Simply not enough food

Oxfam calculations reveal that so far close to US$13 billion has been pledged for 2008 to help poor countries cope with the increase in food prices but only a fraction has been disbursed. The UN estimates that US$25-40 billion per year in additional funding is required to resolve the global food crisis.

The US government has put forward more than $700 billion to prop up financial institutions. This sum is more than five times all foreign assistance, and twice the total GDP of all 49 Least Developed Countries combined.

Apart from announcing money for Afghanistan and Ethiopia this week, in June and July respectively the Australian Government committed $30 million to the emergency appeal of the World Food Program and $50 million to the World Bank Trust Fund to stimulate agricultural production in developing countries.

These commitments are very welcome and will help ease the pain of food shortages around the world, but, although it may sound like an often heard cry, it simply is not enough. The world, and specifically our closest neighbours, need more.

At least seven out of 10 of the world’s hungry are women and girls. Responses by the Federal Government need to focus on meeting the needs of poor women in affected countries and incorporate an understanding of women’s role in agriculture, waged work and the household.

Women in the Solomon Islands have responded to the challenge of rising food prices by trying to learn how to grow rice in small fields.

Oxfam Australia is calling on the Australian government to adopt the UN task force recommendations, which include boosting smallholder farmer-led food production, and supporting countries to implement social protection schemes to help the poorest, such as minimum income guarantees, free seeds and fertilisers for poor farmers, and reduced tax on food.

The vast amount of money spent on averting the financial crisis shows what is possible when there is political will. The cost of failure will not just be measured in lost lives and human suffering, but also in lost credibility.