Q&A: Food crisis
Matthew Weaver
This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Tuesday April 29 2008. It was last updated at 15:44 on April 29 2008.
What is happening?
Food prices have soared by more than 60% in the last year, sparking riots in some countries. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, has warned of "social unrest on an unprecedented scale". The price of rice has risen by 68% since the start of 2008. Other staples such as wheat and corn have more than doubled since last year.
What are the consequences?
The World Bank estimates that 100 million people have been pushed into poverty by food price rises in the last two years. In Britain, rising commodity prices will mean the average family having to pay an extra £800 a year for groceries.
How serious are the food riots?
So far the worst have been in Haiti, where six people were killed and the prime minister was forced to resign, and in Cameroon, where 24 were killed. There have also been violent scenes in Egypt, Ivory Coast, South Korea and Bangladesh. In the Philippines, the government has introduced a life sentence for hoarding rice.
How is this crisis different from others?
It is becoming global, and affecting urban as well as rural areas.
Why is it happening now?
The World Food Programme blames a combination of rising demand from rapidly developing countries like China and India; the impact of climate change, including floods and droughts; and shortsighted government policies. The era of cheap food for the last 30 years has led to complacency about future supplies. Financial speculation by hedge funds trying to exploit new markets, and panic-buying by importers, are making things worse.
Export restrictions designed to protect national supplies have contributed by skewing prices. Reductions in agricultural aid to developing countries are being cited as another factor.
Switching traditional agricultural crops to biofuels has significantly cut the amount of land available for food production in high-yielding countries such as the US.
What are the possible solutions?
In the short term, the UN has called for an increase in subsidies to developing countries through the World Food Programme. In the medium and longer term, it wants to encourage more smallholder farming in developing countries to reduce their dependence on the west.
Farmers will need to produce higher yields and more unused land will have to be farmed.
Matthew Weaver
This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Tuesday April 29 2008. It was last updated at 15:44 on April 29 2008.
What is happening?
Food prices have soared by more than 60% in the last year, sparking riots in some countries. The UN secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, has warned of "social unrest on an unprecedented scale". The price of rice has risen by 68% since the start of 2008. Other staples such as wheat and corn have more than doubled since last year.
What are the consequences?
The World Bank estimates that 100 million people have been pushed into poverty by food price rises in the last two years. In Britain, rising commodity prices will mean the average family having to pay an extra £800 a year for groceries.
How serious are the food riots?
So far the worst have been in Haiti, where six people were killed and the prime minister was forced to resign, and in Cameroon, where 24 were killed. There have also been violent scenes in Egypt, Ivory Coast, South Korea and Bangladesh. In the Philippines, the government has introduced a life sentence for hoarding rice.
How is this crisis different from others?
It is becoming global, and affecting urban as well as rural areas.
Why is it happening now?
The World Food Programme blames a combination of rising demand from rapidly developing countries like China and India; the impact of climate change, including floods and droughts; and shortsighted government policies. The era of cheap food for the last 30 years has led to complacency about future supplies. Financial speculation by hedge funds trying to exploit new markets, and panic-buying by importers, are making things worse.
Export restrictions designed to protect national supplies have contributed by skewing prices. Reductions in agricultural aid to developing countries are being cited as another factor.
Switching traditional agricultural crops to biofuels has significantly cut the amount of land available for food production in high-yielding countries such as the US.
What are the possible solutions?
In the short term, the UN has called for an increase in subsidies to developing countries through the World Food Programme. In the medium and longer term, it wants to encourage more smallholder farming in developing countries to reduce their dependence on the west.
Farmers will need to produce higher yields and more unused land will have to be farmed.
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