The haves must give to the have-nots

The perceived wisdom has always been that a shortage of potable water would be among the first crises to emerge among developing countries.

But now there is a dramatic shift in thinking as more and more countries face shortages of food. Successive poor harvests in countries that would normally be expected to supply the world market have driven prices up to a point where poorer nations find it impossible to buy, and in some cases find, sufficient cereals for their diet.

To add to their woes, some Western countries have turned their land which traditionally would grow grain, to producing crops such as corn, suitable for bio-diverse fuels for vehicles. So while cars are being fed in the US, people are going without food in developing countries.

Such is the severity of the problem of food deficiencies around the world that both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have expressed concern and called upon developed nations to do more to alleviate the situation.

A report from the World Bank titled "Rising Food Prices: Policy Options and World Bank Response" dramatically outlined the high cost increases that have taken place over the past three years - a creeping inflation that would have gone unnoticed by many except the poor.

World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick has called for a "New Deal for Global Food Policy" to be adopted so that those people who are in desperate need of basic sustenance will not remain impoverished.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the IMF has also warned that hundreds of thousands of people will starve if food prices continue to rise as they are.

Of course there is no immediate or short-term answer to the issue, but the inequality of food distribution around the world has been recognised for many years. But it is now time to address and resolve those disparities.