6 June 2008
editorial
Nairobi — The UN global food crisis summit going on in Rome enters its fourth day without a consensus on what to do to ease the soaring cost of food, especially maize, rice and wheat, due to a global shortage, which was never foreseen.
There have been fine, inspirational speeches. The United Nations Secretary-General has raised the red flag, even though that was hardly necessary, considering the spate of food riots that have hit many countries in Asia and Africa in the past three months.
Heads of State from 44 nations have voiced grave concerns about the situation. Accusing fingers have been pointed. The only things lacking in this summit convened by the Food and Agriculture Organisation are practical, short-term answers to this global crisis.
Nothing, for instance, has been said about how the poor Kenyan peasant who, already buffeted by poverty and unable to afford three square meals a day, is going to eat in the next five months, seeing as the rains have failed for two seasons in a row, and whatever he had saved was consumed by a fire lit by political mediocrity and fuelled by avarice and ethnic chauvinism.
Replicate this in most countries in sub-Sahara Africa and parts of Asia, and the situation looks bleak indeed.
But at least one thing has become clear. Harvests and food stocks have dwindled in the world, driving the prices up, and according to forecasts, 100 million more people on top of the 850 million already going hungry, are in grave danger of starvation.
It is not enough to blame the US and Brazil for using food crops and sugar-cane to produce biofuels. It is not enough to make lofty declarations about intentions to raise food production in poor agrarian economies. Immediate measures must be taken by the world community to feed those who can no longer afford to feed themselves.
Issues like the trade-distortions brought about by tariff barriers and subsidies adopted by rich countries to protect their farmers must be addressed sooner or later. But what is most urgent now is the answer to the question: What will the world do to ensure that close to a billion most vulnerable people are helped to stay alive?
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
