Global food crisis: complexities and opportunities

by Dan Wiens

Prices are increasing sharply for some of the most basic foodstuffs traded on international commodity markets. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says that global food prices have risen by 40 percent over the last nine months, prompting fears that the world's poorest people will buy less food or less nutritious food or be forced to rely on aid.

These skyrocketing food prices triggered serious riots in the past month in 10 countries where Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) offers programs relating to food security. In partnership with local agencies MCC is closely monitoring the impact of the food crisis and formulating appropriate responses.

MCC has a long history of developing programs that address food security issues. MCC programs include direct food assistance, water projects, agricultural supports and working with community groups and governments to advocate for just trade and fair economic policies.

The food crisis shows the complexity of global food systems and the complex relationship between food prices and food justice.

For years food activists have complained about low food prices. The rationale for this begins with the fact that almost 70 percent of the world's chronically hungry people are farmers or farm labourers in developing countries.

Low food prices were actually causing hunger, so the argument went, because food producers were not receiving adequate compensation for their labours. This resulted in the tragic irony of hungry farmers.

Farm households that grow more food than they consume are now able to sell their produce at higher prices, providing them with more income for things like school fees and medicine. However, millions of farmers in developing countries are net food purchasers, meaning that they buy more than they raise, and they are better off with lower food prices.

So higher food prices are both blessing and curse for the world’s hungry farmers, but the complexity doesn’t stop there.

Try asking farmers in Canada and the U.S. what they think of the higher food prices of late. These farmers struggled for more than a decade with food commodity prices that were lower than the cost of production, pushing many of them out of farming and otherwise causing much stress and hardship. The situation was at least partly caused by low food prices. Who can blame these farmers for being happy with current situation?

Are you baffled about what to think about high food prices yet?

No one is arguing about whether or not the spike in food prices is driving up the overall number of hungry people. But it’s hard to say what the longer-term net impact of higher food prices will be. Adjustments of all sorts are being made at multiple levels in response to this situation.

With the higher cost of importing food, countries are realizing that it might make sense to invest in agricultural production at home. They don’t want to use all their hard-earned foreign currency on imported food.

Until recently, governmental spending on agriculture was in a decades-long decline. This resulted in inequities in places such as Kenya, where 80 percent of the population earn their living from agriculture, yet only three percent of government spending goes to support that sector.

With higher food prices, governments are rethinking their agriculture spending. Governments all over the world are announcing new plans to support their erstwhile beleaguered farm sectors. This could potentially benefit not only hungry farmers, but it could also lead to an increase in global food security.

These complexities in the global food system should not paralyze us. Instead, they should point us toward positive action.

Dan Wiens is Mennonite Central Committee’s water and food security coordinator.

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See also:

Global food crisis: helping through mcc What you can do Global food crisis: MCC responds