Farmers asked to back €1bn plan

EUROPE’s farmers have been asked to encourage their governments to give €1 billion in unspent farm subsidies to help food shortages in the third world.

But EU countries are divided over the issue with some arguing they are giving enough and want the money back.

Irish MEP Jim Mitchell is leading efforts to get the European Parliament to back the proposal, but says a decision must be made in the next few weeks.

He was supported by UN agencies yesterday who warned that food stocks in some of the poorest countries are critically low.

Josette Sheeran, director of the UN’s World Food Programme, said people are dying and children in particular are suffering.

“The cost of food has more than doubled in some countries. It’s costing us twice as much to meet basic food needs of people as it did last year. People are suffering. We are already losing lives in Ethiopia.

“We appeal to European farmers to stand behind their fellow farmers in the third world and encourage their governments to contribute”, she said.

Mr Mitchell said that up to now the battle to reduce the number of hungry people in the world was being won with a steady decline over the past 50 years. But this has been reversed in the last two years because of drought, floods, climate change, bio fuels, low crop yields in Europe and Australia and market economics.

Countries like Mexico, Yemen, Bangladesh, Pakistan and South Africa have all warned they are facing problems.

The food crisis is giving rise to political instability in countries he warned and said that vulnerable children especially, such as the 12 million AIDS orphans in east Africa, were at greater risk.

Subsistence and small farmers were in dire need and it was crucial to make sure that they could plant next year’s harvest, he said.

The EU had set aside €2 billion to subsidise farmers if food prices fell below a certain level. But this had not happened so the money is due to be returned to the member states.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso proposed giving half of it to alleviate the food crisis. However Germany is objecting saying it has already given €300m in aid, the Netherlands says it has reached the UN goal of giving .7% of its GDP in aid and Britain is also questioning the initiative.

Mr Mitchell said their concerns must be overcome and a decision must be made in the next few weeks.

The US has said it will give an extra $1 billion, but Ms Sheeran said that this year alone they are more than $2.5 billion short for their ongoing food programmes.

Global food crisis

Somalia: Just four 4 days food stocks in reserve.

Liberia: Zero stocks.

Ghana: 145% increase in food prices this year.

Ethiopia: 280% increase in food prices.

Cost of grain: 50% higher than last August.