Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Using Public Food Grain Stocks to Enhance Food SecurityThe recurrent global food price spikes
 in 2008 and 2010 rekindled interest in the use of national
 food grain stockpiles ('stocks') to enhance food
 security. They were a commonly used instrument in government
 responses to these food prices spikes. They were also widely
 considered as a useful tool after the 1974 food crisis and
 its associated food price volatility and supply disruptions.
 Large stocks became a reality at the global level in the
 1980s and 1990s as a side-product of farm income support
 policies in the developed countries. However, large
 'buffer' or 'intervention' stocks, as
 the grain accumulations in developed countries came to be
 called, eventually proved to be very costly forms of
 producer income support and were drawn down for fiscal and
 other reasons starting in the late 1990s. This report,
 prepared for government and development partner
 practitioners, revisits the issues and evidence concerning
 grain stocks. It starts with an open mind concerning stocks
 as policy tools and specifically seeks to avoid the
 polarization of views that grew up around the topic in the
 1980s and 1990s. It takes the form of an evidence-based
 review of developing country experience. Historically, grain
 stocks have been used for two main purposes. First, to
 stabilize domestic prices and second, to provide readily
 available emergency food and safety net reserves targeted at
 the most vulnerable. The assessment of actual experience of
 using grain stocks for these two purposes is summarized as
 follows. Using grain stocks to stabilize domestic prices has
 generally not been an effective instrument to improve food
 security outcomes. Developed countries no longer use stocks
 to stabilize domestic prices due to the unpredictability and
 often unsustainably high budget costs. In Africa and Asia,
 where price stabilization programs are still frequently
 pursued, high fiscal costs are crowding out needed public
 investment in agricultural productivity and rural
 infrastructure. The often unpredictable grain purchases and
 releases of stabilization programs are discouraging private
 investment in both grain production and storage, which are
 the key to lowering both the level and volatility of food prices.
-
Africa Can Help Feed AfricaAfrica's growing demand for food
 has been met increasingly by imports from the global market.
 This, coupled with rising global food prices, brings
 ever-mounting food import bills. In addition, population
 growth and changing demand patterns will double demands over
 the next 10 years. Two key issues must be addressed: (a)
 establishing a consistent and stable policy environment for
 regional trade in fertilizers; and (b) investing in
 institutions that reduce the transaction costs of
 coordination failures. Many countries have enacted new
 fertilizer laws in recent years, but few have provided the
 resources to define and enforce regulations through
 standards and testing capacity. This report shows that
 reducing regulatory burdens on fertilizers and the
 consequent increase in use of fertilizers will have
 substantial impacts on returns to farmers, with consequent
 impacts on poverty. The report highlights the range of
 barriers to food trade in Africa along the entire value
 chain. The issues pertain to many ministries and agencies
 within government: trade, agricultural, health and safety,
 transport, and finance. This in turn requires a "whole
 of government' approach to freeing up food trade, which
 will require strong and effective leadership to articulate
 the rationale and sustain the momentum for reform. Leaders
 must also address the hard choices that will arise in
 dealing with the political economy constraints that have
 until now blocked the capacity of Africa to exploit its
 enormous potential to feed Africans.
-
Food Insecurity and ConflictThis paper provides a synthetic overview
 of the link between food insecurity and conflict, addressing
 both traditional (civil and interstate war) and emerging
 (regime stability, violent rioting and communal conflict)
 threats to security and political stability. In addition, it
 addresses the various attempts by national governments,
 intergovernmental organizations, and civil society to
 address food insecurity and, in particular, the link with
 conflict. It begins with a discussion of the various effects
 of food insecurity for several types of conflict, and
 discusses the interactions among political, social, and
 demographic factors that may exacerbate these effects. It
 then discusses the capabilities of states, international
 markets, intergovernmental organizations, and
 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to break the link
 between food security and conflict by focusing on mechanisms
 that can shield both food consumers and producers from
 short-term price instability. Finally, it discusses
 projected trends in both food insecurity and conflict and
 concludes with some brief comments on policies that can
 build resilience in light of projections of higher and
 volatile food prices and a changing climate.