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The problem of chronic hunger that afflicts around 10 million rural people in West Bengal has largely been ignored. What is the Left Front government doing to alleviate the situation? May 3-9, 2008

The demand for "universalisation' of the public distribution system during a period of rising prices is not relevant since, more than four-fifths of households in rural areas and two-thirds in urban centres are already covered by it. Yet, a very small proportion of rural/urban households actually make purchases of either rice or wheat from the PDS; an insignificant amount of consumption is met by ration shop purchases. The pattern is somewhat better for below the poverty line households with ration cards.

Poor communities in the hills and mountains of far and mid-western Nepal face a serious threat to food security due to this year's poor winter harvest, says a UN body. Along with bad crops resulting in a 20-40 percent fall in production, rising food prices in these areas where poverty and malnutrition are very high has triggered this painful situation, states the latest crop situation update prepared by the World Food Program-Nepal.

Humanitarian agencies in Sri Lanka are preparing for the fallout as increasing food prices and shortages put vulnerable populations at risk of malnutrition and leave many families no longer able to afford essentials such as medicalcare and school tuition. The global food crisis, referred to by World Food Programme (WFP) officials as "the silent tsunami" during a summit in London on April 22, is hitting home.

More than 1,000 women protested outside Peru's Congress on Wednesday, banging empty pots and pans to demand the government do more to counter rising food prices, which have squeezed the poor from Kazakhstan to Haiti. The women, many toting small children on the hip or by the hand, run food kitchens for the poor, where Peruvians can buy breakfast or lunch for less than a dollar. Inflation for basic foods sank President Alan Garcia's approval rating to 26 percent this month, the lowest level since he took office in 2006.

XUAN CANH, Vietnam: Truong Thi Nha stands just 4

Thailand is reviving plans for a cartel of major rice producers, a move that could benefit farmers by maintaining soaring rice prices but propagate the food crisis for the poorest consumers in Asia. The Thai government is enlisting the support of Vietnam, the second-largest rice exporter after Thailand, as well as Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos to "help each other control the rice price," according to Thailand's prime minister, Samak Sundaravej.

There was, last week, a glimmer of hope in the world food crisis. Expecting a bumper harvest, Ukraine relaxed restrictions on exports. Overnight, global wheat prices fell by 10 percent. By contrast, traders in Bangkok quote rice prices around $1,000 a ton, up from $460 two months ago.

High food prices have driven inflation to new highs, leading the Centre to clamp down on export of farm commodities. But have the high retail prices in any way benefited the farmers? How has their lot improved from the spiralling food inflation? Business Standard takes stock of the situation in a three-part series.

Beijing, Apr 30 A Chinese saying sums up Beijing's efforts to immunise itself from global price shocks: a half-closed door will not shut out everything.

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