Food Production Is Not A Global Priority

The national governments are preoccupied of attending to politics, energy, arms, and sports. Others are pursuing sponsored project for the benefits of the privileged few. Food production is the less of their priority and often put into sidelines when an economic investment items are tackled in a world meeting or conferences. It is the private initiative that food production is maintained to a comfortable level or dwindling reserves. It is only when the food shortage are beginning to be felt that they scampered to find solution and are often late.

 

Take the issue of rising rice prices. Population preceded food production. The area occupied by the populace increased while the area intended for food is becoming less. The demand for rice increases hence the unabated spiralling prices.

 

Governments are alarmed only when they realized of the impending unrest and that their personal interests are being threatened. Government is often doing things in the opposite. Take for example the United Nations. It is busy attending to unavoidable climate change when it is a natural cycle at which humans are attuned to live with. They are mitigating carbon dioxide emission to give way to carbon trading and a new sponsored source of energy instead of fossil fuels. They do not realize that what they are doing are consequently creating another complex problem –please see my previous article: “Soaring Rice Prices: A Global Warming Toll.” Their schedules are fully booked attending to unrest brought by political problems. Health, sanitation, and poverty are always their shields when bombarded with left and right complaints and criticisms. Food productions are always on the tail end when it comes to prioritization of world projects.

 

With the high prices of staple food being experienced across the Asian regions these days; strike, protest, and potential unrest are in the offing. Hoarding and price manipulations are the event of the day. Other prime commodities such as wheat, corn, and other farm products eventually follow the stiff price increases. The poor being and always hardly hit are in the state of starvation.

 

Governments are now planning how to increase food production but less land are available to such undertakings. More lands are converted to crops supporting biofuels by farmers lured of better incomes. Whatever the government may intend to do may be late again. Now is the time the commodities are needed and cannot wait.

 

Oh! What a government of the full and the instrument of the few.