There is more than enough food grown in the world to go round.
But the rich world both produces and consumes far more than it needs,
while many in the developing world still go hungry.
ILLUSTRATION: CLIVE OFFLEY
WHAT WE GROW
Cereal grains such as rice, wheat and maize are staple foods for the world’s people.
Each region's share of world grain production is out of proportion to its share of the
world's population.
WHAT WE GIVE
In 1988 67 countries received food aid.3
Some of them – Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia – were in dire need
of food supplies. But the appearance of others at the top of this particular
league table has much more to do with their status as key Western strategic
allies.
WHAT WE EAT
The World Health Organization recommends a minimum daily adult calorie consumption
of 2,600 per head with variations for age, occupation and other factors. Yet
average consumption in many poor countries falls far below this minimum, while
that in rich countries is far in excess of it.
PERILOUS PRICES
Many Third World countries are dependent on the world market price of just a
few agricultural crops. During the 1980s prices for many primary commodities
fell to their lowest levels since World War Two. Despite some recovery, average
prices are still lower than in 1980.
GROWING PAINS
In many developing countries food production per head has declined over the
last decade, often because farming is disrupted by civil war.
Growth per head in food production between
1977 and 19887, selected countries
(including those featured in this issue).
 |
Nicaragua - 5.5 Zambia - 3.2 Mozambique - 2.2 Bangladesh - 1.5 Philippines - 0.7 Ethiopia - 0.4 Ghana - 0.6 India - 0.7 Brazil - 0.8 China - 3.5 |
1 The State of
World Population 1991, UNFPA.
2 The State of Food and Agriculture 1989 , FAO.
3 Human Development Report 1991 , UNDP.
4 The State of the World’s Children 1991, UNICEF.
5 World Development Report 1991 , World Bank.
6 World Health Organization.
7 The Economist Book of World Vital Statistics 1990.
It
is a leisurely two-hour drive from the southern Philippines city of Davao to
the 16 square kilometres of banana farms run by Dole Philippines, local subsidiary
of the US food giant Castle and Cooke. The last 30 minutes of the ride grinds
through dusty gravel roads that cut deep into a forest of banana trees planted
on the fertile lowlands of Mindanao island.
