The Real Causes of Food Insecurity in Africa: Helping Dr. De Schutter (UN) and Director Pascal Lamy (WTO) Identify the Causes of Hunger in Africa
Africa’s Trade Law Newsletter, Issue 4, January 2012
8 Pages Posted: 5 May 2012
Date Written: January 30, 2012
Abstract
Africa is generally regarded as the continent of negative extremes; hunger, wars, deserts, poverty, illiteracy, coup d’état, to name just a few. To some people, including high ranked politicians, Africa is a country and should be dealt with as such. Further, African countries are often put in the same ‘box’ with other developing countries including China, Brazil, and India. These misapprehensions make it difficult to identify and solve the problems of the continent; particularly the issue of food insecurity. Last year, the U N rapporteur on the right to food, Dr. De Schutter, accused the WTO for stopping African countries from implementing policies to address food insecurity and Pascal Lamy responded. This paper, acknowledging their efforts, aims to help them understand and address the problem of hunger in Africa. It argues that Africa remains the continent of negative extremes because developed countries and international organizations do not really understand (or because they ignore) the roots causes of African problems and often propose solutions for the wrong problems.
Keywords: Food insecurity, food security, Africa, WTO, UN, hunger, Africa's Trade Newsletters
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