Global food crisis: causes and implications for India

Africa
March 2008: Kenya faces acute food shortage. Global cereal crisis is likely to hit the country the hardest because farmers growing maize, the staple crop of Kenya, have been displaced following post-poll violence.

Riots over rising food prices in Namibia and Zimbabwe and several west African countries, including Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal and Burkina Faso, totally dependent on import of foodgrain.

Mozambique facing shortage of 1.25 million tonnes of foodgrain.

Food crisis imminent in Zimbabwe following crop failure.
 
 
  China

March 2008: China allocates temporary food subsidy to college students to offset inflation. The food cost in the country has soared 23 per cent after blizzards in 10 provinces of southern China destroyed crops and blocked transport links. Pork prices have gone up by 63 per cent in a year, vegetable prices have increased by 46 per cent and edible oil prices by 41 per cent.

 
  Italy

September 2007: Italy observes a day-long pasta strike after the price of pasta went up by almost 20 per cent. The price of durum flour rose from