Title:
Poor Suffer as Food Prices Likely to Stay High
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
There are growing concerns about food insecurity in
the developing world. Rising food prices, weather
emergencies and political problems are deepening the
struggles of families in many countries. Three
United Nations agencies published a report before
World Food Day in October. This year's "State of
Food Insecurity in the World" report says high
prices are likely to continue. Gregory Barrow with
the World Food Program in Rome says, "If you look at
the places where World Food Program works,
particularly in developing countries, you see
populations of people who might be spending sixty,
seventy, eighty percent of their salaries on
purchasing food for their families." The report says
even short-term price increases can have a long-term
effect. Reducing nutritious food early in a child's
life can affect mental and physical development and
limit future earnings. The United Nations has
programs aimed at reducing the number of hungry
people in the world by fifty percent by
twenty-fifteen. But most observers say this target
is unlikely to be reached. East Africa is suffering
its worst drought in years. In Kenya, at least three
and a half million people are going hungry, mostly
in the north. Yet food is going to waste in central
Kenya. Now, farmers there want the government to buy
their food and get it to those in need.Farmers say
bad roads and a lack of transportation make it
difficult for them to get their produce to market.
Storage is another problem. And they complain about
a big drop in food prices.Nahashon Gitau farms
almost three hectares about a ninety-minute drive
from Nairobi. He says he regrets that he wastes at
least twenty-five percent of his harvest while other
Kenyans are hungry. He says the government should
buy his food at a "good price" instead of asking for
food from overseas. Economists say the imports
reduce local food prices, decrease productivity and
increase dependency among the people. Mr. Gitau says
if he could receive higher prices for his crops, he
could feed more Kenyans. A Kinangop District
official said her office does not get enough money
from the central government to improve roads and
take other steps to help farmers reach markets.For
the VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal. Our
programs are a way for people to read, listen and
learn American English and much more. You can
download transcripts and MP3s of our stories at
voaspecialenglish.com.
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personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
