Foreign Policy Magazine offers two unique views of global food in its latest issue. In a feature called “The List”, FP‘s Annie Lowrey highlights five global “Food Fights” or disputes linked to food production, trade, safety or national pride. In a photo essay titled, “An Ode to Farming”, FP presents 27 “images of agriculture [from] […]
A previous post on this blog discussed a UN appeal for funds to combat the food crisis that continues to cripple Niger. Now the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN’s food agency, says it plans to step up aid to herders and shepherds in Niger and its eastern neighbor, Chad, after both countries […]
As European countries deal with the fourth day of disruptions and cancellations of flights due to the eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano, Kenya is feeling the effects of the volcano is an unexpected way. Kenya, which exports roses, “…beans, sugar snap peas and other vegetables” to Europe, is finding its exportable crops in danger of […]
The U.N. appealed for $133 million dollars in aid on Wednesday for the food crisis for the food crisis in Niger. Erratic rainfall cost the country its crops last year, and now 60% (7.8 million) of the population faces a food shortage. The statistics don’t get better from there. The UN claims 1.5 million cases […]
The worst drought to hit southwest China in nearly a century is forcing farmers to take drastic measures to cope reports Michael Wines in The New York Times. Wines reports that as, “…serious as the dry spell is, it affects only about 6 percent of China’s farmland and a tiny portion of its 1.3 billion […]
The agricultural ministers of the BRIC countries outlined a new food security strategy after meeting last Friday. According to the meeting’s declaration, the plan is meant “…to promote food security, [by supporting]…a well-functioning, worldwide food market and a trade system based on the principles of justice and freedom from discrimination.” The declaration by the BRIC […]
Fifty-nine countries pledged aid for Haiti during a conference held at the UN today to help the country rebuild itself after the devastating January earthquake. The aid from these nations, as well as other international organizations, adds up to nearly $5.3 billion over the next two years, and totals upwards of $9.9 billion for three […]
The Haitian government will present a $4 billion plan for Haiti’s reconstruction to the delegates from 120 countries meeting at the UN for an international donor conference for Haiti meeting on Wednesday, March 31st. In the “Plan of Action” submitted by the government, some sections are dedicated to the problem of food insecurity, particularly in […]
Aid agencies working in Somalia responded to a report alleging that more than half of the aid provided to Somalis through local World Food Programme (WFP) contractors was not reaching the needy. Mark Bowden, the UN’s aid chief in Somalia disputed the report of the UN Monitoring Group in Somalia, saying that the evidence cited […]
The Japanese government has pledged $10 million USD worth of food aid to help improve Mozambique’s food security situation. An agreement for this aid was signed in Maputo this past Friday by Mozambique’s Deputy Foreign Minister Henrique Banze and the Japanese ambassador Susumu Segawa. The aid will buy 600 tons of rice grown in Japan […]
As online games go, this one not only fills players’ free time, it fills empty stomachs too. FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) featuring a game in which users match selected words to their dictionary definitions. For each answer selected correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated […]
Should the U.S. government create a White House office for coordinating the fight against global hunger? According to William Lambers from the Blogcritic’s “Ending Global Hunger” blog, the answer is yes. Lambers recently wrote about the Roadmap to End Global Hunger, legislation which is intended to provide the U.S. government with the commitment and tools […]
At the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit last week, part of the discussion turned to China’s food security and how food availability in China might affect global demand. Experts discussed how China’s growth has led to increasing urbanization, personal wealth and therefore, changing eating habits. A rise in meat consumption means that China will need […]
It was announced on Monday that the European Union (EU) has given the government of Malawi $12 million to secure its food supply. The funds were given in support of Malawi’s Farm Input Subsidy Programme, with specific regards to the program’s seed components. In a statement, the EU said: “The EU’s assistance enables. The raising […]
In the wake of the recent UN Security Council Report on corruption in humanitarian aid to Somalia, CFR’s Isobel Coleman wrote an op-ed describing how local solutions could prevent such scandals while ensuring the delivery of much-needed food aid. Coleman describes how local Somali women had been successfully deployed in the 1990s at small communal […]