Food crisis continues to grow unprecedented. This issue is causing huge trouble to the world’s economic ‘experts’, but unfortunately the debate amongst the ‘experts’ is not moving beyond the praxis of “the most significant indicator to measure low-growth and high-growth’. This clearly indicates that ‘experts’ will not provide food to the hungry and they will not determine the cost of food in the markets. The most they can do is, perhaps provide a 100 page recommendations and advice to Governments. The Growth Commission’s report of the World Bank, which was prepared by 21 world experts, and 11- member working group as well as 300 academic experts, who conducted 12 workshops and 13 consultations, cost the bank 4 million US$. But in that crucial report there was no indication that they found a clear answer to address world’s economic challenges.
Already there are enough arguments amongst the elite experts that the answer to the question of how to attain high growth is a difficult one to find. Why then are we relying so heavily on experts and leaders to find a magic answer to this growing threat of food crisis!
Nobody needs to be told that climate change and rapid growth of human population are direct causes of the present food crisis, it is obvious and inevitable. Sadly, there is very little debate in the world of experts that corruption, greed and in-equal distribution of wealth in this globalised world, are fueling the crisis. It seem oblivion to suggest that if the ‘hungry’ are to be fed, and food prices are to be brought to affordable price, there has to be a confrontation with the structures that breeds those fueling agents, besides launching a global campaign to address climate change and its impact.
The vision for high growth and development must go beyond world leaders and experts. People and peoples’ initiatives to sustain their own livelihood and their desire to contribute towards greater economic growth cannot be undermined.
No doubt, the role of decision makers and governments are critical to ensure food and economic security of the State, and that their decisions need to be influenced by evidence, which are often structured in a form of an ‘Expert’s report’. However, there is ample experience in the world, that when the ‘top’ feel weak, the ‘bottom’ feels empowered. ‘We knew our government was not going to protect us and so we had to find our own strength and wisdom to go through this’ is a common story we hear from those who survived and strived towards greater growth, making a ‘bottom-up’ theory, practical.
Livelihood security, sustainable livelihood and adapting rights-based approach are key elements in ensuring the Right to Food for all. How much of these elements are ingrained within the plans and programs of addressing food crisis in the world will need to be tested. Meanwhile it is critical that people at all level - producers, consumers, and influencers of both, need to be equally involved in the process of defining and designing a way out from this Global Food Crisis which is affecting everyone, everywhere.
