Floods have ruined 13 per cent of crop areas in Thailand, 12 per cent in Cambodia, 7.5 per cent in Laos and 6 percent in the Philippines, according to the FAO. Continue reading »
Oct 272011
Aug 282010
Global food prices are projected to rise in future as a result of changing weather patterns, water scarcity, higher oil prices and increased demand from emerging markets like China and India.
Agricultural research station, Thailand
As if that’s not enough, financial speculators are turning their attention to agricultural commodities and gambling on food products. See the Spiegel article here and the Green World Investor blog here.
We were warned in 2008 of a global food crisis. But have we learned any lessons? Are we doing enough to promote food security and sustainability in Malaysia (other than corporate agriculture)?
While we are obsessed with FDI, are we doing enough to chart out a sustainable – and the key word is sustainable or organic – agriculture blueprint that would meet the needs of our people in the future? Continue reading »
Mar 092010
Have you been to the market recently and scratched your heads at the rising prices of vegetables and fruit. What do you do?
Vegetable and fruit prices have almost doubled over the last six months or so. And there is nothing to suggest that it won’t rise even further.
At one time, we had quite a few vegetable farms in Penang. Now most of our vegetables and fruit have to be brought in from Camerons, Australia, China and the United States.
This is not an ideal situation on three counts:
- Transporting food from great distances increases the carbon foot-print of these items.
- We become more dependent on external sources for our food, i.e. we move away from self-sufficiency and food security. What happens when these places don’t have enough to supply us? Prices will rocket, as we are gradually finding out now.
- We get hooked on the pesticide/chemical model of agrobusiness. By right each state in Malaysia should be looking into what it can do to promote self-sufficiency in organic food. Perhaps we could become a hub for organic food in the region.
Now along comes an initiative to show what ordinary people like you and me can do.
Dec 222009
Friend of mine bought a tomato for RM1.20 at the Tanjung Bunga market.
Now you would think a RM1.20 tomato would have to be pretty special.
No, this was just a little tomato, not even big and juicy.
Unlike ordinary tomatoes that would rot in a few days if left in the open, this one could keep for a while. Makes you wonder.
If a tomato could cost RM1.20, imagine the prices of other fruit and vegetables. The question is, how are the lower-income group coping? As food prices soar, as real wages remain stagnant and as overtime pay is slashed, many among the working class are struggling to put food on the table for their families – while some of our leaders squander our nation’s resources and their spouses go on shopping sprees abroad.
Jun 282008
While all focus is on higher oil prices, not enough attention has been given to higher food prices. Now, it has been suggested that the higher prices of food (and fuel) are being driven by extraordinary speculation in commodities by index-linked speculators. These speculators are said to be exploiting a “swaps-loophole” in US banking regulations, which allow certain huge investment banks to act as intermediaries and dealers in entering into index-linked futures contracts, which are quite unlike the normal futures hedging, where positions are regularly unwound.
So how do we tackle higher food prices? Food security and self-sufficiency will help. There is no reason why each state in the federation cannot be self-sufficient in fruit and vegetables. We have fertile soil and a favourable climate. For instance, Penang once had thriving vegetable farms on the island; now a lot of our veg comes from Cameron Highlands. Penang still has fruit orchards in Balik Pulau and paddy fields on the mainland. These farmers need our support. The state could encourage more organic farming – even though agriculture might come under federal purview.