A hunger for subsidies

The food riots in parts of Africa, Asia and the Caribbean have multiple causes not least a long-overdue surge in demand from people in developing countries eating more as they lift themselves out of poverty. But, as an editorial in the Washington Times reminds us, agriculture subsidies are also to blame. The diversion of corn crops to produce ethanol particularly in the US is a big contributor to the crisis while at the same time subsidised overproduction by the West has removed much of the financial incentive for  poorer countries, particularly in Africa, to grow their own crops.

Comments

[Victor Keegan]

Thanks for those comments . Agreed there may need to be a transition period. Your second query may answer itself if a level playing field were to be introduced.

[Rav Gera]

I'm very confused about this. OK, US and Eu subsidies reduce agricultural activity in Africa, but nevertheless the bizarre sight of Africans starving because US farmers have switched crops reminds us that, right now, Africans are very dependent on that cheap subsidised food. If we are to remove subsidies, there surely needs to be some sort of transition period to make sure African agriculture can fill in the gap?

It seems to me that for all the criticism of biofuels, in the long term it's better for everyone if western farmers get out of food production, so the west can become a market for developing countries' agricultural produce instead of the other way round.