Issue #21

Warm greetings to all!

Welcome to a special edition of Farm Radio Weekly. We extend a special welcome to our newest African subscribers, Randrianarivelo Lalaina, from the Office National de Nutrition in Madagascar, and Solomon Abiodun, a student from Nigeria. This week, we focus exclusively on an issue that is affecting food security around the world – the rapidly rising cost of food.

There has certainly been a large amount of media attention on the issue of food prices. Civil society from many countries has made headlines with demonstrations. Governments have announced responses. Analysts have tried to explain what’s happening and propose solutions. But the voice of food producers is usually missing.

We asked two of our correspondents, Idy Sy Diop in Senegal and Lilianne Nyatcha in Cameroon, to talk to farmers about some of the proposed solutions to unaffordable food prices. Mr. Diop investigated a Senegalese government plan to create national self-sufficiency in staple food production. Ms. Nyatcha spoke to Cameroonian farmers about their access to fertilizer and other inputs that could help increase food production. Both correspondents heard farmers say that they lack the resources to significantly increase food production, and describe the kinds of support that would help them do this.

Since the amount of news coverage and analysis of this topic can be overwhelming, we begin our African News in Review section with an overview, describing the scale of recent price hikes, key factors causing the increase, and proposed solutions. This section also includes some brief news stories that highlight the impact of this increase in four different countries, and how people are responding. Finally, we suggest some story ideas and online resources for further research, and provide two Farm Radio International scripts containing ideas to help farmers through this time.

We hope that this special edition will support your investigations into how rising food prices are affecting people in your area and what they are doing to cope. We invite you to share local experiences related to this issue with the FRW community, either by posting a comment on the FRW website (http://farmradio.org/english/weekly/), or by proposing an idea for a future news story to FRW Editor Heather Miller at hmiller@farmradio.org.

Happy reading!

-The Farm Radio Weekly Team

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African Farm News in Review

1. Africa: Some reasons for and proposed solutions to the rising price of food (Jeune Afrique, Agence France-Presse, and UN Integrated Regional Information Networks)

2. Senegal: Farmers question government plan for “agricultural revival” (by Idy Sy Diop, for Farm Radio Weekly, in Dakar, Senegal)

3. Cameroon: Farmers say financial support is needed to boost production (By Lilianne Nyatcha, for Farm Radio Weekly, in Douala, Cameroon)

4. Burkina Faso: Civil society plans three-day strike (Agence France-Presse, Radio France Internationale)

5. Mauritania: Government provides free, subsidized food (Agence France-Presse, Radio France Internationale)

6. Somalia: Many families survive on one meal a day (World Food Programme, UN Integrated Regional Information Networks)

7. Malawi: Country bans maize export to ensure food supply (African Press Agency, Reuters)

Upcoming Events

June 3-5, 2008: FAO conference on world food security

Radio Resource Bank

Rising food prices: a few links to help you research

Farm Radio Action

Market news from MEGA FM

Farm Radio Script of the Week

Ekua makes a budget

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Protesting in the streets, brandishing signs and chanting slogans such as “We are hungry, put an end to our suffering,” young Ivorians announced their discontent with the rising price of food. Alimata Camara was one of the protesters demonstrating against the high price of life in Ivory Coast, last month. She complains that, now, she is only able to eat once a day. She wonders how she will feed her children before school if food prices keep increasing. Everywhere on the African continent, people’s frustrations are similar. They lament that life has become too expensive and they can no longer feed their families. From Dakar to Maputo, prices for of basic foods have increased sharply. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the global index of food prices grew by an average of 36 per cent in 2007. The FAO also predicts that the cereal import bill for the poorest countries in Africa will increase by 74 per cent in 2008. Over the last few months, the price of rice, a staple food in many countries, has increased by over 50 per cent in Ivory Coast, 45 per cent in Senegal, 42 per cent in Mauritania, 39 per cent in Cameroon, and 300 per cent in Sierra Leone. Moreover, the price of palm oil, used by many as cooking oil, has doubled in the last few months.

What are the causes of the sharp rise in food prices?

Several factors come into play:

One of the main causes is increased demand as, each year, the world adds 28.5 million mouths to feed. Generally speaking, increased demand for any commodity will drive up the price, unless the production of that product also increases. The African population is expected to grow from 800 million to 1.8 billion by 2050. Some say that food production is not keeping pace with population growth and that better technologies must be used to mitigate this shortage. Others say enough crops are being produced to feed the world, but that there is a lack of political will to tackle the distribution of food.

At the same time, the consumption of products such as milk and beef is on the rise in emerging economies like China and India. This increases the demand for grains to feed livestock.

A third factor increasing the demand for staple crops is the production of biofuels. More farmland is being used to grow crops for ethanol and diesel, rather than food. One hundred million tons of grain are used every year to produce ethanol, contributing to the rising price of maize. Some say that the push toward ethanol production and use is creating a shift to more expensive foods such as wheat and soybeans. This, in turn, raises the price of all foods.

Another reason for increased food prices is soaring oil prices. The price of a barrel of oil continues to increase, which also increases costs related to agricultural inputs. Petroleum products are used in the manufacture of fertilizers, and underpin the functioning of agricultural tractors and food transportation.

Extreme climatic conditions are also cited as a factor. Over the past year, several African countries, such as Mozambique, have suffered from floods. Others, such as Somalia, suffer from drought. Both events decrease farmers’ yields, forcing them to raise prices in order to make a profit. Long-term drought in Australia (about 10 years) has also increased grain prices because Australia is a major global producer.

Solutions?

The FAO offers some solutions for those countries most affected by rising food prices. It suggests that countries should rely more strongly on local production to reduce food import bills, and that governments should subsidize agricultural inputs in order to increase food production. (In this issue of FRW, we present two articles that focus on these recommendations, one from Senegal and the other from Cameroon.)

Some governments have responded to these suggestions from the FAO. Senegal announced last week that the country needs 390 billion FCFA (approximately 920 million American dollars or 590 million Euros) to implement a plan to achieve food self-sufficiency. But, experts question their strategy, saying that the government’s vision will not truly develop the rural economy. Other governments have opted for different solutions, such as reducing taxes on essential goods and increasing wages. In Ethiopia, no hunger riots have been reported. Ethiopia’s government announced that it will continue to subsidize staple foods and increase the wages of civil servants. In Djibouti, the government abolished the domestic consumption tax on foodstuffs such as rice, milk powder, cooking oils, wheat flour, and granulated sugar.

Stories below provide a more detailed overview of the current situation with regards to soaring food prices in Burkina Faso, Malawi, Mauritania, and Somalia.

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The global rise in food prices has hit some African countries especially hard – countries such as Senegal, where price hikes have coincided with a crisis in the agricultural sector.

This year’s cereal production fell short of expectations. For example, Senegalese farmers were expected to produce 215,000 tons of rice, the country’s staple crop. But the yield was only 195,000 tons. The total cereal crop harvest was 13 per cent lower than expected. Cereals were imported to cover the production deficit and meet the country’s food needs. Six hundred thousand tons of rice alone were needed.

It was in this context that Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade announced an ambitious plan to revive the agriculture sector. The Grande Offensive Agricole pour la Nourriture et l’abondance, or GOANA, aims to boost agricultural production, so that Senegal will produce enough food to meet its own needs. Its stated objectives are to increase annual rice production to 500,000 tons, up maize production to two million tons, and achieve two million tons of production in other cereals.The estimated cost of the food security plan is 390 billion FCFA (approximately 920 million American dollars or 590 million Euros.)

But farmers say they were never consulted on the GOANA plan, and question its chance of success. Cheikhou Seck is Senegal’s leading maize producer and President of the commodity group, Comité interprofessionnel pour les céréales locales. He says that, to achieve the results the government is looking for, farmers would have to obtain the fertilizer and seeds they need by the end of May. But famers – including Mr. Seck – cannot afford these inputs. He explains that most farmers are already in debt following last year’s poor growing season. Mr. Seck suggested that the plan to increase food production would have worked better if it started in January.

Samba Ka is President of the Cadre de concertation des ruraux, a farmers’ group in the Kaolack Region of central Senegal. He stresses that farmers’ biggest concern at the moment is making it through the dry season with limited food reserves. Mr. Ka adds that farmers certainly won’t have enough seeds remaining to increase their production.

Beyond the basic inputs of seed and fertilizer, farmers say they require heavy equipment such as tractors that are out for reach to small-scale producers.

Finally, farmers wonder if there will be a market for their crops, even if they can increase their production. When President Wade announced the plan to increase local cereal production, he also announced a deal to import 600,000 tons of rice from India each year, for the next six years. This leaves little room in the market for locally-produced grains.

The Senegalese government maintains that there is no contradiction between its plan to promote food self-sufficiency by increasing local production and its plan to import rice from India.

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Some twenty kilometres outside of Douala, the economic capital of Cameroon, lies one of the country’s most important food-producing regions. Parts of the Moungo Region are renowned for their soil fertility. It’s here that Lydie Florence Tohotcheu established her farm 15 years ago.

Ms. Tohotcheu paid dearly to acquire a fraction of an acre where she grows maize, cassava, and macabo. In 2006, she could not afford much fertilizer, and her crops suffered. Last year, she was able to purchase a sack of fertilizer from a farm supply store for 18,000 FCFA (about 42 American dollars or 27 Euros).

Ms. Tohotcheu would like to expand her farm and increase her production, but this requires more labour and more fertilizer. It also requires more money than she has, especially now, when her income is absorbed by high fertilizer costs. She hopes that, one day, there will be government subsidies to support her work and improve her livelihood.

A global rise in oil prices has increased the cost of farm inputs in most parts of the world. The rise in the cost of chemical fertilizer has been especially sharp, due to increased production and transportation costs. While some have called on farmers to increase food production by using more fertilizer, farmers in Moungo Region say that high costs force them to use less.

Marie Gisèle Sintcheu is less concerned than Ms. Tohotcheu about her ability to earn a living. She too cultivates a small parcel of land in the fertile Moungo Region. To boost her maize and cassava yields, last year, she purchased nine kilograms of fertilizer at a cost of 2,500 FCFA (about 6 American dollars or 4 Euros). But unlike most farmers in her area, Ms. Sintcheu does not devote all her energy to crops. The food she grows is strictly for her family’s consumption. She also works as a seamstress. The two jobs allow her to make ends meet.

Ms. Sintcheu believes that larger harvests would be possible if famers had the means to invest in their operations. She says that if fertilizer subsidies or micro-credit funds were available, she would invest in farm labour.

Hilaire Siewe also needs a second income to maintain the 10 hectares of plantains he established in Moungo Region two years ago. To guarantee good production, Mr. Siewe needs to use 100 sacks of fertilizer at 50 kilograms each. This year, he was only able to buy about 25 or 30 sacks. He explains that, in 2006, he purchased good quality fertilizer for 11,000 FCFA (about 26 American dollars or 17 Euros). When he returned to his supplier this year, the same fertilizer was priced at 18,500 FCFA (about 44 American dollars or 28 Euros). This rise in cost forced Mr. Siewe to turn to lower-quality fertilizer. He can’t afford to purchase insecticides and fungicides to prevent and treat plant disease, either. Fewer inputs mean smaller plants, more plant disease, and ultimately a smaller harvest.

Mr. Siewe says he’s often thought about selling his plantation and training for a different career. Production costs continue to climb. And as poverty levels increase, consumers balk at the price of his plantains. As it stands, Mr. Siewe can barely pay the one full-time worker he employs. He uses day labourers to help prepare the land, spread fertilizer, and harvest crops. Transporting plantains from the field to the market is a challenge. He says that subsidies would help him purchase a vehicle adapted to transporting plantains, increase his production, and make his business profitable again.

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Civil society in Burkina Faso has been extremely active in denouncing the social impact of soaring food prices, and is now calling for a 72-hour general strike from May 13 to 15. A civil society movement calling itself “La coalition contre la vie chère,” or “Coalition against the high cost of living,” is calling for, among other things, a 25 per cent pay increase, retroactive from January 2001, for all staff in the public, para-public, and private sectors.

The high cost of living has also led trade unions that are part of La coalition contre la vie chère to demand that the government significantly reduce the price of staple foods including rice, millet, maize, beans, salt, sugar and milk.

Faced with several protests that have degenerated into violence, the government agreed that food prices rose unacceptably and announced a three-month suspension of customs duties on imported staple products. But these measures are unsatisfactory in the eyes of protestors and workers.

Mr. Ernest Yoda is President of the Union of Rice Producers of Bagré. He said that rice farmers in this eastern part of Burkina Faso could become self-sufficient in rice if they receive 1 billion FCFA (2.4 million American dollars or 1.5 million Euros) in government subsidies.

Since 2006, nearly 2,000 farmers in the Bagré plains have grown rice on 1,600 hectares of land along the Nakambé River. But the plains have 30,000 hectares of irrigable land. Mr. Yoda insists that the region represents a potential for national self-sufficiency in rice, but there must be the political will to back this plan.

La coalition contre la vie chère was created after protests in several cities in Burkina Faso, in which demonstrators vandalized government offices and burned cars, shops, and gas stations. Trade unions in Burkina Faso previously called for a general strike on April 8 and 9 to demand wage increases, price controls and a decrease in fuel taxes.

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Fatimata is a mother of five children who lives in a small house in the popular district of Medina 3, in the Mauritanian capital of Nouakchott. She says it is hard to feed her family because prices have increased. She remembers that a kilogram of milk powder used to cost 1,000 Ouguiyas (about 4.1 American dollars or 2.6 Euros). She must now pay 1,500 Ouguiyas (about 6.3 American dollars or 4 Euros). She complains that since President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi came to power about a year ago, everything has become very expensive, and wages have not increased.

In response to rising prices, the Mauritanian government last month put in place a plan to distribute free food to the needy, a “work for food” operation, and subsidized cereal prices, for a period of six months.

Giancarlo Cirri is the representative of the World Food Programme in Mauritania. He said that Mauritania, where 70 per cent of food is imported, faces the combined effects of rising oil prices, increased costs for raw materials, and rising food prices, in addition to the reorganization of key seaway trade routes and weakening currency.

In this largely desert country, the price of rice increased by 78 per cent and wheat by 92 per cent between March 2007 and March 2008. Last November, one person died and 13 were wounded during demonstrations against the high cost of living in the southern region of the country.

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Amina Sheikh Nurow and her children eat just one meal a day. They live in a camp for displaced people in southern Somalia. Many women in the camp earn money selling firewood and washing clothes in the nearby city of Baidoa. But the money they earn buys less food every day.

The price of local sorghum doubled between February and the end of March, this year. Ms. Nurow explains that when she can’t afford to buy sorghum, she gives her children water with sugar.

The ongoing civil conflict has forced more than one million Somalis to leave their homes. The country has also been hit with a series of droughts. Harvests have been limited and countless numbers of livestock have perished. These factors add to global pressures causing food prices to rise.

Peter Smerdon is a spokesperson for the World Food Programme. He said that increased food costs may force the World Food Programme to cut its rations or reduce the number of people it supports.
The rise in food costs extends beyond areas affected by conflict. Humanitarian agencies report that families in many parts of Somalia are surviving on one meal a day. The UN’s Integrated Regional Information Networks quoted a businessman from the self-declared republic of Somaliland, who said families in Burao city are buying less than half of their usual food supplies.

In Mogadishu city, despair over food insecurity turned to violence on May 5. Somalian security forces opened fire on thousands who were, for the first time, violently protesting against rising food prices. Five people were killed.

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Less than three years ago, hungry Malawians would stand in line for days to receive food rations. The country’s maize harvest was very poor and millions of people could not feed themselves.

But last year, Malawi enjoyed a bumper harvest, with a surplus of one million tons of maize. Now its government has taken action to ensure that hunger will not return. President Bingu wa Mutharika recently announced a ban on the export of maize and maize products.

The ban follows a report by the National Food Reserve Agency that the country’s maize stocks were dwindling. There is no mechanism to regulate the amount of food exported from Malawi. Prior to the ban, traders made profits selling Malawian maize to neighbouring countries with higher food prices. There was also a fear that dishonest traders were hoarding maize stocks in other countries to create an artificial shortage in Malawi.

Malawi last banned maize exports in 2005. Since 2006, Malawi has subsidized fertilizer and seed prices. Approximately two million small-scale farmers receive vouchers allowing them to purchase fertilizer at about one-third of the market cost. The subsidy program, along with good rains, has allowed farmers to produce surplus harvests for the past two years.

Last year, there was a national surplus despite flooding in many regions President wa Mutharika says he wants to ensure there is enough food to support Malawian farmers affected by flooding before exporting any more maize.

The only country that will receive Malawian maize is Zimbabwe. Malawi agreed to export 400,000 tons – about 13 per cent of the last maize harvest – to Zimbabwe.

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This week’s news stories may remind you of situations in your area or other parts of your country. Perhaps there have been protests or government action. Maybe you have heard that people cannot afford to buy as much food as they used to, or that farmers cannot afford to grow as much food as they would like to. Here are some suggestions for investigating the impact of food price hikes in your area and what people are doing about it.

Effects on consumers:
-Find out which foods have been affected and by what amount. How much does it cost to purchase staple foods now as compared to a month ago, two months ago, or a year ago?
-What are consumers doing to cope? Are there alternative foods (other than staple grains) that are available at a lower price? Can you find examples of people working together to pool financial and food resources? What support is available for people who cannot meet their nutritional needs?

Effects on farmers:
-What changes have farmers seen in the cost of inputs, such as fertilizer and seeds, and the price they receive for their crops? Has this changed their profit margin or the amount of food they can afford to produce?
-In what ways are farmers working together, through co-operatives or similar groups, to access inputs, share labour, obtain good prices, etc? What do farmers say would help them to produce more food?
-(Please see a previous FRW story by Idy Sy Diop about some West African farmers benefiting from higher crop prices: “Rising cereal prices welcomed by farmers but raise concern among authorities.”)

Response by civil society:
-Have there been protests against rising food prices or the increased cost of living? Which groups (consumers, farmers, other workers, students, etc) have been represented? Have peaceful demonstrators been free to gather and express themselves? If there was a violent protest or a violent response by police, what was the impact on communities?
-What are civil society groups asking the government or citizens to do? What is their response to actions taken by their government so far?
-(Please see a previous FRW story by Lilianne Nyatcha on how violent riots in parts of Cameroon disrupted the poultry industry: “Four-day crisis causes long-term disruption in poultry industry.”)

Response by government:
-Has your government taken any action, such as subsidizing food or reducing taxation on food, to reduce prices or support people who cannot afford food? What is the time frame for this action?
-Has your government called upon farmers, traders, retailers, or others to take action on this issue? Do these groups feel that the suggested action will be effective, and if so, do they have the resources to carry it out?

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Heads of state and government ministries will gather in Rome, next month, to discuss how the challenges of climate change and bioenergy affect world food security. The conference will be held at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) headquarters in Rome, Italy. According to the FAO, the goal of the conference is to assist countries and the international community in finding sustainable solutions by identifying the policies, strategies, and programs required to safeguard world food security. Civil society organizations such as La Via Campesina –The International Peasant Movement – also plan to attend and present their views during stakeholder consultations.

“High level” conferences such as this typically generate a lot of discussion around an issue and produce government commitments to action. But connecting them to what’s happening in your area can be a challenge. Here are some suggestions for news stories or other radio programs:

-Find out who will represent your country at the conference, from the government and from civil society. (To find out what civil society organizations are involved, La Via Campesina (http://viacampesina.org/main_en/index.php) is a good place to start.) Ask these representatives what they plan to share and hope to accomplish at the conference.

-Follow the discussions and outcomes from the conference. (For official news and documents, visit the FAO website, http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/focus/2008/1000829/index.html.) If you make contact with a civil society representative who will attend the conference, ask him or her to update you through e-mail.

-After the conference, find out what the government has committed to do, and what plans it is making to act on its commitments. Contact civil society and average people (farmers, consumers, etc), to find out what they think of the government’s commitments and any alternative suggestions they may have.

-If the government announces specific plans, find out how they will impact people in your broadcast area. If there is a program to support people, find out how locals can benefit.

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We know that there are many, many news stories that deal with the rising price of staple foods and we know that it can be daunting to look for information. Below, we’ve compiled a few links to resources that we think might help. If you have more resources to suggest, please share them with the FRW community by posting a comment in the Radio Resource Bank section of the FRW website.

Here are a few news reports (some online stories and audio-visual reports) with different perspectives about rising food prices:
-BBC: “Africa Needs Green Revolution”
-VOA: “UN Task Force Seeks Solutions to Global Food Crisis”;
also http://www.voanews.com/mediaassets/english/2008_04/Audio/Mp3/LCR%20Schlein%20Global%20Food%20Crisis%202346971%20043008%20tw.Mp3 -The Wall Street Journal: “Grain Companies’ Profits Soar As Global Food Crisis Mounts”
-UNESCO: “Can genetically modified organisms feed the world?”
-Ivory Coast’s struggle with rising food prices:

Updated news dossiers on the state of the world’s food crisis:
-RFI: Dossier Crise Alimentaire (in French only)
-Afrik.com: Dossier La Vie Chère (in French only)
-Reuters: Agflation

Backgrounders, policy papers, and press communiqués from international organizations:
-Food First: “Pouring Fire on the Food”
-Via Campesina: “An Answer to the Global Food Crisis: Peasants and small farmers can feed the world!”

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This week’s news stories from Cameroon and Senegal illustrate that higher food prices do not automatically produce better livelihoods for farmers. Farmers from Cameroon explained that the rising costs of inputs such as fertilizer are absorbing their profits. Farmers from Senegal fear that imported grains could ruin the local market for their products.

Good access to current market prices and longer-term market trends help farmers decide when and where to sell their crops to obtain the best price. Below, we feature a script from Farm Radio International’s most recent package that describes how Farm Radio partner MEGA FM in northern Uganda produces regular market news shows. You can also find this script online at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/83-3script_en.asp.

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The farmers quoted in this week’s news stories from Senegal and Cameroon also described various expenses that they incur to operate their farms, and inputs they would like to invest in, if they could afford it. These range from seeds and fertilizer to farm labour and tractors.

During this period of fluctuating input costs and crop prices, it is more important than ever for farmers to use a budget. A budget can help ensure that farmers earn a profit and helps them to decide where to invest resources. In this week’s featured script, (Package 61, Script 2, October 2001) the character of a farmer named Ekua describes how she makes her budget and why she believes a budget is the most important part of a successful farm. You can find this script online at: http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/61-2script_en.asp. This script can be used in conjunction with Script 1 from Package 61, “Farmers profit from a budget” (http://www.farmradio.org/english/radio-scripts/61-1script_en.asp).

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