Rice Crisis Looms Again :
• Chris Toe Says Govt. Striving To Reduce Poverty
• As Bush Asks Congress to Approve $770m More in Food Aid
A surge in rice price in 1979 contributed to Liberia 's descent into chaos, sparking riots and a political crisis that led to the coup that brought Samuel Doe to power. Now the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) has identified Liberia as one of 37 countries facing a hunger crisis as a result of food price hikes. IRIN News picks up the story.
"Given our history of conflict, if we want to ensure there is stability and that peace is consolidated, we want rice to become available, accessible and affordable," said Minister for Agriculture Chris Toe.
Toe told IRIN developing rice production for commercial sale would prevent thousands of Liberians being pushed deeper into poverty as the cost of living soars.
Liberia currently imports 90 percent of its rice--the staple of its 3 million people--from Asia and the US , despite having fertile uplands and lowlands ideal for rice production.
To head off the worst case scenario, the government says it has designated 15,000 hectares of land for commercial rice production under a US$30 million agreement intended to boost local food production and reduce soaring import costs as global food prices surge.
"According to our figures, an enormous amount of lowland, over probably 600,000 to 700,000 hectares and only 4 percent of that is now being used for irrigation purposes. Most of it is just out there and nothing is done with it," said Toe.
The government says it has reached a deal with Swiss-funded aid group African Development Aid (ADA) to launch the first large-scale attempt to boost in-country agriculture since the end of Liberia's civil war.
The agreement with ADA is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, Toe said. Under the accord, around 75,000 metric tons of rice will be produced within five years.
Most of that will be sold to consumers in Liberia .
Toe stressed it will still not meet all of Liberia 's food needs. The country's estimated 3.5 million people get through 500,000 metric tons of rice a year.
The vast majority of rice currently produced in Liberia is consumed by families living on smallholdings. Aid agencies say that as the food crisis worsens, local people living in rural areas are increasingly in need of access to seed banks and rice mills.
"Rice is a staple food. Local people are threatened [by the food crisis] because imported rice is almost unaffordable. We are installing rice mills in rural communities and we provide seed banks. But these kinds of projects produce very little rice--not even enough for one family for two months," said Peter Kiura, Community Development Coordinator for the American Refugee Committee (ARC).
Kiura added that most smallholdings cultivate rice in upland areas. The Swiss-backed deal will also see swampy, lowland areas being turned into paddy fields.
The Ministry of Agriculture has targeted two sites in northern counties Lofa and Nimba for rice cultivation. But production is not expected to get underway until the end of the rainy season in October.
In the meantime, the government says it will tackle the escalating food crisis by securing access to commercial imports and appealing for international food aid.
Opposition parties are also calling on the government to reduce the government tax on rice, currently US$2 per bag.
"If prices continue to rise we have to be able to take care of the most vulnerable. International food aid cannot be written off," added Toe.
At Old Road market in the bustling back streets of Monrovia , rice vendor Augustus Geego told IRIN he has noticed a significant drop in sales.
"The price [of rice] is just getting higher and higher, people can't afford to feed their families. A year ago, I sold 40 bags a day. Now I don't always sell 10," he said.
A 50kg bag of rice that will feed a family of seven for two weeks currently costs US$34--the average monthly salary for a security guard in Monrovia .
The cost of a plate of traditional spicy dishes such as jollof rice at traditional restaurants has shot up to around US$2.
Customer Mamie Tomar said she can no longer afford to buy a whole bag of rice and must instead purchase half measures or buy rice by the cup.
"A half bag lasts around a week; we have our parents and children living with us, so it's very difficult and we need the price of rice to come down. I worry that the price will get even higher; we've got our family, our children, it's not easy. If the price gets even higher we will find it really difficult," she told IRIN.
People are increasingly turning to alternative staple foods such as cassava, yam, plantain and even imported spaghetti to lessen the impact on threadbare pockets.
People say they are becoming increasingly worried that food price hikes could lead to instability and slow Liberia 's progress. Aid agencies working in Monrovia say malnutrition rates are increasing. As poverty thresholds change, families are spending less on medical treatment, housing and education.
"The guns are no longer firing in Liberia , but economic hardship is killing the citizens," said Spencer Page, a taxi driver.
Meanwhile, US President George Bush has called on Congress to approve an additional $770 million to support food aid and agricultural development programs in fiscal year 2009.
With the administration's release of $200 million worth of emergency food reserves from a special humanitarian trust in April, America would spend a total of nearly $1 billion in new funds to bolster food security in poor nations, Bush said May 1 at the White House. The trust is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The administration also has a pending request to Congress for approval of an additional $350 million to be made available immediately, Steve McMillin of the Office of Management and Budget said during a White House press briefing following Bush's statement.
McMillin was joined at the briefing by Ed Lazear, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Dan Price of the National Security Council.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said in an April 28 news release that it is steering $40 million in fiscal year 2008 emergency funding for aid to Afghanistan , Bangladesh , Ethiopia , Kenya , Haiti , Somalia , Mauritania , Uganda , Sudan and Zimbabwe . The aid would be distributed by the U.N. World Food Program (WFP).
Bush said with Congress' approval of the $770 million, the administration would be on track to spend $5 billion in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 to fight global hunger. Fiscal year 2009 begins October 1, 2008.
“We're sending a clear message to the world that America will lead the fight to end hunger for years to come,” Bush said.
The proposed $770 million for 2009 would help meet needs in countries already experiencing food shortages and target nations that have become newly hungry, Henrietta Fore, USAID administrator, said May 1. It also would allow USAID to invest in mid- and long-term agricultural and economic growth programs “to help assure future food security,” she said.
“The urgency and magnitude of the challenge confronting us is great,” Fore said.
Rising prices around the world for such staples as maize, rice and wheat have sparked riots in some developing countries, including in Egypt , Haiti , Bangladesh and nations in West Africa . Global food prices are up 43 percent from 2007, Lazear said.
He said the additional cost of grain is felt more acutely in poor countries than in developed countries because more of a family's budget is used for food. Food can take up to a reported 75 percent of family income in those countries.
Factors contributing to the rapid rise in food prices include increasing demand for food in emerging-market countries, rising energy costs that raise the cost of producing food, adverse weather-related events that have reduced crop yields and depreciation of the U.S. dollar. Increased production of biofuels has raised the cost of maize, USAID said
Yet biofuels are “critical” to America 's national security, and the effect of biofuels on food prices “will diminish over time,” said Dan Price, deputy national security adviser.
The president also called on countries that have restricted agricultural exports to protect domestic food supplies to lift those restrictions. Doing so would “help ease suffering for those who aren't getting food,” he said.
Ukraine recently eased its export restrictions on grain, a move the administration welcomed, Price said.
Bush said a conclusion of Doha Round trade negotiations would reduce and eliminate tariffs and other barriers, making it easier for people to get access to less-expensive food.
The WFP April 22 said rising food prices are creating the biggest challenge it has faced in its 45-year history. A “silent tsunami” threatens to plunge an additional 100 million people into poverty, according to the organization.
“This is the new face of hunger -- the millions of people who were not in the urgent hunger category six months ago but now are,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.
Bush also urged countries to remove barriers to accepting improved crops developed through biotechnology. These crops are safe, able to resist drought and disease and “hold promise of producing more food,” he said.
Bush has called on Congress to support a proposal to purchase up to 25 percent of food aid from farmers in developing countries. That would save on shipping costs and allow more timely availability of aid when it is needed, supporters say.
That measure is included in a new multiyear farm bill Congress is still debating.
America is working with other members of the Group of 8 (G8) to secure commitments to give more food aid, Bush said. The G8 developed countries – Canada , France , Germany , Italy , Japan , Russia , Great Britain and the United States -- will hold their annual get-together July 7-9 in Toyako , Japan .
Some think the administration's requests are not enough. Democratic Senators Dick Durban of Illinois and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania April 28 urged the administration to boost its fiscal year 2008 supplemental funding request for immediate food aid from $200 million to $550 million.
Casey, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the global food crisis “risks creating a series of failed states as anger at inadequate food stocks spurs riots and instability.”
America is the world's largest food aid donor, providing approximately half of all food aid. It provides approximately 40 percent of contributions to the WFP and contributes aid through nongovernmental organizations, USAID said.
Bush's remarks , a transcript of the press briefing and a White House fact sheet are available on the White House Web site.
USAID's press release and a fact sheet about responding to the global food crisis are available on the agency's Web site.
