May 17, 2008
Hungry for solutions
At a food distribution center in Port-au-Prince, Haitians wait for hours to receive U.N. and regional food aid. (AP photo / April 19, 2008)
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Food shortages coupled with sharp price increases have hit many developing countries, triggering calls for a worldwide relief campaign.
The World Bank estimates that food prices have risen by 83 percent in three years. The skyrocketing cost of food staples, stoked by rising fuel prices, unpredictable weather and increased demand from India and China, has sparked sometimes violent protests in the Caribbean, Africa and Asia. As many as 100 million people could be forced deeper into poverty, according to the head of the World Bank.
Angry street protesters are calling for immediate action. But long-term solutions are likely to be slow, costly and complicated, experts warn.
Among the potential responses: increasing food production, rethinking the push on biofuels ,which many blame for pushing up food prices, and reconsidering the once-taboo topic of genetically modified crops. But there are major obstacles to increasing food production, including a lack of government investment in agriculture and -- in Africa particularly -- a scarcity of fertilizers, good irrigation and access to markets.
Copyright © 2008, The Baltimore Sun
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