KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Agriculture and Environmental Affairs Mtholephi Mthimkhulu has been meeting with food industry roleplayers to find ways to curb high food prices. In Durban he explained how the global economic crisis has come to local shores, and put his faith in cooperation.
In May 2008, the international community encountered a dramatic economic downturn. In the same month, Egypt experienced social unrest due to soaring food prices.
The argument was rising inflation undermines consumer purchasing power, fuelling dissatisfaction even among professionals. Bread, a staple in the Egyptian diet, had to be subsidised in an attempt to suppress discontent. Let’s bear in mind about half of Egypt’s 70 million citizens live below the poverty line. It was for this reason opposition activists organised the biggest protests ever witnessed.
The overwhelming response by ordinary people was because everyone relies on bread for survival. The day of the protests, 4 May, coincided with the 80th celebrations of the birthday of President Hosni Mubarak. In the second week of April 2008, in a poverty-stricken island Haiti in the Caribbean, food protests turned violent and resulted in death. Thousands took to the streets and demanded President René Preval step down. United Nations troops moved in to restore calm and the US Coast Guard was on alert for a migrant exodus.
The end of March 2008 saw protests led by housewives and youth in Abidjan in the Ivory Coast. President Laurent Gbagbo appealed for calm and summoned captains of the food industry and national consumer group representatives to a meeting at the presidential palace to dialogue. There was similar unrest in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Bangladesh. On 11 April, World Bank chief Robert Zoellick attributed spiralling staple-food prices to high demand for ethanol and other biofuel. He argued most countries with stable governments weren’t immune to food protests. He termed the surge in food prices a “perfect storm”, and put the issue of food prices on the agenda of the World Bank’s annual meeting.
Following the trend, EU leaders reconsidered commitments to use ethanol fuel, and other policy changes. British prime minister Gordon Brown became the leading voice officially telling EU members to back off the goal of having ethanol account for 20% of motor-vehicle fuel in Europe by 2020. From 3 to 5 June 2008, the High Level Conference on World Food Security was held in Rome. The conference heard how emerging biofuel markets were a new and significant source of demand for some agricultural commodities, and a leading factor behind increases in prices on world markets which, in turn, led to higher food prices.
The devastating effect of climate change is partly to blame. Desertification in various parts of Sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia are worrying. Higher output costs, a consequence of increased fuel prices, floods, drought and frost have also led to substantial increases.
The crisis hits home
Our country is no exception. Without doubt, the poor suffer a great deal under spiralling staple-food prices. They have to choose between reducing the amount of food they eat and eating poor quality food with no nutritional value. Producers must either divert or withdraw to low-input, low-output production to meet or exceed targets in the market. Social responsibility becomes the sacrificial lamb at the altar of higher-value market-oriented production. Since my initial meeting with decision makers in the food industry on 20 January 2009, we seem to have triggered vibrant debate around spiralling food prices. Retailers have made announcements on price cuts and convened important meetings with suppliers.
We may have to encourage poor communities to buy in bulk. Their collective buying power, insignificant as it may be in monetary terms, may be the way to deal with high food prices. Bulk buying may be a long-term answer. The culture of Stokvels in townships and rural communities can benefit from this. Last year, a bag of potatoes in Gauteng was sold at R70 and in KZN at R90. Yet, some potatoes sold in Gauteng are from KZN. Let’s listen to poor communities and devise the best possible mechanisms to address dire challenges. – Robyn Joubert
Contact the Department of Agriculture on (033) 355 9100. |fw
