Food security - The new global issue

Over last one year the food prices have rose alarmingly In a survey by the World bank the numbers living on less than$1.25 a day would increase by 89m between 2008 and 2010 This has alarmed Govts world over Thats why renewed emphasis on Agriculture has been on the agenda of many Governments But the problem is international grain trade suffers from lots of shortcoming which has resulted in this kind of situation The western countries have done little to reduce subsidies on Bio fuels which has taken out large quantities of Maize out of the food market and thus spike the prices Big food importers like Saudu-Arabia,kuwait,china & south-korea have prefered to grow food on land they own or control abroad rather than prefering to import through international trade Similarly in 2008 when Thailand vietnam (The worlds two largest exporters)banned exports of Rice there was an International panicky including India which resulted in all time high prices of Rice This coupled with Indias poor harvest further stressed the market This has led to a growing number of people advocating a mechanism which could replace such individual decisions by the government Thats why the International food summit in 2009 attended by 60 odds head of the states is a welcome sign The more we discuss about the food inadequacy the better would be fight against malnourishment,malnutrition This in addition to govenments determination to upgrade agricultural production of the respective country would be a welcome sign