In the last week, Bloomberg has featured a series of articles detailing the food crisis facing the developing world. The seven-part compilation delves into some of the challenges surrounding this crisis, and the importance of agricultural development that we have been highlighting on the blog. Last week the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported that 963 million people are now hungry, which means another 40 million people have been pushed into hunger between last year and this one – an increased estimate from just two months ago. The Bloomberg article series provides a glimpse into some of the causes behind the food crisis, with several dominant themes.

Policies in the developed world can have serious impacts on the livelihood and wellbeing of developing communities. Among other policy topics, the series highlights the U.S. mandate that most of U.S. food aid be supplied and shipped from the United States. The result is that food aid can be delayed in reaching already-malnourished people in countries like Ethiopia. Similar food aid programs in Canada and the European Union allow the purchase of food near where it is to be distributed, where possible. Not only does this practice ensure that food is delivered in a more in a timely manner, but it supports local and regional economies in the developing world.

The series also examines the potential role of speculation in commodities markets, and of the possibility of fertilizer companies colluding to raise prices, in exacerbating the food crisis. From August to November, the price for potash, a particular kind of fertilizer, rose by 20 percent. This meant that farmers could not afford to apply fertilizer to their fields, leaving some unfarmed, and others producing smaller yields. When grain prices dropped earlier in the year, fertilizer prices remained high, further squeezing farmers in the developing world. The series also examines the topic of biofuels and how biofuel production can drive up commodity prices.

A lack of investment in agriculture is a central theme of the articles, which note that both developed and the developing countries have not prioritized agricultural funding, and people in developing countries are suffering as a result. For example, without infrastructure like adequate gain storage facilities, farmers are losing enough rice each year to feed 184 million people. Similarly, the World Bank’s policies towards developing countries in the 1980s and 1990s emphasized a move away from investing in agriculture, making them more reliant on food imports and leaving them unprepared to face this year’s food crisis. In developing countries, farmers’ access to agricultural inputs – even those that have been donated or subsidized – can also be inhibited by corrupt officials who require bribes in order to distribute essentials like seeds and fertilizer.

The articles are not posted in one location on the Bloomberg website, so we have linked all seven of them here for your convenience below the fold:

Dead Children Linked to Aid Policy in Africa Favoring Americans

How Famine Lurked Behind Vienna Toast Where Joe Cocker Crooned

World Bank’s ‘Wrong Advice’ Left Silos Empty in Poor Countries

Government Bribes in Cameroon Divert Funds From Food Amid Riots

Wasting Enough Rice to Feed 184 Million Is Habit Only Rats Love

Corn Futures Spark Riots as Speculators Take Trading to Limit

Eating Isn’t Option When Minnesota Corn Burns in Houston Cars

-Beth Adler