Free Markets, Food Aid and the Effect on the Poor
A couple recent articles prompted me to look at the topic of how food aid and free markets impact the poor. On Fast Company, a video was posted called “How the Global Food Market Starves the Poor.” The video is a simplified study in how food aid and free markets can actually undercut local production of food and increase dependence on foreign aid and trade. Then today, I saw an article on the earthquake aftermath in Haiti titled, “Food Dependency Is Poverty Trap For Quake – Hit Haiti.”
One of the quotes that stood out for me was, “Experts now acknowledge that the influx over the past two decades of subsidized cheaper farm imports, ushered in by World Bank and International Monetary Fund free-trade policies that obliged Haiti to open its markets, delivered a virtual death blow to Haitian agriculture from which it has never recovered.” According to the article, Haiti spends 80% of revenues on food imports.
Both the video and the article reaffirm the importance of Coffee Kids’ work. By supporting locally managed projects that communities create and implement themselves, Coffee Kids ensures that local needs are being met and directly addressed. Many of our partners are working to create more sustainable local food systems and educating families on the importance of nutrition. Food sovereignty projects help families look beyond the price to learn where their food comes from and how that impacts their community. Armed with this knowledge, they can make informed choices for their families.
An article on food sovereignty will come out soon in “WorldView Magazine” on the work of our partner Self-Managed Development (AUGE). If you get a chance, check it out. You can also read about Yolanda Vázquez, a participant in AUGE’s food sovereignty and microcredit projects in our blog.