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Food prices: Waking up to Africa's nightmare

By Markku Niskala, secretary general, International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescent Societies

Last week's announcement by the United States government that it was releasing $200 million in emergency aid to alleviate chronic food shortages should be applauded by all. This intervention means that the UN's World Food Programme will be able to get food to those who need it the most, a mission that had been profoundly threatened by a doubling in global food prices.

At the same time we also have to look beyond the issue as it stands now.

The fact of the matter is that we should not be looking at this current situation as a crisis. We should be very concerned about what is happening, but using the term 'crisis' suggests the situation is momentary; that it will eventually return to normal. This is not the case.

First of all, the factors driving this price spike are not going to disappear.

Population pressures and domestic demands in emerging economies like India and China will further increase. Their growing populations will consume more and more (though, to be fair, rising prices are impacting as much on vulnerable communities in these countries as they are anywhere else).

Climate change will also accelerate in the coming decades, with an increased risk of failing harvests and more people in need of food-aid. In Australia, five years of drought has cut that country's wheat production by more than half. On the other side of the equation (and on the other side of the world), droughts and failing seasonal rains in sub-Saharan Africa will leave more and more people reliant on governments and aid agencies for basic food.

Increasing demand will continue to outstrip failing supply.

Second of all: 'normal' - the previous status quo - was anything but an acceptable situation. Despite the fact that the international community committed itself to drastically cut food insecurity through the Millennium Development Goals, malnutrition has continued to rise in Africa and throughout the world, fuelled by the combined effects of poverty, HIV, climate change, conflicts and huge increases in population growth.

So what is the solution? The truth of course is that there is no silver bullet. The immediate need is to rally an effective global response. The Red Cross Red Crescent applauds the support of the World Bank and the United States to the World Food Programme and we are encouraged by the proposal of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to have the issue addressed at the G8 summit in Japan.

Longer term issues also need to be addressed. Targets for biofuel need to be revised, trade agreements reviewed and better and larger food banks established to insulate food aid from schizophrenic market fluctuations.

However, these macro interventions have to be complimented by actions at the local, micro level. This recent price peak is the latest in a long list of brutal examples that demand the humanitarian community shift from what is now a largely reactive approach to aid to a more proactive and developmental approach.

We believe that by increasing the capacity of communities to produce or procure their own food locally, they will be less reliant on food aid, and less vulnerable to rising costs. Yes agricultural patterns are changing. Yes some communities now have less water to irrigate their fields. But this does not mean that the cause is hopeless.

Last week, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies launched a five year, 15 country African food security strategy. This 45 million Swiss francs (US$ 43.5 million / € 28.5 million) programme will seek to address some of the underlying factors contributing to food insecurity - the same factors that render communities vulnerable to market forces - at a very localized level.

Our volunteers will work with communities to establish sustainable farming practices - helping them identify appropriate technologies, setting up seed banks and engaging in soil nutrient management. We will also be expanding microfinance projects, small scale irrigation schemes and creating community-based food security monitoring systems.

This localized, pragmatic approach can be profoundly successful. In Lesotho, the Red Cross and other partners have helped vulnerable communities establish 'key hole' gardens. These small gardens are built around a raised central reservoir of composting materials and waste domestic water that drip feeds nutrients and moisture into the soil. Once established, they require very little tending and are straightforward to maintain.

Despite their small size, the gardens are very productive, yielding substantial amounts of vegetables year round, regardless of rainfall patterns. Their ease of use and nutritional value make them perfect for particularly vulnerable families.

It is encouraging that food security is now so high on the international agenda. But if we are going to do anything meaningful, then we need to first see it for what it is: a long standing reality that until now we have failed to address. Our goal should be communities that are resilient enough to withstand any shock. Markets fluctuate but people should never go hungry.