The President of World Bank is calling for £250million in extra aid to help the fight against poverty in poorer countries.
The World Food Programme is now 7 years off its intended target due to the rise in global food prices, with wheat alone rising 120% in the last 12 months. This rise has seen the price of a loaf of bread double, with the cost of rice up 75% in the last 2 months.
World Bank claim the West’s fixation with oil costs has seen a slip in the management of food prices, which is being felt heavily in third world countries. The US and EU’s encouragement to create bio fuel, by using crops to provide an alternative to oil, has diverted agricultural land away from the production of food.
In countries such as Bangladesh, half a day’s wages is spent on a 2kg bag of rice, whilst a quarter of all income is spent on bread alone. This is leaving only a quarter of a family’s income for shelter, clothing and education. Rioting recently broke out in India due to the rise in the cost of basic food stocks, with the Indian government now imposing export bans on resources to try and bring prices down. Liz Stuart from Oxfam said:
‘We must stop adding fuel to fire by increasing crop production for bio fuels. These have dubious environmental benefits, and by driving prices up, we are crippling the lives of the poor.’
