Food crisis is an evil that has affected the entire world. Skyrocketed food prices have afflicted the poor and developing countries and inflamed anger and discontent among the common people. The escalating prices of essential commodities were noted during the last three years but this year the crisis has reached its zenith.
Natural causes coupled with the human induced factors are responsible for this. Ecological factors like climate change, global warming, increasing pollution and insufficient rainfall are some of the reasons of the crisis. At the other end, negligence of agriculture and excessive reliance on chemical fertilizers have reduced the yield. As an offshoot of industrialisation, agriculture and research on agriculture are given least priority, and public investment on agricultural sector has reduced. The global crisis has bitterly exposed the flawed infrastructure and poor policy pursued by individual Governments in their respective countries. The glamour of globalisation has shifted the focus of market invest from food crop to cash crop. This has multiplied the fortune of the multinational companies pursuing agro-business and sidelined the petty farmers who are working hard for earning their livelihood. Increase in transport cost coupled with the hike of energy expenditure has contributed to turn the situation dismal.
The civilized nations have to admit much of the blame for the catastrophe. The developed countries that have fixed the terms of the trade are responsible for the food riots and political unrest which erupted in Haiti, Mexico, Egypt, Yemen, Bangladesh, Senegal, Pakistan, Thailand and many other countries. The Governments of the respective countries have failed to confront the hunger-tsunami and thus the poor and malnourished were pushed to the extreme periphery.
The prices of the food commodities like rice, wheat, corn, vegetables, meat, and edible oil have witnessed unprecedented upsurge. The World Bank has calculated that the price of wheat has risen by 120% in the past years, the price of rice went up by 75% in the last two months and on an average food prices have risen by 120% in the past years. For instance, the price of corn, which is a major staple food in Latin America, has doubled in the past two years. This is because of the fact that corn is diverted for production of bio-fuel and ethanol in the USA. Hence, the staple food source of Latin Americans is exhausted for non-food use.
Moreover, Brazil and European Union countries are diverting most of their sugarcane and vegetable oil production to make bio-fuel. All these diversions, which count on staple and nutritious products, are aggravating the crisis. The global players have calculated their cost benefit in production of bio-fuel as an alternative to the production of petroleum without taking into account the need of the vast section of the populace. This food crunch indeed is beneficial for them as the high price of food commodity would provide them with the opportunity of speculative trade with the less developed world. And the terms of trade would be tilted in favour of the developed ones.
The situation prevailing in the third world countries is grim and morbid. The rural poor, wage earners, landless farmers and the disadvantaged have virtually reached the point of starvation. Financial assistance from IMF and World Bank would not simplify the problem. Reliance on the loan provided by the developed countries would only increase the dependence on those who only have snatched away the bread from their mouth.
Contrary to the global scenario of galloping inflation, India has been able to uphold an image of her own. India has almost banned the export of rice and wheat from the last year as these are the major staple of the country. In addition, the Government has managed to restrict the prices of the grain below the global statistics.
In a developing country like India, minor increase in food prices reduces the food consumption of the poor which consequently results in malnourishment and disease. The Government has much to do against this backdrop like promotion of sustainable agriculture. Conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural use should be minimised. Incentive of remunerative marketing and beneficial packages might be awarded by the Government to the cultivators. The Government should allocate more funds for research and analysis on agriculture which includes cultivation of crop, animal husbandry, forestry, and explore the traditional knowledge base of the farmers.
Agriculture must rule at par with the industry in the development paradigm which would optimise both income and employment. An integrated approach and holistic vision must be adopted by the Government to remove the hindrances and bottlenecks of designed policies. The Panchayat Raj Institutions and Self Help Groups must be accommodated for suggestions and identifying constraints that are responsible for the slow pace of production. Technological Revolution and advanced communication would help them in this endeavour. Information Technology may be used to transplant new ideas of agro-techniques and e-farming to the communities of the bio-village. A community Grain Bank can be sustained with local yields to meet the emergency. Without high production and consistent supply of food grain, the Indian farmers would not be able to face the challenges thrown by Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation in the long run.
In India, agriculture is the backbone and source of food security for millions. If this sector-base is neglected, the entire superstructure would collapse. It is the fundamental duty of every Government to address the most fundamental need of its citizens. The eternal problem of food insecurity has taken a demonic form. A trans-national collaboration is solicited to mitigate the crisis; otherwise the Millennium Development Goal of halving the global hunger by 2015 would remain a long distant dream to be attained.