Food now a security issue
April 10th, 2008With rising food prices starting to kick in globally the specter of food fights is becoming a reality (hat tip to Nevil).
Riots have been seen in many countries now and food, like climate change, is starting to be seen as a national security issue. The Philipines is facing major rice shortages which is almost unthinkable for a country where rice is a staple. It is also causing serious unrest.
Even here in New Zealand consumers are unhappy about paying 60% more for a block of cheese which has been produced down the road.
Its a difficult situation that will take some sorting out. Producers want the best prices they can get and so will sell into the international market. Subsidies continue to distort the market.
World Bank President, Robert Zoellick has suggested a move away from direct aid and an attempt to remove barriers, create local markets and improve local production.
About time! That’s what i like about Kiva which promotes empowerment and local solutions. That is the way forward. Forget about the huge projects of the 1970s and 80s which dropped so many developing nations into the debt trap. Create a level playing field and encourage local solutions.
Tags: agflation, conflict, farming, food, incentives, kiva, microfinance, p2p, trade
April 10th, 2008 at 5:47 am
Well theres potential for such dramatic changes to have some peverse outcomes.
For example if the US and Europe dropped agriculture supports for their “farmers”, production in those areas could drop substantially and as you say farmers will sell to those who can pay the highest prices so farmers in the Third World could well shift their focus from supplying locally to shipping food to the West where we can afford to pay higher prices and thus limiting the availability of food on the local market.
There is a high likelihood of this happening in place like Brazil where 2.8% of landowners hold 56% of the land. If these initiatives are pursued without concurrent policies that provide for a more equitable distribution of land ownership, then it will be in vain, if not actualy detrimental to the interests of the poor in the Third World.
April 13th, 2008 at 5:57 am
[...] food riots has seen the Haitian Prime Minister fired by the Senate. Food is right up there on the National Security watch list along with climate change, peak oil and water. This has been simmering for a while now [...]