The Global Food Crisis

Prices of many basic foods have skyrocketed in the last two years, leading to a major food crisis affecting millions of poor people throughout the world. The causes of the crisis are many and complex. An increasing demand for food and energy at a time of low food stocks, poor harvests and weak credit have led to record prices for oil and food.

The price of wheat has doubled in less than a year, while other staples such as corn, maize and soy are trading at well above their 1990s levels. Rice, which is the staple food for about 3 billion people worldwide, has tripled in cost in the last 18 months. In some countries, prices for milk and meat have more than doubled.

The United States expects food prices to continue to rise through 2009 and then finally stabilize by 2015 at costs above 2006 levels. This projection indicates the crisis will be long term. Based on field assessments, Catholic Relief Services believes that a much greater impact will be seen in the coming year than has been felt to date unless extraordinary measures are taken in many countries. People have been consuming food stocks and selling off their assets to purchase food, but they will not be able to do so indefinitely.

The most damaging impact is on the poorest people, who spend a far higher proportion of their income on food. In many cases, households were spending 40 to 50 percent of their incomes on food before the crisis and are now finding it increasingly difficult to afford basic rations. Those who are struggling to pay for food will eat less or cheaper food with less nutritional value. Even the middle class in many developing nations will have to sell their assets to pay for food.

In the worst-affected countries, families eat fewer meals, even skipping days, and children stop going to school to save on fees to pay for food. Child malnutrition is rising, and pregnant and nursing women are among the hardest hit. Women across Africa, for example, feed their husbands and children first before eating what little remains for themselves.

CRS Response

Over the last 20 years, the majority of Catholic Relief Services' work has focused on providing support to rural communities. In contrast, the global food crisis is affecting the urban poor first. There are approximately 1 billion urban slum dwellers in the developing world, and this very large number of consumers will be less able to buy food as prices continue to rise.

As one of the largest private providers of food aid in the world, CRS is assessing how the increasing price of food affects the people we serve. In countries like Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Mali, Nicaragua and Haiti, CRS is already providing people with vouchers for food and farming supplies. CRS also offers food-for-work programs, and meals and take-home rations for children who attend school. In rural areas, where needs are different, small farmers can benefit from higher crop prices, but only if they can increase their production and yield in future growing seasons.

CRS has the advantage of being well-established in virtually all of the countries affected by the food crisis. Our broad network of local partners enables CRS to implement development and relief programs quickly, effectively and efficiently.