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Events & Issues
Global Food Crisis
DON’T PASS THE BUCK, MR. BUSH
By Radhakrishna Rao
New Delhi, May 09, 2008
The US President George W. Bush’s recent
observation that the growing prosperity of an upwardly mobile
Indian middle class is to blame for the global food crisis
appears far-fetched and totally in variance with the
prevailing ground reality.
“Worldwide there is an increasing demand for food. There turns
out to be prosperity in developing world which is good. It is
going to be good for you because you will be selling products
in the countries, you know, big countries perhaps, and it is
hard to sell products into countries that are not
prosperous…It, also, however increases the demand”, was Bush’
words of wisdom.
He elaborated saying “So for example, just as an interesting
thought for you, there are 350-million people in India who are
classified as middle class. That is bigger than America. Their
middle class is larger than our entire population .And when
you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition
and better food and so demand is high and that causes prices
to go up”. Of course, Bush also cited changes in climatic
patterns and spiraling energy costs as some of the other
contributors to the global food price spiral.
Prior to what is being termed as a highly objectionable
statement by the head of the world’s largest economy, US
Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice had created a near
controversy by saying that the global food price spiral was
partly due to the growing intake of food in countries like
India and China. The distorted thesis of Bush and Rice that
the severe food crisis haunting a large part of the world was
a direct outcome of measures taken by India and China to keep
the foodgrains within the confines of their countries by
imposing severe export restrictions.
Right from the outset the Bush administration has been blaming
“event and developments” outside its home country as the
causative factors for problems haunting the US. The uncalled
for bloody intervention in Iraq is but one of the many
instances of the 21st century avatar of the so called “gun
boat diplomacy” perfected by the Bush Administration.
Surprisingly, while throwing blame at the doorsteps of India
and China for the current food crisis affecting a large
section of the global population, Bush would not agree with
the widely held view that the growing diversion of corn
produced in the US for the production of ethanol as a fuel
alternative was pushing up food prices. “I don’t subscribe to
the notion that ethanol is the main cost driver. The reason
why food prices are higher is, because, energy costs are high.
And if you are a farmer you are going to pass on the cost in
the product you sell to the buyers” quipped Bush.
However, food policy analysts from across the world have been
driving home the point that diversion of food crops for the
production of eco- friendly and cost-efficient bio fuels is a
major contributor to the foodgrains’ shortage experienced by
the world at large. Similarly, there has been a serious
concern over the diversion of prime farm land meant for
growing food crops to raise oil yielding crops .Against this
backdrop, the competition between food and fuel is likely to
hit the developing countries much harder that the
industrialised nations.
Rightly, Defence Minister A.K.Antony has described Bush’s
hollow argument as a “cruel joke”. Antony was clear in his
perception that the widespread conversion of agricultural land
for commercial and bio-fuel cultivation purposes had, in fact,
resulted in food shortage at the global level. ”Policies of
the US have also been responsible for foodgrains shortage.
Those who criticize should not set apart farm land for other
purposes .The countries including the US should rectify these
mistakes” he observed.
The argument put forth by Antony receives support from the
recent FAO (Food and Agricultural Organisation) data which
pins the blame on the US for the fast-spreading global food
crisis. In fact, FAO data revealed in clear terms that the
consumption of cereals is growing far more rapidly in the US
than in India or China. A fact-filled study of the global food
market by FAO states that the consumption of cereals by India
is projected to have grown 2.17 per cent from 193.1-million
tonnes in 2006-07 to 197.3- million tonnes in 2007-08, while
that in neighbouring China it had gone up 1.8 per cent from
382.2-million tonnes to 389.1-million tonnes. More
importantly, during the same period the consumption of cereals
in the US has been projected to have grown 11.81 per cent from
277.6-million tonnes to 310.4-million tonnes.
Indeed, following the skyrocketing of oil prices in the global
market, the US has been forced to use 30-million tonnes of
corn to make bio-fuel. “About 30-million tonnes of corn was
used in the US to produce biofuels last year,” observed Asia
Director, International Food Policy Research Institute, Ashok
Gulati. Though the demand for foodgrains in the Indian market
has been going up, the situation has been made worse by
serious supply constraints, he elaborated. ”Factors like the
drought in Australia, diversion of corn to biofuel by the US
and speculative investment in futures market globally have
caused prices to flare” he said.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-Moon has expressed his
concern over the rising food prices causing a veritable
“global crisis”. Commenting on the worldwide protests over the
food prices’ spiral, Moon thus wanted the world leaders to
mull on a strategy aimed at devising ways and means to enhance
food security and improve food production and distribution
system.
Back home, Minister of State for Power and Congress leader
Jairam Ramesh has blamed the US-led developed world for
diverting the precious crop land for biofuel production for
the current food crisis. “George Bush has never been known for
his knowledge of economics and he has just proved once again
how comprehensively wrong he is. To say that the demand for
food in India is causing global food crisis is completely
wrong”, he said.
However, the ruling political elite in India has done precious
little either to curb the inflation or to ensure food security
for a large section of impoverished population. While the
urban middle class with its growing purchasing power has been
in a position to buy as much food as it needs, rural poor,
landless farmers, daily wage earners and the
socio-economically disadvantaged sections of the society are
forced to make do with a decreasing intake of food. It is a
grim ground reality that malnutrition and a sort of
semi-starvation haunt a large segment of the Indian
population. The callous and continuous neglect of the
agricultural sector by successive ruling dispensations in New
Delhi has contributed in a big way to the food crisis
threatening the country’s growth.
While both the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance
Minister P.Chidambaram are never tired of harping on an
“impressive GDP(Gross Domestic Product)growth”, they have no
answer as to how this achievement has helped the poor and
underprivileged to lead a life without ”penury and suffering”
.As things stand now, the fast spreading food insecurity that
could breed violent street protests could become a major
challenge for India’s ruling elite, whose concern at present
appears to win the elections at any cost. ---INFA
(Copyright India News & Feature Alliance)
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