Full Coverage: Food

30.04.2008 BANGKOK, Apr 29 (IPS) - As if the burdens they shoulder are not enough, Asia's women are being compelled to bear the additional weight of rising food prices, say women's rights activists from across the region.

29.04.2008 Women are the worst hit by the ongoing food crisis in Asia. According to Committee for Asian Women (CAW), female workers are compelled to take additional jobs in the informal sector, where there are no steady wages or social benefits.

28.04.2008 WASHINGTON, Apr 28 (OneWorld) - Far away and close to home the growing world food crisis is taking a toll. While Americans are increasingly shocked at their rising grocery bills, hunger threatens lives and stability in several developing countries.

28.04.2008 Continuing food crisis in Afghanistan is frustrating people as several cities witness protests, riots and looting. While people blame government for this crisis, experts attribute it to both local and global factors. The country would need over half-a-million tonnes of imported wheat to meet the current demand.

28.04.2008 WASHINGTON, Apr 27 (OneWorld) - Occasionally, OneWorld.net will put out an alert when many of the NGOs we work with are taking on a breaking issue. Over the past year, we've done this for the crisis in Kenya, Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh, and the earthquake that struck Peru in August. But this week's alert on the growing global food crisis is perhaps the most worrying one we've ever sent.

25.04.2008 This week's alert on the growing global food crisis is perhaps the most worrying one we've ever sent, says OneWorld's managing editor in the United States.

23.04.2008 The UN food agency has alerted Pakistan against a possible attack of Ug99 on wheat crops. Even as officials from the country have denied its presence, there are fears that winds from Iran and Balochistan may blow in the black stem rust, leading to widespread crop loss in South Asia.

23.04.2008 Expectations of bumper rice crop in Bangladesh may be good news for Bangladeshis. However, the UN food agency feels that it may not be enough to pull the country out of the present food crisis, where half of the population lives below the poverty line.

21.04.2008 Millions of hungry people the world over will be at risk, if the UN food agency is not able to collect upwards of $750 million to buy food from international market. The rising food prices have caused this shortfall.

19.04.2008 NEW YORK, Apr 19 (OneWorld) - The current food crisis causing hunger and starvation for millions of people across the world is not going to end as long as those who dominate the international grain markets remain unwilling to change their behavior, according to experts specializing in international trade and environmental economics.

18.04.2008 An 18-day march by Indian farmers ended on April 12 at Mahatma GandhiÂ’s memorial in New Delhi. The march was organised by Navdanya Trust to spread awareness on seed and food sovereignty currently facing the onslaught of multinational companies.

18.04.2008 With its fertile land and abundant rivers, a long-term investment in agricultural infrastructure from donors can make Afghanistan self-sufficient in food, says a UN official. Up to 70% of Afghans are suffering from acute food insecurity due to poverty, drought and years of conflict.

16.04.2008 DHAKA, Apr 16 (OneWorld) - Although illiterate Bangladeshi villagers don't know the climate change lingo, many have shown an awareness of the situation, using local knowledge to innovate and adapt to the natural changes.

14.04.2008 The rise in food prices, the [Indian] government says, is an international phenomenon. But this argument is unlikely to cut much ice with the people. At the crux of the crisis is the tardy pace at which farm output has been growing in recent years, says senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta.

14.04.2008 In last two months, hundreds of thousands of people have received food assistance in Afghanistan. The programme, jointly run by UN food agency and national government, aims to provide a "temporary safety net" for millions of food-insecure people in the country.

11.04.2008 As food prices refuse to come down across Asia, more people are in need of assistance from governments and humanitarian agencies. If situation is not brought under control, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, etc. may witness food riots similar to the ones seen recently in the Haitian capital.

10.04.2008 World food prices have risen by 45% in last few months. FAO, UNIDO and IFAD have underlined the need for corrective measures to reverse this trend. At a press conference in the Indian capital they highlighted the role of agro-industries in overcoming this crisis.

09.04.2008 CARACAS, Apr 8 (IPS) - Trawl fishing is on its way out in Venezuela, amid demonstrations by artisanal fisherfolk who support the new law as amended by President Hugo Chavez.

08.04.2008 Rodents and insects have damaged hundreds of thousands of hectares of wet rice and jhum paddy cultivation for the second successive year in a north-Indian state. Already many people are facing starvation. If immediate measures are not taken by the state and central governments, the situation may become even worse.

07.04.2008 Not just the poor, it is also the middle class in Bangladesh who can be found standing in queues to buy subsidised rice. The sharp rise in prices of rice and other food commodities have left people below poverty line spending as much as 70% of their earnings in buying food items.