The year 2020 began with a series of unfortunate events. The wild bush fires in Australia, destroyed roughly 46 million acres, killing a billion animals and displacing more. A flu virus from a little town in Wuhan in China spread to become a global pandemic that has since killed over 400,000 people, and still spreading with nary a cure in sight and that left 1.6 billion people unemployed. Giant locusts that originated from the Horn of Africa, are flying in from Iran and Pakistan, have now blanketed half a dozen states in western and central India. It is said to be the worst locust attack in 25 years. In May the super-cyclone Amphan, the most powerful to strike eastern India and Bangladesh in 20 years, caused massive destruction and displaced over 2 million people. An oil spill of over 20,000 tonnes of diesel in Russia’s Artic north turned the Ambarnaya river “red”, contaminating the water resources to the entire Taimyr peninsula and possible flow into the Arctic ocean if the spill is not contained.
These series of unfortunate events are eerily similar to the biblical plagues that ravaged Egypt, which include destruction through floods, locusts, lice, toads and turning of potable water to blood and other natural disasters. The question that arises is, are we to expect more natural catastrophes? What are the consequences of these disasters?
The world is currently grappling from the biggest disruption in trade and commerce since the Great Depression. Governments are scrambling to revive economies with stimulus packages and programs to aid industries and to curb unemployment. However, natural disasters can cause another problem: food scarcity.
Food scarcity could be due to destruction of plantations or disruption of supply chains. Either way, governments should emphasize on food security. If before gold reserves in central banks was an indicator of the financial strength of a country, in the future, grain reserves may be a better indication of the prosperity of a country.
It is important for countries to be self-reliant and sustainable, to be able to provide for their own citizens. Reserve stocks can stabilize prices when there are fluctuations in foreign currency, spikes in demand and to facilitate humanitarian aid to food shortages. Reserves will help countries to navigate prolonged draughts and extreme weather conditions which can impact food production and supply. These reserves can help protect the most vulnerable among the population.
It is not easy to build and maintain an efficient grain reserve, as it would cost money, require expertise and has to operate in varied social, political , economic and geographical conditions. Market intervention is frowned upon and a free market is the norm of the economic policies.
However, in the face of food crisis, relying solely on the market can result in uncertainty and volatile prices in the food market. A minimal level of food security can ensure supply of food in the incidence of food crisis due to climate change, drought and natural disasters. Emphasis must be put on own production of food by encouraging the population to grow their own food as it is skill that is lost among the younger generation. Urban farming on rooftops and in neighbourhoods should be encouraged. Decentralization of food supply is essential in order for continued food production and distribution even in the face of disruption in food supply chains.
Grain reserves can be part of the solution to ensure food security for the citizens of a country and governments must study the needs and all the variables in order to design a good reserve and maintain it.
No comments:
Post a Comment