Subsidies and GM crops back on food policy menu

JOHANNESBURG, 9 April 2013 (IRIN) - Food has become expensive and seems set to stay that way, so growing more of it has become both a necessity and an attractive investment. But the trend has also put contentious issues like agricultural subsidies and genetically modified (GM) crops on the menu once again.

More food is available now but it is much more expensive. Photo: Jaspreet Kindra/IRIN

IRIN talked to some of the leading food security experts on the emerging issues highlighted in, among other new reports, the 2012 Global Food Policy Report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Subsidies are back

Countries like Malawi, caught in a trap of cyclical droughts, have provided subsidized fertilizer to boost food production but have come under attack for promoting unsustainable support to their farmers. "The position of donors on fertilizer subsidies is quite scandalous, given what is happening in their own countries," says Peter Hazell, a leading agriculture expert who has worked with the World Bank and IFPRI.

Read the full article on www.irinnews.org.