Bath -- his farmer -- his

father once owned 18 acres of land. But that has been carved up as the

family group. What is left is not enough to support the family stop

you there now we each and and three acres. It will be divided further

with the next generation. Punjab, once the bread basket of India

growing much of the country's food, in the past five decades the number

of farms have doubled. Small pockets of land that are in no

longer up productive. A fertile region is becoming impoverished. It

is the same in every village here. There is almost no land to go

around. This used to be a rich state. Now it is a struggle to

survive. Instead, farmland is being cleared for other projects. Across

this bold, construction is at full speed as fast tracks of land are

transformed, aimed at the urban rich. This village is like any

other Udal's rural India but a cross from it is a brandy Develop

ment, luxury flats being built. This is typical in the north of

India. Or which farm land is being swallowed up by the growing needs

of the city, robbing India of land that could feed its population.

With the value of land shooting up, many farmers are tempted to sell

their inheritance to make quick money, even if it is short-lived.

Families are not willing to go into farming any more. This is a serious

problem. Farmers are feeling disenchanted because of the low

productivity in small farm. India and 16 million people to its

population every year. With less land available, feeding the country

is going to be a challenge. The world can cope with food and water

shortages, but often human behaviour in the form of corruption

gets in the way. Water shortage has been a problem in East Africa. They

have had the worst drought in use. This has left more than 13 million

people in need of food assistance. In October the United States

pledged an additional $100 million of aid, but corruption in Kenya has

compounded the crisis. The land yields nothing. Too many seasons

without crane has turned the ground to dust. This emergency feeding

centre is feeding malnourished children. The animals on which

these people depended for their living have died. All morning,

people have been arriving as news spreads that food and medical help

is available. If you remember that this is just one villager out of

hundreds across this region, you get a sense of the magnitude of

this drought. How many droughts have you seen in your life? 10.

this as bad as the other ones cure this is the worst of all. The

Kenyan government blames the drought. It is supplying food aid

and investing in irrigation, but campaigners say massive corruption

helped create the crisis. We have a corruption drought. Among many

scandals, is selling off of the country's strategic grain reserve -

- grain reserve two years ago. The minister responsible for the relief

effort was surprisingly frank about corruption. It has rowans us. --

ruined us. Until we prosecute and say no to this, it will remain a

problem. It does not matter how high up the chain does the?

higher you reached, the better the message is received. The cry of the

people has been that we do not target the big fish. If we targeted

them the message would be loud and clear. It poses a major dilemma for

international donors: how do they bypass corruption? Eight is

increasingly targeted at communities, like these women who

run small shops provided with money from Oxfam. TRANSLATION: My

livestock all died. On was forced to pay for food. But this

opportunity allowed me to pay for - - open up a business. Things are

much better. This story is underpinned by essential truth of

the food crisis. The world can pour any amount of aid into Kenya, but

without almost government, the poorest people are condemned to

Let's take another look at how great an population is affecting

individual countries. The government of Jordan says it is

facing a crisis due to a rapidly rising population. The number of

Jordanians has doubled in the past two decades. Another pressure. His

Jordan's lack of fresh water. Supplies are dangerously low.

Against the odds he farms this arid land. His crops black much of the

water they need. -- lack. He has to buy his water from a private

company. Prices are going up. people depend on farming. If they

stop they will not be able to support their families. The elder

generations want to keep alive the traditions of farming. They will

not give it up easily. He depends on the endless flow of lorries

which transport this country's Liquid Gold. This is private water.

Commercially owned wells have become de source for many

businesses and homes. We are living in a water crisis. We have a water

committee to develop a strategy. Unless the strategy is implemented,

the situation will be worse for the country. Jordan's population is

using ever more of this vital resource. Despite government's

initiatives to extract new resources, a bad situation is

getting even worse. Farming has always been a challenge. As water

becomes more scarce and is shared by more people, the livelihoods of

farmers will only become more uncertain. He used to have sheet,

but because of the lack of water this heart full of chickens along

with a few rabbits are the only animals left. He said the

government should supply what is his farm's life blood. Others go on

with what little water there is in this inhospitable land. We have

been talking a lot about the problems of the growing world

population. What about some of the solutions? The world has 7 billion

mouths to feed. Scientists have been looking at new food sources.

In sex could be the answer. -- insects. The Netherlands is leading

the way in insect-eating research. This box will give you 2.5

kilograms of worms. This is rather efficient farming. They love to

live in a box. It is quite humane. Yes, it is their natural behaviour.

These are Beatles. They give 150 eggs. -- beetles. How does this

compare it to traditional farm animals? Kids need 20 kilograms of

meats for three kilograms of meat. -- pigs. What do these eat? Carrots

and chaff. In nature they clean up the mess. They can eat anything.

The UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation says insect content is

comparable to meet. They contain amino acids, fibre as well with

Polly unsaturated fats, iron, calcium and vitamins. --

polyunsaturated. With swine flu in mind, he says consuming insect is

less risky than eating other animals. Insects and not related to

humans. The diseases they have do not jump to humans. That is

different from cows and pigs. has persuaded the EU to offer a

grant of 2.5 million euros are arguments that farming insects is

more environmentally friendly. Insect cool produce less greenhouse

gases. -- insects. Can the revulsion of eating them be

overcome? What are we cooking today? Is this popular with your

customers? It is popular. Critters, let's have a look. That is a locust.

I must say that is a rather unusual ingredient. Some people would find

the prospect of eating this little chap disgusting. There is a lovely

chilli sauce there. It will be a very clever powder that can

replicate meet proteins. Put that in a sausage and you are laughing.

We dressed the producer up, we gave him a tray of tasty snacks, we took

to the streets. Would you like a little snack? Not particularly.

What about a quick bee? There you go. The source is coming through.

People have much more of an appetite for anthropods than I

expected. Maybe we will be eating those insect sausages after all.

How much a person eats, uses energy and lives depends on where they are

born and their lifestyle. Some nations consume much more than

their fair share of natural resources than others. Sonja

Rodriguez moved from Mexico to the US and her level of consumption

increased. She loves to shop, on a typical

spree she will spend $300. More than when she lived in Mexico. That

is great news for the US economy, not so good for the environment.

Consumption is part of the American dream. Do you think living in

America makes you consume more? believe so, yes. You have more

options. There are more sensations. Having easy access to things

facilitates increasing the consumption. Consumer spending

drives the economy and in times of crisis Americans are told to go

shopping. If every country consumed as much as the US, the planet would

only be able to support 1.4 billion people. This way of consumption

that is spreading to developing parts of the world is undermining

Earth's ecosystem. That is from the climate, the one we talk about most,

pollination, Freshwater, Fisheries. All of these are being undermined.

More people are trying to can seem like Americans. She may wait for

the sales, but she does not go easy on her hair. The economic slowdown

has forced many Americans to make savings. Many believe that trend

should continue. You cannot keep spending. It is very difficult on

the environment, very difficult on the people as well. 500 billion

dollars are spent every year in global marketing, encouraging

people to buy more things. America may lead the way in consumer