• Food policy

Food policy

With high food prices threatening the food security of millions of vulnerable households, hunger and malnutrition are back in the headlines. Some regions have made significant headway in combating hunger and malnutrition, but in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, the Global Hunger Index (GHI) remains high. Food prices appear likely to remain high in the near term, leading to food and nutrition insecurity for poor people. In this risky and changing environment, this paper highlights key trends and the geographic areas of greatest vulnerability.

The paper deems that poverty and hunger can become entwined in a vicious cycle. Not surprisingly, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are not the only regions with the highest GHI scores, they also have the highest poverty rates. However, the trends in poverty and hunger reduction in the two regions are different in magnitude. South Asia’s GHI and poverty rate reflect rapid progress since 1990, whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa the GHI has decreased much more slowly and poverty has been persistent.

The paper indicates that higher food prices have uneven effects across countries, depending on a range of factors. One such factor is whether countries are net importers or exporters of cereals, an indicator that reveals their vulnerability to rising cereal prices. Net cereal importers are likely to suffer from higher prices than benefit from them. In fact, higher food prices will probably hit hardest countries with the highest rates of hunger, given that none of the countries with extremely alarming GHI are net cereal exporters. High prices also reduce the amount of food aid that assistance agencies can buy with fixed budgets. Reduced food aid flows, in turn, threaten people who are in a crisis and depend on food aid for their survival. The greatest long-term damage from higher food prices may come from impacts on poor infants and children.

In order to overcome the crisis, the authors note that specific actors should be assigned to precise responsibilities. In the process, governments and institutions can then be held accountable for their actions. Besides short-term solutions, concerned organisations must also address long-term solutions, such as reforming trade rules and biofuel policies. The paper argues that highlighting the weaknesses of the current world food system would enable the food price crisis to serve as a catalyst for building a more effective food system. Such a system would meet the food and nutrition needs of all people.

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