Global Food Crisis - article source: OXFAM

We're all feeling the pinch as the costs of our supermarket shop rise week on week. But the increasing prices of basic foods like rice, corn and wheat mean that the world's poorest people are suffering most.

Rising food prices

Prices of food have reached record levels. At the current rate, 600 million people will be hungry by 2020 – that's ten times the population of the UK. Combined with longer-term problems like rain and crop failure, we're now facing a serious crisis.

• Poor people in developing countries spend between 50-80 per cent of their income on food
• Wheat prices are up 120 per cent and rice prices have risen by 75 per cent

The issue is already being played out in food riots across the globe; Mexico, Egypt, Tanzania and Senegal have all seen their people take to the streets.

Why is it happening?

Climate change, high oil prices, increased demand from China and India, population growth and the growing pressure for biofuels are just some of the reasons for soaring prices.

But there are other factors playing a part, like underinvestment in agriculture, the dominance of big companies, and the mismanagement of agriculture and food policy.

What needs to happen?

Food prices are threatening the lives of some of the world's most vulnerable people. But they are also an opportunity for governments to act:

• Rich countries must give more money to poor countries to help reduce the immediate shock of high food prices
• They must also review their current targets for biofuels, which often directly compete against food and feed crops
• They should reform the food aid system so that instead of shipping food from miles away they buy it locally or give people cash

Poor country governments have a role to play too. They must invest in agriculture and infrastructure to help put small farmers in a better position to benefit from higher prices. Any they need to be wary of signing up to unfair economic agreements.

Find out how Oxfam is responding to the Global Food Crisis