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	It is interesting to note that globally food…
	05 May 2008
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Rising food prices present a very real threat to ongoing efforts to combat poverty and hunger in southern Africa, but that is not necessarily the full picture. If the immediate threat of escalating prices can be effectively addressed, the higher prices themselves could promise longer term benefits to small farmers as well as poor consumers.

The underlying causes of higher prices are largely structural: rising crude oil prices, growing demand for livestockfeed and bio-fuels and declining food stocks. No country is immune and while many "quick fix" remedial measures may provide temporary relief, they do not address the underlying causes.

A more considered policy response would involve:

• Using comprehensive social transfers to increase the purchasing power;
• Cash instead of food wherever possible;
• Improving small farmer access to credit, inputs and markets;
• Facilitating and enabling domestic marketing and regional trade;
• Continuing efforts to ensure that global trade becomes more equal;
• Reviewing global bio-fuel policy on the utilisation of carbohydrate sources until the introduction of cellulose conversion technology.