Soaring prices for basic food items is creating devastating hardship for already poor families and is leading to political instability in some countries. In some cases, governments have been forced to artificially control the cost of staples, such as bread, maize, rice and dairy products in a bid to reduce hunger. However, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the price of wheat has doubled, maize is almost 50 per cent higher than a year ago and rice is 20 per cent more expensive.
The crisis is so severe that The World Bank has warned that 100 million people could sink deeper into poverty.
The increased cost of rice is having a particularly devastating impact on children and families in Cambodia, where the retail price of rice in Phnom Penh rose from 1,700-2,500 riel per kilogram in January, to 2,400-3,600 riel in early April, as a result of local rice shortages. Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen recently announced that "to ensure food security for Cambodia, Cambodia will stop exporting for two months. After two months we will reconsider and look at the rice market's security."
VIETNAM
The situation is similar in Vietnam, where a large number of the country's population live in agriculture-dependent rural areas. "Everything is getting more and more expensive. It makes our life very difficult," says Duong Thi Hien, a 35-year-old woman in Tu Tri commune, Bach Thong district, Bac Kan province. Hien and her husband are both farmers, and are parents to two school-aged children - a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old. Like many other farmers in Vietnam, they are struggling to survive during this price crisis.
Hien's family live purely on the cultivation of 1600m2 of agricultural land, which produce two rice crops and one maize season. Even with all the rice harvested, it is impossible to meet their food needs, and the maize crop is only enough to feed their pigs. Therefore, they make no money from the crops.
Their annual household income comes mainly from two farrows of pigs, which bring in around $613 USD per year. This money covers the family's expenditure for 12 months, including food, healthcare, schooling and crop production costs. On average, each person in the family has only $0.4 USD per day.
Hien has been struggling to cover the family's essential needs. "Last year, working as porters at brick kilns helped us earn small extra money. At the end of the year, we saved $31 for purchasing children's clothes and blankets in the chilly winter. This year, however, I only wish we would have enough money for our necessities, counting the coverage for one month of hunger as well."
Farmers in Vietnam have been adversely affected by the global credit crunch as they have no sustainable income and hardly benefit from Vietnam's fragile social welfare system. And from January to April this year, the price of agricultural products, such as pig feed, rice seeds, pesticide, etc has increased 80-100 per cent.
ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia is one of the least developed countries in the world. Most of the country is prone to drought and food insecurity due to an over dependence on rain-fed agriculture, which is often hindered by Ethiopia's erratic weather patterns. Last year, the failure of the dyer/hageya rains in most pastoral areas, followed by poor-to-very-poor belg/ganna rains has resulted in food shortages in the south eastern pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of the country in 2008. It is anticipated that approximately 2.8 million people in this region will require immediate emergency relief assistance.
The consequences of the failed rains are failed crops, increase in food prices, scarcity of water and pasture, malnutrition especially among children under fives years of age, increased child mortality and loss of livestock. UNICEF estimates that 126,000 children across the country are in immediate need of emergency care.
The Siraro district is one of the most drought prone and food insecure in the Oromiya region of Ethiopia. Under normal circumstances, the belg rains are expected between January and April. However, the rains have failed this year, and as a result, farmers have lost their standing crops, which are mostly maize and millet.
Since most of the farmers practice subsistence farming, they have not been able to cope with the failed harvest, and whole communities have been instantly rendered vulnerable. Children are made to travel up to 30 km in search of water for domestic consumption and for their livestock. They are unable to go to school. Infants are malnourished and about 50 are reported to have died whilst seeking medical attention. As the health and physical condition of livestock deteriorate, their price decline is making it difficult for farmers to sell or exchange them for other food stuff.
Rising food prices around the world:
In Mexico, people are eating 30 per cent fewer fruits and vegetables and 28 per cent less milk because of rising costs. Instead they are consuming 38 per cent more sodas. People have abandoned working in the fields for other employment opportunities in the city.
In Cambodia, the retail price of rice in Phnom Penh rose from 1,700-2,500 riel per kilogram three months ago to 2,400-3,600 riel in early April, as a result of local rice shortages.
In Sri Lanka the cost of rice has doubled since January. Families are reluctant to participate in workshops or continue their volunteer activities because of the cost of transportation.
In Zambia, some children are forced into child labour activities, such as working in quarries and selling items on the streets in order to contribute to family incomes. Increased operational costs are leading to companies downsizing and eliminating jobs.
In all these countries, people are forced to buy less expensive, less healthy foods. Cases of malnutrition are on the rise.
ChildFund Australia, in partnership with ChildFund Alliance, is working with families to establish home gardens and income generating activities to increase buying power. In Mexico, families are encouraged to engage in activities such as producing jam and bread. Alternative energy uses are being encouraged in Sri Lanka as a way to save money.
In Ethiopia, ChildFund has conducted an assessment of its program area in Siraro, and used some of its funds to immediately start a supplementary feeding program for 3,500 severely malnourished children from six of the worst affected Kebeles (neighbourhoods). ChildFund Ethiopia is also designing a larger scale response to include six additional Kebeles in the same program area for six more months. This plan seeks to address the needs of an additional 3,500 severely and moderately malnourished children, and about 8,640 of the most affected people, including pregnant and lactating mothers, and female heads of households.
Speaking about the food crisis, ChildFund Australia CEO, Nigel Spence said: "Making lower cost food options available to families and creating income generation opportunities is helping ease some basic income concerns. Putting food on the table and ensuring children are eating is a priority, and creating cost-cutting initiatives to help save much-needed resources is also providing some benefit."
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
A girl carries a poster that reads: "Who has hunger? I", during a march in Tegucigalpa June 1, 2008. Honduras is one of Latin America's poorest countries, with nearly three-quarters of ...
