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World hunger : avoiding red herrings
SummaryBetween 2007 and 2008 hunger riots took place. Their causes have not always been very well analysed either by the media or by politicians. It is neither the demand for bio fuels nor the increased consumption of meat in developing countries which are responsible for price increases provoking people in towns to demonstrate on the streets, but a particularly low level of these reserves and speculation linked to the financial crisis. Furthermore, contrary to the image portrayed of these events, the main victims of hunger are 20 % town dwellers and 80 % farmers. Farmers are faced with infrastructure shortages including roads (which are necessary for transportation and the sale of agricultural production), and silos (for storage), and having to deal with local fluctuations in price. The solution to the problem of hunger is well known : agricultural policies, which include price guarantees, the creation of infrastructures, and training must be implemented. But who will foot the bill in countries where neither the taxpayers nor the consumers are solvent ? A new Marshall Plan seems to be the only possible way forward. Écouter ou télécharger l'enregistrement de cette séance Summary translated from French by Rachel MARLIN.
The entire article appears in French in the Journal de l'École de Paris du management N° 82. |
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(12/7/2009) |