Health challenges
High food prices: the what, who, and how of proposed policy actions
What can be done to combat rising food prices?
Authors:
J. von Braun
Publisher:
International Food Policy Research Institute , 2008
The sharp increase in food prices over the past couple of years has led to increasingly serious concerns about the situation of people around the world. This policy brief aims to identify what needs to be done now to address the problem. It stresses that the complex causes of the current food and agriculture crisis require a comprehensive response, and that developing and developed-country governments, as well as international organizations, have key roles to play.
In view of the urgency of assisting people and countries in need, the first set of policy actions outlined - an emergency package -consists of steps that can yield immediate impact:
- expand emergency responses and humanitarian assistance to food-insecure people and
people threatening government legitimacy - eliminate agricultural export bans and export restrictions
- undertake fast-impact food production programmes in key areas
- change biofuel policies
A second set of actions - a resilience package - consists of the following steps:
- calm markets with the use of market-oriented regulation of speculation, shared public
grain stocks, strengthened food-import financing and reliable food aid - invest in social protection
- scale up investments for sustained agricultural growth
- complete the Doha Round of World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations
The authors highlight that investment in these actions calls for additional resources and argue that policymakers should consider mobilising resources from additional sources, suggesting four possible sources.
Other key recommendations include:
- the design of programmes must be country driven and country owned, with accountability for sound implementation also resting with countries
- a new international architecture for the governance of agriculture, food, and nutrition is needed to effectively implement the initiatives described
