South Asia faces food crisis despite India's high productivity
Lea Terhune | Friday, 8 August 2008
THOSE most affected by the current global food crisis are the poor, particularly in developing countries, international agencies and independent experts agree, and a large number of people for whom steep food prices spell disaster live in South Asia.
Rice, an important staple, is in short supply. The United Nations reported in June that Nepal, which imports much of its rice, has 2.5 million people in immediate need of assistance and 3.9 million more whose welfare may be compromised by rising prices.
In Afghanistan and Pakistan, people are protesting wheat prices so high that many cannot afford to buy flour to make bread.
Bangladesh likewise is afflicted, its agriculture disrupted by frequent floods.
In light of these problems, the US government has asked countries implementing food export bans, including India, to lift them.
India, regional leader and emerging global economic powerhouse, fails to deliver sufficient food to several hundred million of its people despite its 8.0 per cent annual growth in its economy.
Although India's success "has created enormous opportunities for accelerated human development," it has achieved only "modest progress in poverty reduction," according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2007/2008 report. One reason is a growing agricultural shortfall resulting from inefficiencies in policies and infrastructure, according to the UNDP.
India seeks to revitalize agricultural output: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for an agricultural revival akin to the "green revolution," a production surge made possible by high-yield crops and new farming methods introduced in the 1960s. The U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative, begun in 2005, emphasizes cooperation in agricultural education, research, and commercial cooperation with public and private sector participants and aims to revitalize farming.
In India, high food prices can turn quickly into political crises. "Exactly 10 years ago
Rice, an important staple, is in short supply. The United Nations reported in June that Nepal, which imports much of its rice, has 2.5 million people in immediate need of assistance and 3.9 million more whose welfare may be compromised by rising prices.
In Afghanistan and Pakistan, people are protesting wheat prices so high that many cannot afford to buy flour to make bread.
Bangladesh likewise is afflicted, its agriculture disrupted by frequent floods.
In light of these problems, the US government has asked countries implementing food export bans, including India, to lift them.
India, regional leader and emerging global economic powerhouse, fails to deliver sufficient food to several hundred million of its people despite its 8.0 per cent annual growth in its economy.
Although India's success "has created enormous opportunities for accelerated human development," it has achieved only "modest progress in poverty reduction," according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2007/2008 report. One reason is a growing agricultural shortfall resulting from inefficiencies in policies and infrastructure, according to the UNDP.
India seeks to revitalize agricultural output: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for an agricultural revival akin to the "green revolution," a production surge made possible by high-yield crops and new farming methods introduced in the 1960s. The U.S.-India Agricultural Knowledge Initiative, begun in 2005, emphasizes cooperation in agricultural education, research, and commercial cooperation with public and private sector participants and aims to revitalize farming.
In India, high food prices can turn quickly into political crises. "Exactly 10 years ago