Global Food Crisis – 2011, the beginning of the end?

2008 birthed the beginning of the reality when real food shortage swept through planet earth and food prices sky rocketed in some cases by more than 100%. It was never resolved; it was merely put on hold by a global financial meltdown. Now, any serious discussion on a sustained economic recovery should take for granted that food prices will once again spike, bringing about a cascade of geopolitical consequences.

The badly affected regions remain the emerging markets and interestingly, they have also experienced a “sharp-spike” in their population growth over the past 5 years. For instance, the UN Chief Executive and American Economist Jeffry Sachs has indicated that Nigeria could be the world’s third most populous nation by 2100, with 700 million people just behind China and India. This calls for concern for a country in a continent where only about an estimated 35%  of the populace can boast of  year-round freedom from food scarcity and severe poverty levels. The average population per family in Africa stands at a staggering 7 members,  and based on Mr Sachs advise, it is imperative for families to start working on having just three children per unit. Obviously this  is an up-hill task especially in some quarters where polygamy prevails. Asia is not left out of the pack as China battles with the ever growing population rates along side India. Whilst China’s economy is a thriving one at the moment, it does not foretell that the global food crisis looming around would not cause a downward trod for them in the nearest future. Japan is currently picking up its pieces from the earthquake that engulfed its coasts earlier this year. Will Nigeria be able to survive the impact of the food crisis that has increased the level of poverty within the nation? It is a tall order that only time will tell, provided that good governance and the right focus is put in place by its leaders.

Without doubt, such population explosion as mentioned above will have daunting consequences on the availability of food and water in a world where predication and forecasts presume that there will be global water shortage by 2030. There are a lot of countries especially in growing economies finding it extremely difficult to cope with the rising demand for food versus the unequal and inadequate supply of same. It is estimated that the number of children that will die due to food shortage and scarcity in the next 3 years will more than double what currently exists.

However, this crisis does not stand on its own, but owes to many analysed possibilities most of which are realities to live by or address immediately;

• Unrest in the Middle-East – the globe has been thrown into the worst “human-infested-self afflicted-embarrassing” it has never experienced in more that 30 years, with grave implications on economic platforms. Oil prices have gone up and more budgets are spent on purchase of ammunitions than protection of agricultural reserves.
• The case in the West is peculiar to the insurgence of the climatic changes caused by exposure to “high global energy levels”. The “ice deserts” are gradually reduced to mass of water causing instability in ground water alkaline levels. The depletion of the ozone layer and constant rain-poisoning will continue to deplete growth levels of agricultural produce

2011 has been a very challenging year and both human and natural disasters have in one way or the other affected the production of food as needed per person.  By 2015, food prices would have gone up by 15% and by 2030 BBC estimates the inflation to by up to 50%. That means that more than 80% of the emerging economy will not be able to afford food at all. Overall, cost of food production will increase by more than 35% impacting on the supply of same.

This is the time for world leaders and varying governments, to exert all efforts at ensuring that they plan for the future. It is saddening that in West Africa, most governments consumer more than 70% of the food they produce annually and export another 15%. The depletion of reserves means that “the end has begun from now”. As long as focus lies on perishables such as oil, power and agriculture is left at the tail end of the spectrum, most economies will not be able to survive the global unrest and famine that might push them into the realms of extinction.

All governments most revert back to agricultural development and mechanization. Schools must make agric extension a compulsory part of their program regardless of the type of school in question. It is high time everyone started planning for the future, whilst “saving for tomorrow”.  

The many advantages of family planning cannot also be over-emphasized especially in areas where little of no concern is given to the overall effect of population exposure of the availability of food. It must be a primary responsibility of such governments to ensure that people are properly educated on the gains of family planning and the overall effect on the sustainability of their economy.

The greatest fear is that man’s quest and desire for superiority and survival will end up being his worst doom and nightmare, considering the future when most will be exposed to spare meals eliminating the “3-squares”…that day beckons; the beginning of the end starts from now the year 2011!!! (Please visit the following sites for more information on the global food crisis: http://www.geopoliticalmonitor.com; http://opinion.inquirer.net)