Home

Drop in Grain Prices Hurts Africa

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Floyd Mann
Topics: Globalization, Food
Countries: Senegal

After suffering through last year's global food crisis, the return of grain prices to reasonable levels is widely welcomed. But the New York Times reports today that the swift drop in grain prices is reducing the odds of countries like Senegal achieving food independence anytime soon, and could, in fact, lead to financial ruin for the Senegalese farmers who planted more rice this year in hopes of selling it at the higher price.

Bookmark/Search this post with:
Keywords: global food crisis

Comments

Tue, 01/27/2009 - 02:02 — Nic Dominguez (not verified) in Kilisa Kenya

A risk Africa is forced to take

Mr. Mann brings up an excellent problem facing much of Africa. The farmers of Senegal really don't have a choice of whether or not to take the risk of planting all rice. When the question is between the chance of feeding you family or going hungry you take the chance. I wanted to explore this idea more so I posted my own take on the problem at www.innovativeideasfordevelopment.blogspot.com

Post new comment

Your email address is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <blockquote>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options


Stories We're Watching
Subscribe

'Quiet Corruption' Hurting Africa's Poor

San Francisco Chronicle - Mon, 03/15/2010 - 09:22
A World Bank report says teachers and other public servants who don't show up for work are fueling "quiet corruption" throughout Africa that is disproportionately hurting the continent's poor.

Industrial Output Up; Hopes For Factories Grow

NPR - Mon, 03/15/2010 - 08:45
Industrial production edged up 0.1 percent in February, beating expectations and marking the eighth straight monthly increase.

Cash For Work and Planning for the Future

Mercy Corps Blog - Sun, 03/14/2010 - 23:23
Two Mercy Corps workers talk with 62-year-old Rosemarie Joseph in her makeshift tent at the Lycée Jean-Marie Vincent displacement camp in Port-au-Prince.

Price Gap Spices Sugar Fight

Wall Street Journal - Tue, 03/16/2010 - 21:09
The battle over U.S. sugar quotas is flaring once more as the gap between domestic and much-lower global prices reaches its widest level in at least a decade.

Ushahidi - Africa’s Gift to Silicon Valley

International Herald Tribune - Sun, 03/14/2010 - 12:08
A small Kenyan-born Web site is bringing crowdsourcing to disaster relief and other humanitarian causes.
See all Breaking News >

Recent comments

  • "Esther, Wow! Thank you for commenting. One of the best things (among many) about applying these controlled random..."
    by Jill Scantlan
    on A 'Rising Star' in Economics
  • "Thanks for this article. One small correction though. What the post refers to as "my best known work" (the work on..."
    by Esther Duflo
    on A 'Rising Star' in Economics
  • "This is so sad, and at the same time so true. We talk so much about terrrorism on news that we forget about poverty and..."
  • "Microfinance is amazing. Allowing millions to send their children to university in order to "break the chain" and give..."
  • "UPDATE: Following an investigative report on BBC NewsNight, British Parliament has now passed a bill that will..."

Countries

An initiative of Mercy Corps
“You must be the change
you wish to see in the world”
— Mahatma Gandhi
Learn more about Mercy Corps >

Efficiency

Over the last five years, more than 89% of Mercy Corps' resources have been allocated directly to programs

Excellence

America's premier charity evaluator gives Mercy Corps four stars in organizational efficiency. Click here to learn more.

High Value

Every dollar you donate to Mercy Corps helps us secure $11.16 in donated food and other critical supplies.

Mercy Corps — Dept. W — 45 SW Ankeny — Portland, OR 97204
 All original content Copyright © 2009 Mercy Corps. Quoted and linked content is property of the creator(s). Mercy Corps will not sell, rent or trade your personal information.