CHENNAI, India -- There has been no dearth of expressions of concern regarding the catastrophic consequences of the rising food prices for the global poor. Yet, even as global organizations including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund have joined in the chorus, there is the realization that there are no easy or quick fix solutions to the crisis.
Soaring food prices have threatened food security and led to riots in quite a few countries. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, food prices have increased by 75 percent in dollar terms since 2000. The rise has been particularly pronounced in 2007. While the escalation in rice prices is fairly more recent, the prices of wheat, corn and many food products have been witnessing a surge since 2006.
In practically all developing countries, rising up to the challenges posed by the soaring food prices has become the single most important item on governments' agendas.
Deeper into poverty
The stakes indeed are high. World Bank President Robert Zoellick says the rise in food prices could push 100 million people in developing countries deeper into poverty. IMF has warned that hundreds of thousands of people are at risk of starvation.
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While they emphasize the dimensions of the food crisis, the world bodies really do not offer any new plan of action. Thus, the World Bank's recently adopted "new deal" to tackle the crisis is a reiteration of well-recognized interventions. Basically, it calls for expanding social security programs targeted at the poor over the short-term and improving agricultural productivity in the long-run.
However, exceptional situations such as the food crisis require the world organizations to go beyond such customary advice. Two factors aggravating the food shortage can be neutralized only through global cooperation. The switch from food crops to biofuels in the United States and the European Union, often by subsidizing their farmers, is one of them. The pernicious influences of climate change on food production are well documented, and they can be countered only with the active participation of the developed countries. The latter also should be persuaded to rethink their biofuel policies.
