INTRODUCTION TO FOOD CRISIS

Food crisis is low stocks of primary commodities, together with large jumps in the price
of final food products.

Over the last two years there has been a rapid increase in the world prices , causing
political and economical instability and social unrest in both poor and developed nations.
Almost all basic foods such as rice, wheat, maize, soya beans, edible oils etc. has
increased so much which has been leading to high incidence of hunger and malnutrition
around the world .

This is a serious threat to the world economy, where nearly every region of the world has
experienced drastic food price inflation, creating a global food crisis which is a much
bigger deal than the subprime meltdown for most people in the world

Rising food prices have pushed 100m people into absolute poverty, according to the
estimation made by the World Bank. More than 73 million people in 78 countries that
depend on food handouts from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are
facing reduced rations this year. According to WFP (official) “the increasing scarcity of
food is the biggest crisis looming for the world'', At the same time, the UN Food and
Agriculture Organization have warned that rising prices have triggered a food crisis in 36
countries, all of which will need extra help.

The inflation has been driven by double-digit price hikes for almost every basic foodstuff
over the past 12 months. Dairy products are as much as 200% more expensive since last
year in some countries. Maize prices hit a 10-year high in February. wheat has increased
by 50%, rice by 16% and poultry nearly by 10%.

Rising food prices have emerged as a top political issue in many countries of the world.
Some places have already prompted a string of food protests around the world, with riots
in Mexico, Egypt, Haiti Philippine, Bangladesh, Argentine, Indonesia and disputes over
food rationing in West Bengal and protests over grain prices in Senegal, Mauritania and
Sub-Saharan Africa. In Yemen, children have marched to highlight their hunger, while in
London hundreds of pig farmers protested outside Downing Street.

But now the question arises here that from where food crisis has got its root?

Rising fuel costs, erratic weather patterns, and the conversion of land to grow crops for
biofuels have been the major factors. Rising incomes in poorer countries have also
increased food demand in recent years, diminishing global reserves. To protect their
citizens, some food exporting countries like India, Brazil, and Vietnam Egypt have now
limited what they send abroad. And aid groups can't provide as much as they used to do
which has been the response of financial crisis they are facing.
The biggest concern may be that these changes are not temporary, since they result
largely from fundamental shifts in the global economy and environment.

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CAUSES OF FOOD CRISIS:

Several factors contributed to the rising food price. Analysts attributed the price rises to a
perfect storm of poor harvests in various parts of the world, increasing biofuel usage,
growing consumer demand in Asia, oil price rises, lower food reserves, as well as the US
Federal Reserve decreasing interest rates so that money is no longer a means to preserve
wealth over the long term (people invest in food commodities which causes an increase in
demand and therefore price).
There are some major factors which are contributing to the recent situation as the first
one is the

Production of food based biofuel

One systemic cause for the price rise is held to be the diversion of food crops (maize in
particular) for making first-generation biofuels. An estimated 100 million tones of grain
per year are being redirected from food to fuel. (Total worldwide grain production for
2007 was just over 2000 million tones). As farmers devoted larger parts of their crops to
fuel production than in previous years, land and resources available for food production
were reduced correspondingly.
Agricultural staples such as corn and soybeans are increasingly used to produce biofuels
like ethanol and biodiesel, respectively, rather than food.

As we know that US is one of the world’s largest exporter of corn and grows about 40%
of the world's corn.

But now the US farmers distorted the world market for cereals by growing 14m tones for
ethanol for vehicles. This took millions of hectares of land out of food production and
nearly doubled the price of maize, leaving only six million tons to cover the world's
growing food needs .The United States has ramped up its food-based biofuel production
in an effort to end its dependence on foreign oil and combat global warming.

According to the White House, ethanol production has quadrupled from 1.6 billion
gallons in 2000 to 6.4 billion gallons in 2007. And the increased production of ethanol
comes primarily from corn.

This has resulted in less food available for human consumption, especially in developing
and least developed countries, where a family's daily allowances for food purchases are
extremely limited. The crisis can be seen, in a sense, to dichotomize rich and poor
nations, since, for example, filling a tank of an average car with biofuel, amounts to as
much maize (Africa's principal food staple) as an African person consumes in an entire
year.

Brazil, the world's second largest producer of ethanol after the U.S., is considered to have
the world's first sustainable biofuels economy. It became energy independent in 2006 in

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part by replacing 40 percent of its gas with biofuels and its government claims Brazil's
sugar cane based ethanol industry has not contributed to the 2008 food crises.

A World Bank policy research working paper released in July 2008 concluded that
"...large increases in biofuels production in the United States and Europe are the main
reason behind the steep rise in global food prices", and also stated that "Brazil's sugar-
based ethanol did not push food prices appreciably higher and the rise in food prices
caused by biofuels to be 75%.

Biofuel subsidies in the US and the EU

The World Bank lists the effect of biofuels as an important contributor to higher food
prices. The FAO/ECMB has reported that world land usage for agriculture has declined since the
1980s, and subsidies outside the United States and EU have dropped since the year 2004, leaving
supply vulnerable when the United States began converting agricultural commodities to biofuels.
In the United States, government subsidies for ethanol production have prompted many farmers
to switch to production for biofuel. As a result, 23 percent of United States maize crops were
being used for ethanol in 2006-2007.
World Bank policy research working paper states that increased production of biofuels in the US
and EU were supported by subsidies and tariffs on imports, and considers that without these
policies, price increases would have been smaller. This research also concluded that Brazil's sugar
cane based ethanol has not raised sugar prices significantly, and suggest to remove tariffs on
ethanol imports by both the US and EU, to allow more efficient producers such as Brazil and
other developing countries to produce ethanol profitably for export to meet the mandates in the
EU and the US.

Rapid Rise in the Petroleum Price

Energy costs affect all levels of the food production sector. Recent record crude oil
prices in excess of $110 per barrel affect costs throughout the marketing chain.1
Producers spend more for fertilizer (for which natural gas is a major input), crop drying,
and transportation which leads to raising production costs.
At the processing, wholesale, and retail levels, the cost of transportation and operating
packing houses, manufacturing plants and retail stores has increased as a result some of
these costs are passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. In addition, high
petroleum prices increase the competitiveness of Ethanol, further boosting demand for
corn.

NOTE:
1. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), a crude oil price traded at Cushing, OK, reached $110 per
barrel for the first time on March 13, 2008.

Increased demand for more resource intensive food

The head of the International Food Policy Research Institute, stated in 2008 that the
gradual change in diet among newly prosperous populations is the most important factor

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underpinning the rise in global food prices. Where food utilization has increased sold in
developing and developed nations.

Higher incomes are boosting demand for processed foods and meat in countries such as
India and China. These shifts require more feed grains and edible oil. Even in low-
income countries of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the vegetable oil share
of diets has risen as processed food consumption rises. In China, consumption of meat,
other livestock products, and fruits has increased.

NOTE:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, “World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates,” March
11, 2008.
For more information, see CRS Report RS22824, High Wheat Prices: What are the Issues?
Center for Agriculture and Rural Development, “Changing Diets in China’s Cities: Empirical
Fact or Urban Legend?” by Fexgzia Dong and Frank H. Fuller, at [http://www.card.iastate.edu/
publications/synopsis.aspx?id=1031].

Crop shortfalls from natural disasters

Several distinct weather- and climate-related incidents have caused disruptions in crop
production. Perhaps the most influential is the extended drought in Australia, in particular
the fertile Murray-Darling Basin, which produces large amounts of wheat and rice. The
drought has caused the annual rice harvest to fall by as much as 98% from pre-drought
levels. Australia is historically the second-largest exporter of wheat after the United
States, producing up to 25 million tons in a good year, the vast majority for export.

Other events that have negatively affected the price of food include the 2006 heat wave in
California's San Joaquin Valley, which killed large numbers of farm animals, and
unseasonable 2008 rains in Kerala, India, which destroyed swathes of grain.
The effects of Cyclone Nargis on Burma in May 2008 caused a spike in the price of rice.
Burma has historically been a rice exporter. The FAO had previously estimated that
Burma would export up to 600,000 tons of rice in 2008, but concerns were raised in the
cyclone's aftermath that Burma may be forced to import rice for the first time, putting
further upward pressure on global rice prices.

Rising prices

From the beginning of 2007 to early 2008, the prices of some of the most basic
international food commodities increased dramatically on international markets. The
international market price of wheat doubled. Rice prices also reached ten year highs. In
some nations, milk and meat prices more than doubled, while soy and maize prices have
also increased dramatically.

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But the crisis was not a sudden one. Prices have been rising for quite some time now, and
perhaps earlier warning signs were missed or ignored?

According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), record world prices for
most staple foods have led to 18% food price inflation in China, 13% in Indonesia and
Pakistan, and 10% or more in Latin America, Russia and India, In Mexico, corn meal
prices are up 60 percent. In Pakistan, flour prices have doubled. China is facing rampant
food price inflation, some of the worst in decades.

Distorted global rice market

Japan is forced to import more than 767,000 tons of rice annually from the United States,
Thailand, and other countries due to WTO rules. This is despite the fact that Japan
produces over 100% of domestic rice consumption. But he is not allowed to re-export this
rice to other countries without approval. This rice is generally left to rot and then used for
animal feed. Under pressure, the United States and Japan are poised to strike a deal to
remove such restrictions. It is expected 1.5 million tones of high-grade American rice
will enter the market soon.

World population growth

Some people believe and point out the world population growth is the cause for food
crisis. But according to the FAO, with record grain harvests in 2007, there is more than
enough food in the world to feed everyone. In fact, over the last 20 years, food
production has risen steadily at over 2.0% a year, while the rate of population growth has
dropped to 1.14% a year. Population is not outstripping food supply.

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WORLDWIDE IMPACT OF FOOD CRISIS:

The most affected by the current global food crisis are the poor, particularly in
developing countries.

Subcontinent of Africa:

The price rises affected parts of Africa particularly Burkina Faso,[90] Cameroon, Senegal,
Mauritania, Cote d'Ivoire,[91] Egypt[92] and Morocco seeing protests and riots in late 2007
and early 2008 over the unavailability of basic food staples.

World Vision has identified 10African countries in urgent need of food aid, including
Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Niger and Zimbabwe. More than 70
percent of rural people in sub-Saharan Africa are involved in subsistence agriculture,
which depends mostly on rainfall. The frequent droughts currently plaguing the continent
are therefore contributing to declining crop productivity that is leading to irreversible
vulnerability. Areas hit hard by flooding earlier this year, such as southern Zambia, are
reporting a poor harvest and households are expected to run out of food stock from their
own production much sooner than in a normal year.

ZIMBABWE:

In Zimbabwe more than five million people facing severe food shortages.
"Millions of Zimbabweans have already run out of food or are surviving on just one meal
a day and the crisis is going to get much worse in the coming months.

Zimbabweans from middle social income categories, such as teachers, who normally
have not sought food assistance, are now gathering at food distribution points at several
locations in the country to register for the WFP's vulnerable group feeding program.

ETHIOPIA:

Families hit hard by food crisis in Ethiopia. Approximately 75,000 Ethiopian children
have been directly affected by the drought and are at risk of severe acute malnutrition,
while 4.6 million people throughout the country are receiving emergency food aid. In
Ethiopia, rations of beans and oil have been reduced and 6.4 million people are projected
to need food aid in November 2008. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs, the situation has worsened due to a shortage of emergency
resources including ready-to-use therapeutic food, emergency relief food and other
critical supplies

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SOMALIA

Witnesses and officials in Somalia said thousands of angry Somalis rioted on May 5,
2008 over rising food prices. Drought, poor harvests and the continuing rises in food
prices are the main factors driving a worsening humanitarian situation.

CAMEROON

Cameroon, the world's fourth largest cocoa producer, saw large scale rioting in late
February 2008, in protest against inflating food and fuel prices, and the government
response to the protests was a reduction in import taxes on foods including rice, flour,
and fish.

Some countries of USA:

MEXICO

In January of 2007 tens of thousands of Mexicans marched in the streets to protest a leap
of 50 percent in the price of corn tortillas. Although many analysts have attributed the
sudden spike to a rise in international prices due to demand for ethanol production, the
root cause is far more complex and predates the biofuels boom.

PANAMA

In Panama, in response to higher rice prices the government began buying rice at the high
market price and selling rice to the public at a lower subsidized price at food kiosks. This
rice is known as El Compita and is bought by using tax money.

EUROPE:

Less vulnerable to food price fluctuations than emerging nations, but food prices across
Europe have nonetheless increased. In Britain wholesale prices of food have increased by
7.4 per cent over the past 12 months, roughly three times the headline rate of inflation.
According to the government's own statistics grocery bills have gone up by an average of
£750 over the same period, the equivalent of a 12 per cent rise.

HAITI (an Island in Caribbean Sea):

On April 12, 2008, the Haitian Senate voted to dismiss Prime Minister after violent food
riots hit the country. Prices for food items such as rice, beans, fruit and condensed milk
have gone up 50 percent in Haiti since late 2007.

But now the government is attempting to restore order by subsidizing a 15 percent

reduction in the price of rice.

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Subcontinent of Asia:

International agencies and independent experts agree that a large number of people for
whom steep food prices spell disaster live in South Asia.

The rise in prices affects consumers differently across Asia. For the wealthiest in
Singapore, Hong Kong or Kuala Lumpur, food inflation can engender a political
backlash, but it is not a life-or-death problem. But for the poorest across Asia, rising
prices mean the prospect of increasing rates of malnutrition as over 500 million people in
Asia are living on US$1 per day or less, and spend as much as 70 percent of their income
on food.

EGYPT

Up to 50 million Egyptians rely on subsidized bread and this year Cairo has estimated it
will cost $2.5bn. But with the price of wheat rocketing in the past year there are fears the
country has plunged into a "bread crisis

PAKISTAN

Up to 85% of Pakistanis live on less than US$ 2 per-day. Rising wheat and flour prices,
have an enormous impact on the poor, who have no spare cash to cover the extra burden,
as a result the government banned its exports.
The number of people who are food insecure in Pakistan has risen by 28% to 77 million,
according to a recent report by the World food Programme. The report suggests that
Pakistan is facing a “bigcrisis” due to the growing gap between the increase in prices and
increase in wages resulting in the diminished purchasing power of the poor by almost
50%.

BANGLADESH

10,000 workers rioted close to the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, smashing cars and buses
and vandalizing factories in anger at high food prices and low wages. Ironically, the
country achieved food self-sufficiency in 2002, but food prices increased drastically due
to the reliance of agriculture on oil and fossil fuels.The price of rice, the core of the
Bangladeshi diet, has jumped by more than 30%.

Lack of domestic rice due to major floods and a devastating cyclone last year along with
the skyrocketing global prices of rice have pushed Bangladesh to the verge of a severe
food crisis.

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MAYANMER

Myanmar which used to be the world's top rice has produced enough rice to feed itself
until now. Rice exports dropped over four decades from nearly 4 million tons to only
about 40,000 tons last year.

The world was counting on Myanmar to produce and export 600,000 tons of rice this
year, most of which would go to rice-starved Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. But on 3 May
2008 Cyclone Nargis stripped Myanmar's rice-growing districts; ruining large areas with
salt water and this will take years to recover. As we can see in pic

PHILLIPINE

Philippine which is the world's largest rice importer, are among the worst off in the
region. Even before the spike in food prices this year, poverty and food insecurity were
on the rise. According to a government report released in March, the number of people
who do not have enough income to meet basic food needs in Philippines raised to 12.2
million in 2006 from 10.8 million three years earlier, an increase of about 13 percent.

THAILAND

Bad weather and increased consumption have caused rice supplies to shrink, Even in
Thailand, which produces 10 million more tons of rice than it consumes and is the
world's largest rice exporter. As the price of rice rose to $1,000 a ton and experts warned
that it will continue to rise. This is because of the massive demand from the Philippines
which is struggling to secure supplies after India and several other producers halted
exports.

IMPACT OF FOOD CRISIS IN AFGHANISTAN:

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Afghanistan is among

40 countries in the world which face "unparalleled hikes in food prices resulting from
low food stocks, floods and droughts linked to climate change, high oil prices and rising
demand for bio-fuels"
Rising food prices and lack of rain have resulted in around 450,000 urban and rural
Afghan households unable to purchase food, with many likely to run out of stocks within
a month.
Wheat prices in Afghanistan have risen by an average of 60 percent over the last year
(2007) with certain areas seeing a rise of up to 80 %the U.N. World Food Programme

9
(WFP) said that there was little chance prices would come down. The country due to its
own weak milling industry import wheat and flour from Pakistan but as Pakistan started
to control soaring food prices in its country, he banned the export of flour and wheat to
Afghanistan which badly affected Afghanistan. Wheat production has decreased 36%
from 2007 to 2008. The FAO says that despite the high price of wheat, the profits from
planting opium poppies are still much higher, , so there is little immediate incentive for
farmers to switch crops

According to Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre severe drought and food

shortages this year have caused 6500 Afghans to leave their villages in north and west to
find work and aid. Drought has caused the failure of crops in these areas even in irrigated
sections the yield is minimal due to low availability of water in rivers and canals,
affecting 18,152 families in the 73 villages

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) say that three out of 10 Afghans
suffer from chronic food insecurity, which badly affects the health and well-being of the
estimated 27-million nation. Some provinces are particularly food insecure because of
factors such as high altitude and long winters, lack of water, or remoteness and
difficulties of access

The Impact of food crisis in Laos:

The unique flow in global food prices is making life even more difficult for residents of
impoverished Laos, where one provincial official is calling on the central government to
provide food aid and step up irrigation efforts. Consumer prices are escalating, according
to statisticians at the Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment, and officials and residents
say the landlocked country—one of the world’s poorest—has been hit hard by
skyrocketing food costs.

I would like to name 3 provinces which are facing food crisis

o The remote, southeastern province of Xekong “faces rice shortages regularly

because it is a mountainous region, but now the problem is getting bigger.
Xekong province lacks valleys and has faced periodic drought, so its rice yield
last year also fell short, he said. Xekong ranks among one of the poorest provinces
in Laos, with a poorly developed infrastructure and terrain more suited to growing
timber and fruit than to growing rice.

Rice millers’ association spokesman Somphone Chandy said prices appeared set
to continue rising because the cost of fertilizer, pesticides, and irrigation has also
surged.

o
In the southern province of Savannakhet, people are feeling the price pinch, with

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 no relief in sight.
“The price of rice and the price of food have shifted, but nobody has yet
complained or called for help…The cost of living has increased, and people face
hardship in paying for food.”
o
Remote, mountainous Phongsali province in the north of the country brings food
from Oudomxai and Luang Namtha provinces—It lacks flat farming land and
can’t produced to feed Phongsali’s 16,000 mostly rural residents. The deputy head
of the Phongsali Provincial industry and trade office, said. “In our area we still
haven't used fertilizer, so the price of fertilizer went up and we haven't bounced
back.
“We cannot increase the size of our fields, because there is very little flat land,”
he added.

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Is India, the world's second most populous country,
facing a food crisis?

To be sure, India has not yet experienced riots over rising food price that have worse hit
other countries. But what worrying everybody is that the current rise in inflation is driven
by high food prices, as in the capital Delhi milk cost 11% more than last year, edible oil
prices have climbed by whopping 40% over the same period (said by Indian economy
analyst Paranjoy Thakurta).More crucially rice price have risen by 20% an prices of
certain lentils by 18%.Rice and lentils comprise the staple diet for many Indian’s. As we
know that six years ago the stocks were at record levels but stocks have come down over
the past three years because of low production and exports. There are 3 factors which
contribute to the food price rise as
1. Increase in price of cereals
2. climate change
3. Biofuels vs food security

1. Increase in price of cereals:

If we see the situation in India, there is enough food in the nation but millions are
starving and the price rise has forced many more millions to cut on their food
consumption.At the same time we are importing wheat from U.S. which is almost double
the price we have given to our farmers.
Indias’s food problems are of its own making.The counry having a population of more
than 112 crore, its economy has been growing mainly confined to manufacturing
industries and the burgeoning services sector. Agriculture on the other hand has grown by
bearly 2.5% and the service sector that includes the fast growing computer software and
business process out sourcing industries constitutes over 55% GDP with the remainder
being taken up by industry. This makes clear that reforms of services sector, financial
sector and all had happened but not yet reforms of the agriculture sector on which 65% of
Indian population depends.
Indian farmers are particularly vulnerable since 60% of the countries total cropped area is
not irrigated; there is low rise in farm productivity and unremunerative prices for
cultivators, poor food storage facilities resulting in high levels of wastage.
Fragmentation of land holdings and a fall in public investment in rural areas are also to
blame.

2. Climate Change:

The most serious long term challenge facing Indian agriculture is global warming and
climate change. Climate change could cause irreversible damage to land and water
ecosystems and lead to loss of production potential. Heavy and variable precipitation

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,heat waves ,cyclones, droughts and floods likely to be more frequent and intense,
resulting in greater economic shocks. It is clear that India will suffer a major set back in
wheat production as global warming increases. Wheat productivity which is critically
dependent on cold night temperatures will suffer as temperature rises

3. Biofuels vs. food security:

According to convener of Gene Campaign, India has begun biofuel programs and its draft
policy progress to start with a blending proportion of 5% biofuel with 95% petroleum by
2012. 10% by 2017 and over 10% after 2017 which has made people to start worrying as
it may bring food crisis in India too.

Conclusion:

According to Dr K K Barman an Indian economic teacher says that the annual rate of
inflation (estimated on a month to month basis) shows that food price inflation in
international markets in recent months has crossed 40% where as in India it has remained
below 8%.
Thus it seems that the domestic food prices have not been affected by the abnormal
increase in international prices which were witnessed after mid 2007. This was perhaps
due to
• An increase of food grain production in two consecutive years 2006-2007 and
2007-2008 due to favorable condition.
• Timely and affective government intervention in domestic market.
• Tightening of monetary policies by RBI
• Banning on export of wheat and nonbasmati variety of rice to prevent domestic
shortage of food.
However the biggest factor that prevented a sharp rise in food prices in India is hat
fertilizer prices are not increased in response to the increase in international prices.
According to D.P. Singh (President of all India exports association) “our production
has not declined till now and we hardly produce any biofuel and our percapita meat
consumption is below one kg which is one of the lowest in world. We are living hand
to mouth as our total consumption is more or less equal to our output and stocks.

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HOW TO FIGHT AND COPE UP WITH THE
CURRENT WORLD WIDE ISSUE:

In order to save people from this significant issue which has pushed many countries into
the world of hunger, following top points are to be considered.

1. Take a Pause on Biofuels

Producing fuel from crops—corn in the united States and rapeseed, palm, and soy oil in
Europe—accounts for be

tween one quarter and one third of the spike in global commodity prices, says the
International Food Policy Research Institute. Governments have heavily subsidized the
industry as an energy alternative, but now one U.N. food official labels these policies
"criminal" and has called for a five-year biofuels production suspension.

Agricultural economist Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute and an
outspoken ethanol policy critic, suggests a solution familiar to farmers: Use subsidies to
steer production.” Do with ethanol distillers which have been done with grain producers
for decades," says Brown. "If we want them to produce less grain, we would say that in
order to be eligible for support price, you should have to cut back your acreage 15
percent this year, and farmers did that. They understood the USDA was trying to balance
world supply and demand. You could do the same thing with ethanol distilleries." Brown
says the government could modify policy so that the blenders of ethanol collect the
subsidy only if they reduce production.

Government support of the biofuels research and development should continue, but with
focus shifting swiftly away from food crops toward cellulosics, like prairie grasses, wood
chips, and garbage.

He says, "We're the only country who can now do something in the short term to restore
some semblance of stability to the world food economy."

2. Improve Food Aid:

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have proposed a series of
major changes in the way international food aid is managed and delivered. In the latest
edition of its flagship annual report, The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA), FAO
recommended an end to the widespread practice of “tying” food aid

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Emphasizing the critical importance of sound food aid management, the report also
suggested that, wherever possible, aid be provided in the form of cash or food coupons
rather than food aid shipments because mostly the transportation cost becomes higher
than the amount of food aid and is not reaching beneficiaries in donor countries. In
addition aid can disrupt local markets and undermine the resilience of local food systems
when it arrives at the wrong time or reaches the wrong people. In contrast with aid in
kind, “cash-based transfers or food vouchers can stimulate local production, strengthen
local food systems and empower recipients in ways that traditional food aid cannot,” and
it is suggested to eliminate programme, or government-to-government food aid, which,
by definition, is not specifically targeted to needy groups

Further, for the improvement and betterment of food aid the report recommended using
local and regional food-aid procurement where appropriate, as this can be of great benefit
to agricultural development in many low-income developing countries

3. Produce Higher Yields

History repeatedly has shown that better farming techniques can help alleviate
shortages.A group of philanthropists led by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and
Melinda Gates Foundation has, along with the World Bank, begun investing hundreds of
millions of dollars in developing countries, particularly Africa. Their focus: training and
empowering poor farmers and native researchers. Vouchers help local farmers buy
fertilizer and increase production

The Gates Foundation recently announced $306 million in grants to boost agricultural
yields in the developing world, with nearly $165 million to replenish depleted soils in
Africa. Says Rajiv Shah, director for agricultural development at the Gates Foundation:

4. Curb the Speculators

European Union politicians are thinking about using an obscure treaty article to curb
financial speculation, in an attempt to force down oil and food prices.

Tom Buis, president of the national farmers union, calls it "the factor no one wants to talk
about." The weak dollar has led to high commodity prices as pension, hedge, and index
funds have bought oil, gold, and agricultural futures as a hedge against inflation.
Although the U.S. farm industry relies on the commodity markets to manage its own
risks, now it argues that change is needed—even curbing some of the same measures
used to attract money to the market just a few years ago. "I think we have to make sure
that policy is in place to prevent speculators from dominating the market," says Buis.

Among the solutions he suggested for freezing the number of contracts speculators can
hold, or place higher price limits on markets.

15
Good weather, bumper harvests, a change in ethanol policy—any of these could take the
heat off the market. Of course, another step that could do the trick would be unpopular on
Wall Street: the Federal Reserve tightening U.S. monetary policy through higher interest
rates.

5. Break Down Trade Barriers

Politics often kicks into high gear in times of crisis. That's what happened when India,
Egypt, and dozens of other countries dropped their tariffs and taxes on imported
foodstuffs to get cheap food as fast as possible.

Numerous countries, from Argentina to Russia, have rigid export barriers to try to shore
up domestic food supply. India, for example, in March slapped minimum price levels on
exports of nonbasmati rice, ramping up rice prices in neighboring Bangladesh. Ukraine
lifted its export ban on grain at the end of last month. That may become a trend, predicts
Dani Rodrik of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. "I think exporters
will manage to bring those down."

6. Eat Less Meat

Cutting down on carnivorism is a message that the world does not want to hear. Meat
consumption is soaring globally. Since much of that meat is grown by feeding animals
corn, the higher the corn price, the more expensive the meat

It takes about 7 pounds of corn to produce 1 pound of beef, 6.5 pounds of corn to produce
1 pound of pork, and 2.6 pounds of corn to produce 1 pound of chicken, according to the
USDA.

Animal scientists are already working on ways to produce meat with less feed. One
possible solution: DDGS, or dried distillers grain solubles. That is what's left over after
corn is turned into ethanol. But it can be eaten only by cattle. "We need to be able to
figure out how to be more feed-efficient," says Maynard Hogberg, animal science chair at
Iowa State University.

These all will be possible if the world all together takes decisions and handle the
problem.

In June 2008 governments and world leaders agreed at an FAO High-Level

Conference on World Food Security that "the international community needs to take
urgent and coordinated action to combat the negative impacts of soaring food prices on
the world's most vulnerable countries and populations.

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If aid is reduced, there could be another food crisis next year, despite the record 2008
cereal harvest which is now expected. The organization's latest report on crop prospects
and the global food situation shows grain harvests are projected to increase 4.9 percent to
a record 2,232 million metric tones

The current global food crisis requires immediate action to feed people most at risk .The
United States provides more than $1.5 billion in food aid annually to those in need -- with
the majority of that aid going to Africa, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Gainor, who is deputy director of the department’s food assistance division in the Foreign
Agricultural Service. This effort takes place effort through two development programs:
the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program and the Food for Progress Program.

Here are some of the organizations which help the needy people to overcome food
crisis:

• World food program (WFP) is the United Nations frontline agency in the fight
against global hunger where its innovative projects not only put food on the tables
of the weakest and poorest: jobless mothers, school children, landless farmers and
HIV orphans. They also help the hungry to secure food and an income by
themselves

With more than five million Zimbabweans facing severe food shortages the UN's
World Food Programme is appealing for US$140 million to provide vital relief
rations in year 2008 . If the appeal falls short, FP warns it will run out of food in
January 2009 at the peak of the crisis. WFP regional director for East, Central and
Southern Africa says "WFP can prevent this crisis from becoming a disaster but
we need more donations and we need them now.The United States was the largest
donor to WFP's operations in Zimbabwe in 2008, giving US$105 million,
followed by the UK, which donated $18 million, and Australia with $14 millionIn
Sudan, the WFP will take over a food support program to 130,000 internally
displaced people in Gereida, South Darfur, by the end of the year, at the request of
the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has been operating the
program.

• World Bank Group (WBG) is a family of five international organizations

responsible for providing finance and advice countries for the purpose of
economic development and eliminating poverty.

In May 2008, the World Bank Group created a new $1.2 billion rapid financing
facility - the Global Food Response Program - to speed assistance to the neediest
countries. As of October 9 2008, the program had approved and begun disbursing
$193 million in 20 countries, including Somalia and southern Sudan. One project
totaling $7 million is pending approval, according to a statement by the bank,
while an additional $651 million is being earmarked for programs in 11 countries.

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 The money is used to feed poor children and other vulnerable groups, provide for
nutritional supplements to pregnant women, lactating mothers, infants and small
children, to meet additional expenses of food imports or to buy seeds for the new
season.

• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation work to help all people lead healthy,
productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s
health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme
poverty. On 14th August 2008 this foundation has announced a $17.6 million
package of grants to help people most affected by the global food crisis and
support small-scale farmers in developing countries. The largest grant of $10
million to the World Food Programme (WFP)—, $2.9 million to Catholic Relief
Services, $2.7 million Mercy Corps and $2 million Oxfam America. These
grants will support efforts that include providing food for those most in need;
helping families earn money for food through employment opportunities or
cash-for-work programs; and helping farmers continue and improve their
production in times of crisis.
• United States agency for international development (USAID) is the United
States federal government organization responsible for most non-military
foreign aid. USAID has provided 88% of the U.S international food aid and
39% of all global food aid for the current food crisis. SAID will also begin more
than 20 new multi-year assistance programs in 10 developing countries
including Afghanistan, the democratic republic of Congo, Ethiopia , Mali and
Niger which will work on improvement of agriculture and natural resource
management, health and household nutrition, education and microenterprise.

Ending with the opinion of group:

Food is a human right. No doubt that food aid has saved and will save millions of lives
and performs other valuable functions but what is highly regarded is that government of
each country should not vastly depend on other countries but instead should stand on
their feet and should feel the responsibility to see that their people are well fed. (And
must come from this situation to that situation

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References:

http://www.gatesfoundation.org .

http://en.wikipedia.org

http://www.iht.com

http://www.wfp.com

http://www.sundayherald.com

http://www.bbcnews.com

http://www.guardian.com

http://www.reuters.com

http://southasia.oneworld.net

http://usnews.com

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