News from the Observer:
A global rice shortage that has seen prices of one of the world’s most important staple foods increase by 50 per cent in the past two weeks alone is triggering an international crisis, with countries banning export and threatening serious punishment for hoarders.
With rice stocks at their lowest for 30 years, prices of the grain rose more than 10 per cent on Friday to record highs and are expected to soar further in the coming months. Already China, India, Egypt, Vietnam and Cambodia have imposed tariffs or export bans, as it has become clear that world production of rice this year will decline in real terms by 3.5 per cent. The impact will be felt most keenly by the world’s poorest populations, who have become increasingly dependent on the crop as the prices of other grains have become too costly….
the rest of the post can be read here. Australian rice farmers are having troubles too to get enough seeds to grow the next rice crop…
It is time to implement more rigourous measures to ensure that those growing areas that are viable and productive are being protected and not turned into real estate. In Bali, where I carried out my field research, rice fields have been lost at an accelerated rate. Every year, more than 1000 hectares of productive soil are turned into roads, houses or tourist infrastructures. This phenomenon is called rural transformation which Jonathan Rigg any many others have been researching on for several years. The challenges are great. How can the
agricultural sector gain new appreciation for its services it does to the people, and especially to the urban population? How can the agricultural sector change to make sure that the services it provides can be sustained for many more years to come? In my thesis on the Resilience of Balinese Rice farming systems and Farming Communities I am hoping to answer some of these questions.
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9 April, 2008 at 11:52 am
sophie dowling
Hi Rachel - today’s Guardian carries a story on the UN’s concern about food security sparking conflict in numerous states, following 2 days of rioting over food prices in northern Egypt:
“Rising food prices could spark worldwide unrest and threaten political stability, the UN’s top humanitarian official warned yesterday after two days of rioting in Egypt over the doubling of prices of basic foods in a year and protests in other parts of the world.
Sir John Holmes, undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, told a conference in Dubai that escalating prices would trigger protests and riots in vulnerable nations. He said food scarcity and soaring fuel prices would compound the damaging effects of global warming. Prices have risen 40% on average globally since last summer.
“The security implications [of the food crisis] should also not be underestimated as food riots are already being reported across the globe,” Holmes said. “Current food price trends are likely to increase sharply both the incidence and depth of food insecurity.”
He added that the biggest challenge to humanitarian work is climate change, which has doubled the number of disasters from an average of 200 a year to 400 a year in the past two decades.
As well as this week’s violence in Egypt, the rising cost and scarcity of food has been blamed for:
· Riots in Haiti last week that killed four people
· Violent protests in Ivory Coast
· Price riots in Cameroon in February that left 40 people dead
· Heated demonstrations in Mauritania, Mozambique and Senegal
· Protests in Uzbekistan, Yemen, Bolivia and Indonesia
Read the full article here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/09/food.unitednations