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https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/...ks-to-change-international-food-aid.html?_r=0An Obama administration plan to change the way the United States distributes its international food aid has touched off an intense lobbying campaign by a coalition of shipping companies, agribusiness and charitable groups who say the change will harm the nations economy and hamper efforts to fight global hunger. Proponents of the plan, however, say it would enable the United States to feed about 17 million more people each year, while helping to fight poverty by buying the crops of farmers in poor countries.
According to people briefed on the soon-to-be released fiscal year 2014 budget, the administration is expected to propose ending the nearly 60-year practice of buying food from American farmers and then shipping it abroad.
The administration is proposing that the government buy food in developing countries instead of shipping food from American farmers overseas, a process that typically takes months. The proposed change to the international food aid program is expected to save millions in shipping costs and get food more quickly to areas that need it.
The administration is also reportedly considering ending the controversial practice of food aid monetization, a process by which Washington gives American-grown grains to international charities. The groups then sell the products on the market in poor countries and use the money to finance their antipoverty programs.
Rising global food demand will push up prices 10 percent to 40 percent over the coming decade and governments need to boost investment to increase farm production, a forecast by two international agencies said yesterday. Growth in food production has slowed over the past decade even as rising incomes in developing countries boosted consumption, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said. Were observing slower growth in production and productivity, and that is a concern, FAO economist Merritt Cluff said at a news conference. Governments need to find ways to give farmers access to technology to increase output and get more of their crops to market, the agencies said in a report, Agricultural Outlook 2013 to 2022.
Prices are expected to rise 10 percent to 40 percent over the coming decade, with the cost of meat rising faster and that of grains more slowly, said Ken Ash, director-general of the OECDs trade and agriculture division. We would urge governments around the world to begin to shift and to shift quickly from old-style policies to a greater focus on productivity and innovation, Ash said. If we carry on blissfully as if nothing has changed in the world, there could be a problem, he added. Higher prices will have their biggest impact in developing countries where some families spend up to 60 percent of their incomes on food, Cluff said.
Investment in farming has fallen in recent decades due to a long-term decline in commodity prices and has yet to rebound despite price spikes since 2008, the agencies said. As a result, they said, annual production growth is forecast to slow to 1.5 percent compared with the past decades 2.1 percent. Its about a third less. Thats a big difference, OECD secretary-general Angel Gurria said. The agencies urged governments to avoid interfering with market forces that can encourage farmers to produce more by raising prices for their goods. Food consumption in developing countries has grown by up to 30 percent a year over the past decade as incomes rose, while consumption in developed countries changed little, the agencies said.
Chinas imports of meat and oilseeds are forecast to grow as its increasingly prosperous consumers spend more on food, the agencies said. Beijing has pursued self-sufficiency in production of rice, wheat and other grain, but for soybeans and other oilseeds relies on imports from the US, Brazil and other countries. Imports of oilseeds are expected to rise by 40 percent over the next 10 years, accounting for 59 percent of global trade in oilseeds, while dairy imports would rise 20 percent, the OECD and FAO said. China should remain self-sufficient in its main crops, but for other products its sheer size will keep markets on edge over the next decade, Cluff said.
Food prices to rise: world bodies - Taipei Times
