tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983015314873397143.post1434462126475743896..comments2014-09-06T03:10:47.560+02:00Comments on Sustaining a better world.: Egonomics of poverty: "Silly" reasons for hunger and poverty in AfricaAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14615615629943526240noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983015314873397143.post-21138539260385644352012-06-14T13:41:56.987+02:002012-06-14T13:41:56.987+02:00Thanks very much Frank for your detailed contribut...Thanks very much Frank for your detailed contribution. I enjoyed reading the referenced texts. I must admit, most of these things are new to me. I am enjoying learning about them though. <br /><br />I particularly read the FAO DG's speech with interest. To me, it summarises my entire sentiments on this "we produce enough food to feed everyone...but we don't feed all" debate. The DG says "The latest figures show 205 million people in Africa, 27% of the population, are chronically hungry." Thats quite a compelling statistic. If it doesn't scream "SOMETHING IS WRONG!!" i dont know what will. <br /><br />In suggesting a way forward, the DG states, "Second, all states need to assume their responsibilities for meeting the basic needs of their people including the right to food." I am strongly in support of such sentiments. Above all, we need to take control of our situation and play a part in our own rescue excerssice. Clearly the fact that we are already in a very difficult situation makes it hard for us to make significant changes. The DG makes it clear where it says "Any country which has a fifth or more of its population chronically undernourished...is going to find the fast economic growth needed for poverty reduction elusive. It is like trying to drive a car with the hand brake on."However, we can at least stop digging ourselves deeper into this rut and start taking the necessary steps to get out of it. <br /><br />Therefore, i feel the responsibility still falls on the states and people suffering from the hunger and poverty challenge to play a part in helping themselves, even if it only means stretching out to accept well intentioned assistance.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14615615629943526240noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-983015314873397143.post-52557611328321756072012-06-14T12:44:57.282+02:002012-06-14T12:44:57.282+02:00Thank you for introducing a very important issue, ...Thank you for introducing a very important issue, food security. Though I agree with you that solutions should come from us as Africans, foreign intervention has to be taken with a pinch of salt. I am happy to contribute to this for which I would like to believe is an intellectual forum and respect each contribution that will be placed on this blog. At an international congress of nutrition held in South Africa in 2005, the Director General of FAO’s speech mentioned that, “despite the world producing food enough to feed everyone; 1 in 7 people don’t get food” (http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/docs/Negociating_the_Future_of_Nutrition-Speech.pdf). In economics we call such issue as economics of distribution. But the question is who decides the allocation of the world food? The issue of inequalities does not end there. There are countries that are so advanced, and can predict what will happen 1500 years from now using their scientific advancements. I was surprised that America is one of the largest producers of maize in the world, China loans large amounts of money to the US in return of a supply of maize. The reason is that China’s agriculture is no longer viable because the aquifers they relied on are drying up and fear to be food insecure. Saudi Arabia is in the same boat, drying aquifers and has resorted to buying land in other countries. A larger part of Sudan’s arable land is owned by Saudi and your wonder why there is hunger and mulnutrion in Sudan, they don’t have the land to plough. My dear mother country Zimbabwe, little did I know that the Chinese own a huge proportion of land; they farm and send back food to their people, (Source food land grabs data) (http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4479-grain-releases-data-set-with-over-400-global-land-grabs). Check this out you will be surprised see which countries own land in the poverty and hunger stricken countries; it’s shocking. As if all efforts of getting land from the poor were not enough damage, there came the Intellectual Property Rights in Agriculture (IPRs). This is another evil in the guise of expanding agricultural produce for developing countries. The IPR protects the seed companies who genetically modify the local seed varieties they get from our poor grannies and patent them. Under these provisions the sharing of seed is prohibited, a farmer cannot save seed from the previous harvest for replant, probably will not germinate, all this is detriment to food security. To make matters worse this provision has been included in the World Trade Organization for all countries to comply with the IPR provisions. Simple logic is that the WTO which is the governance of all trade and its powerful sanctioning power can cause economic shocks for countries that fail to comply with the IPR. The second question is which countries pull the strings in WTO? The third question is where do the largest seed producing companies come from? The issue is guys, Globalization is good as long as it is fair; the big racket behind the creation of markets of seed in Africa is driving us into hunger yet these rich countries who claim to assist have large reserves and even still dig deeper for our hard earned little resources to finish us off. Solutions should be by Africans, and they should find ways of getting out of poverty and avoid being food insecure.Frank Chirowa , MPH (Global Health), Msc (Economics)noreply@blogger.com