Food crisis still a reality in SE Asia
By Jet Hermida on May 23, 2009 in Agriculture and Globalization, ASEAN, Food Security, Rural Poverty in SEA, Sustainable Agriculture
By Chee Yoke Heong | Third World Network Features
While the current global financial and economic turbulence continues to grab headlines, the food crisis of recent past is still with us. The former should serve as a critical opportunity to address the food problem that would worsen given the multiple challenges to sustainable agriculture and the threats posed by climate change, according to a new UN report.
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in its April 2009 report “Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in Asia and the Pacific”, said food insecurity is still widespread across much of the Asia and Pacific region where millions of people go hungry. While food prices have fallen from 2008’s spike, they remain high. With rising unemployment and falling incomes, the economic crisis will become a food crisis particularly for the poor and vulnerable. Also, there is the danger that once the global economy recovers, the pressures that pushed up food prices last year will return.
Post a Comment