Chapter 10 HEADLINES: G8 Shifts Focus from Food Aid to Farming

This article announces a new “food security initiative” from the G8 countries, who promised billions of dollars to assist farmers in developing countries. As the next Headlines article describes, however, not all observers believe that these funds will be forthcoming, despite the overwhelming need for the assistance.

The G8 countries will this week announce a “food security initiative,” committing more than $12 [billion] for agricultural development over the next three years, in a move that signals a further shift from food aid to long-term investments in farming in the developing world.

The US and Japan will provide the bulk of the funding, with $3–$4 [billion] each, with the rest coming from Europe and Canada, according to United Nations officials and Group of Eight diplomats briefed on the “L’Aquila Food Security Initiative.” Officials said it would more than triple spending… .

The G8 initiative underscores Washington’s new approach to fighting global hunger, reversing a two-decades old policy focused almost exclusively on food aid. Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, and Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, have both highlighted the shifting emphasis in recent speeches.

“For too long, our primary response [to fight hunger] has been to send emergency [food] aid when the crisis is at its worst,” Ms. Clinton said last month. “This saves lives, but it doesn’t address hunger’s root causes. It is, at best, a short-term fix.”

Washington’s shift could prove contentious in the US, as its farmers are the largest exporters of several crops, including soya bean and corn. The US is the world’s largest donor of food aid—mainly crops grown by US farmers, costing more than $2 [billion] last year.

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs, a think-tank, estimates that Washington spends 20 times more on food aid than on long-term schemes in Africa to boost local food production. US annual spending on African farming projects topped $400 [million]in the 1980s, but by 2006 had dwindled to $60 [million], the council said in a report this year… .

Source: Excerpted from Javier Blas, “G8 Shifts Focus from Food Aid to Farming,” Financial Times, July 6, 2009, p. 1. From the Financial Times © The Financial Times Limited 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Questions to Consider

After reading G8 Shifts Focus from Food Aid to Farming, consider the question(s) below. Then “submit” your response.

Question

1. The Headline states that under U.S. food aid, American farmers grow most of the donor crops. Discuss the costs and benefits associated with purchasing U.S. grown agriculture and shipping it to recipient developing countries globally.
Answers will vary but students will likely note that there are costs, both implicit and explicit associated with this practice. These include, but are not limited to transportation costs, spoilage, and disruption of local markets in recipient countries. Benefits may include “good will” from recipient countries.

Question

2. What types of investment in farming do you think have the greatest potential for long-term success?
Answers will vary and depend on students’ knowledge of agriculture and development—although no prior knowledge is necessary to answer this question. Students might allude to the green revolution or GMOs as improving agriculture yields and reducing risk.