May 29, 2012

 

World food prices to rise over US corn woes

 

 

In case dry weather continues in the largest US corn-growing region the Midwest, world food prices could spike in the short-term, the new head of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research told Dow Jones Newswires Monday (May 28).

 

The US dominates world corn trade making global trade and prices dependent on weather in the US Corn Belt, according to the USDA. Most corn traded is used for feed so if the Midwest fails to meet expectations more lower-grade wheat will be fed to animals and less wheat will be available for human consumption pushing up global wheat prices.

 

"We expect that corn yields in the Midwest may not be enough to feed demand--that will lead to spikes in food prices," said Frank Rijsberman, chief executive of the global grouping of research organisations.

 

"The whole food system is so interlinked now that [food price inflation] really will affect everybody," said Rijsberman. "People around the world pay for these spikes and those most vulnerable are in developing countries."

 

Food price inflation climbed toward the top of the international agenda after hitting successive record highs in the early part of 2011, amid global supply concerns for cereals, sugar and cocoa.

 

Rijsberman said this most recent food price spike pushed 44 million people in Africa and Asia into poverty, as developing countries are immediately affected due to their proportionally higher spend on foodstuffs. Since food prices rose so sharply farmers have been ploughing new land "like crazy," said Rijsberman, which he sees as "a direct threat to the environment."

 

"The alternative path isn't just to get more food by expanding the area under agricultural use, but to increase yields from the area which is already planted," he said.

 

CGIAR's 15 global agricultural research centres are charged with coming up with improved crop varieties and disease-resistant strains in the "newly realised shared interest between agriculture and investment," said Rijsberman.

 

"There is clearly a revolution going on [in biotech and life sciences] that is just beginning in areas like agriculture--it is here to stay and changing science, giving a much deeper understanding of crops," said Rijsberman.

 

The UK's first ever genetically modified wheat trial was vandalised last week. Scientists were attempting to test whether wheat that can repel aphid attack in laboratory trials works in the field.

 

CGIAR will develop products that use genetic modification, but it is up to individual countries' regulatory processes to decide whether such technology is safe and should be adopted, Rijsberman said, adding that it could also simply speed up the conventional breeding process or give opportunities to put micro nutrients into crops.

 

Meanwhile, agriculture needs to be "front and centre" at the upcoming United Nations conference on Sustainable Development in Rio, Rijsberman said, as investment may be the best hope for protecting the environment. The organisation has outlined a seven-point plan for the summit on how agricultural research can contribute to a more sustainable, food-secure future.