The sharp rise in food prices across the world affects us all, but it’s clearly the poor who are the most seriously affected. With little money at the best of times, millions are in danger of not being able to afford enough for their families. Increased hunger and more malnutrition seems the inevitable result.
So we have seen riots and protests over prices in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cameroon, Egypt - where food prices doubled in a year - Ethiopia, Haiti, Madagascar, Philippines, Senegal and in other countries. What lies behind the rise?
A number of factors have combined. Demand for food resulting from high economic growth has increased in countries like China and India. Also a change in diet in China towards more meat, which in turn has increased the demand for and price of grain
The rapid rise in oil and energy prices, has increased the costs of fertiliser, harvesting, storage, and delivery of food. The shift from growing crops for food to crops for biofuels has reduced food supplies, led to big investments by transnational corporations, and to market speculation. Weather-related events, such as drought in Australia, have led to poor harvests. Reduced investment in agriculture worldwide in recent years, and declining development aid for food, have led to production being outstripped by rising demand.
What’s to be done? A complete rethink is needed over biofuels. It is scandalous for land in poor countries to be used to grow crops to turn into fuel to power the cars of the rich, rather than be used to grow food for people who need it. A huge expansion of land under their fuels had seemed likely, until the steep rise in food prices. The rise has highlighted their negative role. Biofuels need to be limited to genuinely waste land.
A big rethink is also needed by Western governments over agriculture, notably over their lack of support for agriculture in developing countries. Aid to agriculture has declined dramatically over the last 25 years. For many of the world’s poorest, marginal farmers, this has meant less support for the readily available technologies and practices they need to increase their food output.
Aid for agriculture, especially to help the poorest, most vulnerable farming families to grow more, could help significantly to boost food output and lower prices. The first Millennium Development Goal aims at halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. This will not be achieved unless the hungry receive the right kind of support.
John Madeley, a member of General Synod from 1985 to 1995, is the author of “Unheard voices: the case for supporting marginal farmers”. A Concern Worldwide briefing paper. (www.concern.net)
