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Technorati'Neglect of Farming Led to Rice Crisis'
BANGKOK - The headlines screaming about a global food shortage have not aroused surprise in a leading non-governmental organisation (NGO) working with farming communities across Asia. To its members, warnings of hunger on a biblical scale are hardly news.
After all, the Asia-Pacific arm of the Pesticide Action Network (PAN), a global environmental lobby, has been raising the alarm about an impending rice shortage for years. Among its more recent campaigns was one launched to coincide with ''The International Year of Rice,'' which was marked globally in 2004.
But the alarm bells rung by PAN were ignored by governments in the region, home to nine of the world's top 10 producers of the grain. They are China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, the Philippines and Japan. The only non-Asian in this rice league is Brazil.
''Governments refused to listen to our concerns. In the last five years we have been saying that we are in rice crisis, that food security and food sovereignty were being undermined,'' Clare Westwood, campaign coordinator for PAN's 'Save Our Rice Campaign, said during a telephone interview from Malaysia. ''It was only a matter of time before the warnings became real.''
PAN's primary concern was the push towards rice cultivation on an industrial scale that promoted monoculture, where a few high-yield rice varieties that needed large doses of chemicals were held up as the answer to growing demand. Marginalised, consequently, were the small farmers, who came from rural communities that had used local knowledge over centuries to generate new varieties of paddy seeds that blended with the local environment.
''The high-yielding seeds prompted in the monoculture style of farming are not as hardy as local varieties produced through the ecological style of farming,'' adds Westwood. ''This hybrid rice can only perform well under certain circumstances and they need a lot of fertiliser and pesticides and they are water intensive. These are their inherent weaknesses.''
A recent report by a regional U.N. body lends weight to PAN's view about the high cost Asian governments are currently paying for neglecting the agricultural sector, where a bulk of the poor in Asia and the Pacific -- some 641 million people -- live. ''The rural poor account for 70 percent of the poor in the Asia-Pacific region, and agriculture is their main livelihood,'' states a survey published by the Bangkok-based Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
''The agriculture sector has been neglected for a long time, nearly four decades, and the Asia-Pacific regions would have run into a food shortage problem and rising food prices sooner or later,'' says Shamika Sirimanne, chief of the socioeconomic section in the poverty and development division of ESCAP. ''Governments used to provide much more public services to the agriculture sector earlier.''
Assistance had ranged from public funds to help farmers improve their Yields, assistance with research and development and with marketing the grain. State funds had also been invested to improve roads and other infrastructure projects to improve the quality of life in rural areas.
''This shift has become marked since the 1980s,'' Sirimanne explained in an interview. ''Everybody began to think of economic growth in that decade and what could be achieved through manufacturing, industry and services. The idea of growth through agriculture was sidelined.''
World Bank figures help to explain why these new avenues for growth in the region were attractive. In China, the emerging Asian economic powerhouse, the gross domestic production (GDP) from agriculture during the 1981-1985 period was 28.7 percent, while industry accounted for 26 percent. But during the 2001-2006 period, agriculture's contribution to China's GDP had dropped to 8.7 percent, while industry rose to 49.1 percent.
In India, during the same period, agriculture went down from 18.4 percent of GDP to 6.2 percent, making way for industry and services. And in Indonesia, agriculture dropped from 18.4 percent of GDP to 11.8 percent, also making way for industry and services.
But what did not follow as a result of this shift away from agriculture was a drop in the number of poor in rural areas. ''Even today, 60 percent of the region's labour force is in the agriculture sector, where a large number live in poverty,'' says Sirimanne. ''The Asian agriculture sector is dominated by very poor people and it is the duty of governments to start re-investing in them to improve productivity.''
And now, even the authors of a major international study on the future of global agriculture have made a strong case to resurrect the role of the small, neglected rural farming communities to improve cereal production, including rice. The final report of the U.N-backed International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), which was authored by 400 experts from across the world, was approved in mid-April at a meeting of governments and scientists in Johannesburg.
''The report called for greater participation of small-scale farming and for governments to rethink their prevailing agriculture structures,'' Lim Li Ching, the lead author for the Asia report to IAASTD, told IPS. ''This is because the traditional farming methods in this region were environmentally sustainable.''
The IAASTD report also called into question the Green Revolution, because the production of high yield rice during that period ''came with a huge environment cost,'' she added. ''The social and environmental cost of the Green Revolution in the region cannot be ignored.''
The Green Revolution was masterminded by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), based in Los Banos, the Philippines. To ensure high yields in rice cultivation at a time when there was an escalating demand for the grain, IRRI introduced high-yield rice seeds to be grown on an industrial scale, changing dramatically the landscape of rice cultivation in Asia.
During the Green Revolution, from 1968-81, high-yield rice varieties resulted in rice output increasing by 42 percent. But now, in retrospect, IRRI admits that the monoculture rice production did come with some costs.
''We are aware of the environmental lessons learnt from the Green Revolution,'' Duncan Macintosh, spokesman for IRRI, said in an IPS interview. ''The first Green Revolution occurred when there was no environmental movement. Back then, there was only one purpose: feeding people.''
Consequently, IRRI welcomes the findings of the IAASTD. ''We have no disagreement with that report,'' adds Macintosh. ''We need rice production systems that are environmentally safe and sound.''
© 2008 Inter Press Service
16 Comments so far
Show AllFood grain shortage may have many reasons but two main reasons we are not taking into consideration. They are excessive urban growth and pruning agricultural lands and agriculture as non profitable business any more. One of the richest states (KERALA) in India has turned as consumer state rather than producing. 25 years back it produced rice and sold to other states now as the land converted to urban and houses has resulted shortage of agricultural land the main culprit for this issue is non profitable business. This situation will further aggravate if state government does step up for immediate action.
Similar situation is now with entire world, demand is more and production is less due to imbalanced economic policies. More attention is given to urban economic growth than the rural research and development. A day will come when a slogan or will find ad "Buy one kg of rice and get a laptops free" as computers and other electronic products will be much cheaper. Economic growth has to be balanced considering social condition of the country. Banning exports of essential items is only temporary solution to overcome present situation but for future food grain shortage will further aggravate as
• Global warming (even excessive urbanization has role to warm our globe). Excessive human population, Excessive concrete buildings - industries, carbon fuel based transportations heat up environment to reduce moisture in land results shortage and uncertain rain, river shrinkage, draught, shortage of water and so on.
• 25 years back there was more agricultural land than of today many of them converted to more and more housing and industrial lands; whereas population growing fast, feeding will become challenge to most countries even developed countries will not escape. Nature's priority is water, food and then shelter. Economic and scientific growth need to be first based on human needs.
• Urban related economic growth thrusts agricultural land conversion to cities and building to accommodate urban population and industries. Over 20% of farm lands of developing countries have been converted to cities and buildings for the past decades and Over 50% of farmlands of villages (close to cities) got merged with cities.
• Non profitable food grain production (international organization and appropriate governments shall have to reconsider bring back agricultural subsidies). Also make agriculture more profitable by linking customer and farmers by way of direct procurement by large stores, and other agencies so mediators and brokers are kept away. There are many reasons for high cost of production of food grain but as food comes in highest priority WTO and the Governments need to reconsider bringing back subsidies or other incentives to farmers as is the only solution to make agriculture more profitable to farmers. Present situation is such that farmers get more profit selling their land to builders than farming.
• Escalation of essential food prices by "futures" trading helps hording so less and less mediators between producer and final customer. Present system of trading agricultural goods only helps middlemen from wholesalers to brokers. Their financial power helps them hold back stock to create artificial shortage.
• Irrigation and water shortage (In fact water crisis is there but in some states and countries water is excessive causing disaster or consumed by sea. If scientists of missiles or warplanes work on how river water reaches sea after consumed by entire world, would convert desert land to fertile land).
• Bio fuel is not alone the reason for food crisis as one day world will have to switch over to alternate source for fuel usage and bio fuel will be one of the substitutes. At present only limited countries use crops for fuel thus does not affect much world food crisis. However, need to source other plants such as river or sea plants and other to escape use of food as fuel of auto.
http://www.sadashivan.com/quotpovertyquotasubject/index.html
"I'm starting to believe in a conspiracy to cancel the elections in November."
"I had that concern as of a few years ago, very seriously for the first year or so after having had such thoughts or fears, worries. Now, today, I'm not as worried about the elections being canceled, but if there are "Americans" who would be capable in terms of character, then Bush and Cheney are surely two. That part of my view hasn't changed; just that I don't fear that they'll try to do, or will do, this."
No such worries, here...
Of-course they won't "cancel-elections" (just Control-them, so another Clinton can exercise 'soft-power', again [like starvation, 'carbon'-taxation, treaties, covert-Ops, economic-upheavals, etc.] to kill/affect many-more-Billions than the 'right' ever-could, with a military-alone).
As for Iran (and that other/nonsensical CIA/Mossad-creature: 'Al Quada') -- not to worry, either. Both are our Creations and Israel's -- all planned-for and well-before even-1953 (and, cranked-up/'double-downed' regards -- in 1979&ever-since).
[One _needs_ one's 'supposed-Enemies', to thereafter 'justify'/Rationalize what one REALLY intends to "Do" -- supposedly, 'because-of-them'.]
Plant that garden, and 'buy what you need' now -- the food/money-wells have already been poisoned (like medicine/diseases/'warming'/environments/controlled-weather and droughts/tsunamis/hurricanes and earthquakes/'civil-wars'/currencies ... need I go on?).
Crisis management....One crisis after another..one sound bite after another the invention of mass-miscommunication.
" Nietzsche April 27th, 2008 1:53 pm
...
I'm starting to believe in a conspiracy to cancel the elections in November."
I had that concern as of a few years ago, very seriously for the first year or so after having had such thoughts or fears, worries. Now, today, I'm not as worried about the elections being canceled, but if there are "Americans" who would be capable in terms of character, then Bush and Cheney are surely two. That part of my view hasn't changed; just that I don't fear that they'll try to do, or will do, this.
They surely aren't looking forward to no longer holding the reins of the presidency, or nearly the WHOLE U.S. govt; but unless they attack Iran, which I believe would strategically require a false-flag strike against the U.S., either U.S. forces overseas, or else in the USA itself, well, I doubt Bush and Cheney would make any special efforts to stay in office.
It's the only way that I can picture them suspending Constitutional law to such an extent; I believe they'd need to establish martial law, and that's not legally feasible without a high state of emergency, which a false-flag attack could certainly be made to be.
HOPE that they're OUT next January!
Enough with all this damn totalitarianism, already!
And in Iraq, farmers are no longer allowed the freedom to save their seeds and grow their own crops. They are required to grow genetically-modified grains.
http://www.organicconsumers.org/patent/iraq111704.cfm
Golly gee whiz! I thought rice, along with Crunchy Munchies and Drinky Dinkies and all the other stuff just appeared on the supermarket shelves at night when the stores were closed, put there by liddle elves in tricot.
Sigh, I could buy me a big stock of rice and pasta and stuff, but since I live in the Happy Little Kingdom of Denmark, I can't even buy a semi-automatic, let alone a machine gun to protect my hoard from the raging hungry mobs...
Most of these news stories concerning the food shortages and skyrocketing prices of grains continue to make no mention of the role human population growth is contributing to this problem.
It is quite true that slowing the rate of worldwide population growth will do nothing to solve the IMMEDIATE problem. However, working to slow the rate of that growth will help tremendously 20 years down the road. The current food shortage problem is largely due to not enough efforts being made back around 1980 or 1990 to slow down the growth in human numbers.
We are still adding about 70 million people each year to world population. Anyone who thinks this can just go on indefinitely is denying all logic. Yes, there have been advances in agricultural output per acre, yes, we can feed more people with less land than before; but how long do you really think this can go on? I firmly believe that the problems so far in 2008 are just a "warning shot across the bow". Problems could get far worse in the not-too-distant future. Those UN and government officials who are looking into long-term solutions to this problem, had better start thinking about encouraging smaller family sizes, and handing out subsidized or free contraceptives to people, as one of the most effective long-term solutions to this problem.
Bottom line: We can't grow on like this.
I apologise for the double-posting of the alert I received from CAP. After first submitting, I got no message from CD and the post didn't appear, so I edited a little and resubmitted. Not having learned of the posts being accepted and actually posted, until now, I can't delete the contents of one of the two posts.
Does anyone really believe our elite are stupid. Nothing that is happening today is happening due to incompetence, stupidity, accident or mistake. It is happening acccording to plan. This is inconceivable to people of average intelligence, not so to those who are 3-5 SD above average IQ, and who have power and money. They are not you. It's like taking candy away from a baby to them. You cry a little, like a baby, and then forget. Then it happens again, and you say WTF, then forget. Again, and you shout, they must be stupid or something!. The elite LOL in wonder how stupid we are, who dare blame them for being stupid. Grow up, or wake up if you are grown up.
100 years ago, ignorance was understandable. You know MSM and your leaders lie to you, yet you still believe the crap, and do not look for alternative explanations. Today, your Ignorance is their Strength.
The food crisis is more evidence of the crumbling of the global Capitalist facade. When it really hits the "first world" we may see some change.
Cyberbrook, you're right. It takes more water to irrigate grazing land and more land to raise cattle for consumption than it does to grow vegetables and grain for vegetarian diets.
This is thanks to Big Agrabusiness and the International Loan Sharks, guess what happens when a poor country must open it's borders for massively subsidized imported food products in order to get IMF and World Bank loans - the local farmers are driven out of business, to wander the Earth looking for jobs (Illegal immigrants) or starvation and suicide. The US/UK/Eu are pass masters of this sort of genocidal plunder.
As for growing more rice; try the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method which uses far less water and chemicals without Monsanto's Frankenseeds.
After the poor nations have succomed to war, famine, disease and death who is left to plunder? Just you and me, brother.
One of the various reasons for rising food prices and shortages of basic grains is that we are funneling crops through animals to produce unhealthy meat for those who could afford it, also producing ill-health and environmental destruction in its wake.
Please visit Eco-Eating at www.brook.com/veg for lots of info and links.
We pay our leaders a lot of money to be our leaders. Instead of leadership we get incompetence, negligence, stupidity, and a mentality of party-on before our terms expire.
I'm starting to believe in a conspiracy to cancel the elections in November.
Free Markets . . . The Honeymoon is surely over
A headline from one of the financial newsletters I receive regularly reads as follows:
"Profit from Food Price Rises
Food prices are soaring. How can investors get a piece of the action."
Whilst this sentiment reflects the basics of Free Market Capitalism, the latter of which I hasten to say that I agree with up to a point, it also highlights a serious flaw, and what a previous UK Prime Minister referred to as "The unacceptable face of Capitalism"
It has taken the management tool of "supply and demand" and converted it into a weapon, encouraging people to enter a rising market for gain, thus further fuelling price rises which, on this occasion will assist in increasing the numbers of people dying from starvation.
Following a traditional free market discipline in this manner is resulting in either murder or manslaughter on a vast and increasing scale – I leave you to decide the intricacies of whether this abusive action is premeditated or not.
As a civilisation we seem to have got really good at abuse. You name it we abuse it – Corporate Profits, Politics, Religion, the Planet, each other – and the more we abuse the more chaotic and stressful our lives become as moral integrity evaporates in a sea of self satisfying excess.
Free markets can no longer act with impunity because of this growing understanding of each other and the world in which we live. What feeds one part of the world starves another as we begin to see the effects of our own actions being played out in other hemispheres.
Integrity is a critical ingredient in this new and fast changing environment and it can only come from a new leadership that understands this, and in so doing also understand us. Only within an environment of confidence and trust can we reduce materialism to just a part of our lives and not an all consuming passion that infiltrates every aspect.
Change of this nature can help to end our honeymoon with the Free Markets, taking us all into a new and more mature and beneficial relationship, both personally and with each other.
"not as hardy as local varieties produced through the ecological style of farming," adds Westwood. ''This hybrid rice can only perform well under certain circumstances and they need a lot of fertiliser and pesticides and they are water intensive"
gee, I wonder who supplied the "hybrid"(genetically modified?)rice?