EXAM
Lisa
ch02.pptxFamines
Chapter 2
AG 201
Dr. WJ Mueller
Famines get a lot of attention
Fairly small part of the world food problem
If we solved the famine problem
The hunger problem would not be much less
Famines are:
Localized
Temporary
Severe food shortages
Almost always the result of:
Natural disaster &
Poor policy response
Famines (cont.)
Where undernutrition is a problem it does not take much of a natural disaster to create a famine
Weather
When I moved to California I asked a colleague of mine:
“What is normal weather for this time of year?”
He said:
"There is no such thing a normal, only averages.”
That is a profound statement, and helpful for our understanding of droughts and famines
The most famous famine?
The Irish Potato Famine (1840’s)
40 percent of farmers worked for others
They lived on small plots of land (landlord owned)
They grew potatoes to sustain family
Cheap
Nutritious
Grow in relatively poor soil
They also made butter for landlord (buttermilk left for them)
Irish Potato Famine (cont.)
This diet was quite nutritious
Among the tallest and healthiest laborers in Europe
Foundation for low-wage agriculture
Food exports fueled the industrial revolution of Great Britain
Irish Potato Famine (cont.)
1845-1949 – Potato Late Blight hit (weather conditions were just right)
Potatoes rotted in the ground
1 million died of starvation
1 million immigrated
Famines Created by Government Policies
Ukraine Famine (1930’s)
Chinese Famine (1950’s) “Great Leap Forward” famine
Irish potato famine caused by a free-market economy
The two above caused by centrally-planned economies
Ukraine Famine 1932-33
Soviet Union was a collectively-owned and centrally planned system (Stalin)
In other words they took away private ownership of land, factories, etc.
From farmers they took land, machinery, livestock
Consolidated them into large farms
Result
Seizure of all food and stock caused the famine
6-8 million Ukrainians died
Why?
Russians did not really like the Ukrainians
Their policies caused the problem
Not famine
Not war
It was completely man-made
Chinese Famine (1959-61)
Most destructive famine in recorded history
Mao Tse-tung – “The Great Leap Forward” (1952-1961)
A plan to convert from an agriculture society to Industrial
Moderately successful until 1958
Policies set in place to:
Further consolidate farms
Farmers were forced to work in local industries as well as the farms
Food exports were increased to pay debts
Poor weather conditions exacerbated the problem from 1959-1961
Result
30 million people died
Provinces abandoned Mao’s plan in 1961
Ag productivity rebounded
North Korea
Famine since the 1990’s
Closely aligned with the Soviet Union & China
North Korean officials played one against the other for food aid
USSR broke up and aid halted
Agriculture in terrible shape
Drought in 1995
2-3 million died
Drought
Farm workers were given a ration of grain from what they produced on the communal farms
With the drought, rations were cut to the workers by 1/3
Food for the urban areas
Reports of cannibalism of children in 2003
Still they build missiles and nuclear weapons
Southern Africa Drought
2002-2003 Drought followed by heavy rains during harvest
Food aid from USA and other countries saved millions
Zimbabwe (formerly called Rhodesia, when it was a British colony) confiscated land from white commercial farmers and gave it to indigenous supporters of the ruling party
Production dropped by 75%
Southern Africa Drought (cont.)
When I taught at Cal Poly, I had brothers from Zimbabwe in my class. Their land was confiscated and they had to leave by cover of darkness to escape. They told me some of what their families went through trying to get some of their property out of the country without being caught and killed themselves
They have since invited the farmers back. The brothers said that there was not a chance that their family would ever go back
Their agriculture is still a disaster
Famines and North Korea and Zimbabwe have continued for more than a decade
The problem is much deeper than weather
Some examples of food aid that was successful
India drought of 1967
Tsunami victims of 2004
Some not successful
Haiti earthquake victims
Haiti
Distribution went to gangs
Depressed local farm prices
Let’s see, I can pay the farmers for their goods or I can get them for free from the USA. Which should I do??
Dependence on foreign aid is a big problem
The UN World Food Program
What should be done?
Increase food availability
Distribution policies?
Pay cash or coupons for food??
What problems do you see with this?
Help them improve their farming practices
Education?
Work incentives?
