Severe weather impacts on food

By DAVE GILBERT
EXTREME weather across the world in 2012 has led to low food yields and a hike in prices. Climate is not the only driver of high food costs, but recent price spikes have caused hardship across the world.
Sometimes Jaria Faraj Ali is so hungry that she ties a scarf tight around her waist to make her feel more comfortable.
The Yemeni mother of six told the international aid group, Oxfam, that she has now resorted to begging because food prices are so high and she doesn’t have an income.
And in Pakistan, 28-year-old Asif Masih says he has to work at two jobs to buy enough food. “I drive a taxi part time as well as work in an office. Otherwise me and my family will not eat,” he said.
Their stories of hardship are echoed across the globe from Tajikistan to Peru where a recent spike in world food prices has hit the most vulnerable, and particularly in countries that rely on imported food.
Rising food prices have been blamed on a number of factors – such as rising energy costs, changing land use for biofuel production, local conflicts and an increasing demand for meat and dairy products.
But this year’s severe weather events around the world have led to low yields in nations such as the United States that export grain.
Oxfam fears climate change is responsible and that impoverished people could be facing a future of high food prices driven by extreme weather trends.
Oxfam spokesperson Colin Roach said: “High and volatile food prices spell misery for millions of people such as Jaria who face a daily struggle to put food on the table. This is man-made misery in a world which produces enough for everyone to eat.”
A recent study, commissioned by Oxfam into global warming and food prices, stated: “Against a backdrop of rising populations and changing diets, which will see global food production struggle to keep pace with increasing demand, the food security outlook in a future of unchecked climate change is bleak.”
It has been a tough year.
Oxfam says commodities futures markets are indicating there may be another spike in prices in early 2013, but expects high and volatile food prices in the medium to long term.
It says governments should do more to prevent famine.
“Putting a stop to food price crisis requires a radical new approach to the way we grow, share and manage food,” Roach said.
“Governments must kick-start the process by investing in smallscale producers who feed billions across the developing world, regulating commodity markets; putting an end to biofuels policies which divert food crops into fuel; tackling greenhouse gas emissions which drive extreme and erratic weather and helping poor producers adapt to a changing climate.”
There was better news last week when the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reported that global rice production for this year was expected to outpace consumption.
Some countries are also taking a longer term approach to reducing their reliance on food imports by looking for alternative staple crops. – CNN