Oxfam warns food price may double in 20 years
British charity Oxfam warns that the prices of staple foods will double in 20 years if world leaders don’t take action to reform the global food system, BBC writes.
By 2030, the average cost of key crops will increase by between 120% and 180%, the charity forecasts. Half of that increase will be caused by climate change. BBC quotes Oxfam calling on world leaders to improve regulation of food markets and invest in a global climate fund.
In its report, Oxfam highlights four "food insecurity hotspots", areas which are already struggling to feed their citizens.
• in Guatemala, 865,000 people are at risk of food insecurity, due to a lack of state investment in smallholder farmers, who are highly dependent on imported food, the charity says.
• in India, people spend more than twice the proportion of their income on food than UK residents - paying the equivalent of £10 for a litre of milk and £6 for a kilo of rice.
• in Azerbaijan, wheat production fell 33% last year due to poor weather, forcing the country to import grains from Russia and Kazakhstan. Food prices were 20% higher in December 2010 than the same month in 2009.
• in East Africa, eight million people currently face chronic food shortages due to drought, with women and children among the hardest hit.