b'INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENTForeign Aid Should be a Hand Up, Not a HandoutIN MY FIRSTpilot project with Plant Breedersscale. In times of food shortage in certain locations, Without Borders, I was asked to go to Ethiopia to trainthey may help aid agencies identify where food is smallholder farmers to breed their own forage cropsgrown more locally and that is in surplus. It also means for countries developing dairy industry. Ethiopia hasthat food does not have to travel great distances to the experienced many famines, and with a population ofconsumer, meaning less food miles.close to 80 million people in a good year, everyoneThere is a place for handouts in times of famine. can be fed, but in a bad year many people can starve. However, after the famine has passed, $1 spent on pre-While I was there, I thought: Why havent seed com- vention of hunger means $3 less is needed to be spent panies established themselves in Ethiopia to sell seed?in times of famine as handouts. So, then the question Africa is predicted to be the continent with thebecomes: what is prevention of hunger? Maybe it is ANTHONY LEDDINgreatest growth over the next few decades. When athe education of people to have the confidence to run Inspired afterfamine strikes, plenty of seed is given away to peopletheir own business and produce seeds for the local reading Theas handouts. This makes it impossible for a company toconsumer. When you travel in developing countries it Coming Famine,try and sell seed when it is being given out for free.is the middleman in the marketplace that is making the this AustralianWhats more frustrating for the locals is that mostmost money.plant breeder setseed that is given out is not from Africa, but from out to make aWestern countries. Although this is OK for western difference. Plantfarmers that would be paid full market price for their Breeders Withoutseed that is used as foreign aid, this can have devastat-Borders encouragesing effects on the local market price in the region ofAfrica is predicted to be the continent with the plant breeders andthe famine. There may be neighboring countries where students to volunteerthe famine hasnt occurred, and their local price ofgreatest growth over the next few decades. their time for inter- seed is decreased due to the free seed coming in from national breedingoverseas. It would make sense for aid organizations toWhen a famine strikes, plenty of seed is given projects. try and access seed from neighboring countries so thataway to people as handouts. local prices are not affected.The greatest aid the Western world can give to the developing countries is free access to markets. When you travel in developing countries, it is common to see produce from the Western world being sold in marketplaces and lowering the local price. It may haveThis system needs to be overhauled to allow farm-been an oversupply of the product in the Westerners to be more profitable. The formation of co-opera-world, which is then flooded onto developing markets.tives can help with this. Or maybe it is giving loans to Unfortunately, if the roles were reversed this couldsmallholder farmers so they can buy what they need not occur. When there is an oversupply of agricultureto produce a harvest and then they pay the loan back products in developing countries, you tend to see themwith interest. You can now see social credit unions in rotting. In the Western world there are tariffs and tradethe Western world where people are willing to invest restrictions preventing oversea imports that couldtheir money into projects where they know their flood the market and damage the price that their localreturns wont be a great as investing in other projects, farmers receive. but the social impact will be much greater.What is the solution? We know that the world canThere is only one constant in life and that is change. currently grow enough food to feed everyone, but itHumankind can create solutions to the problems that is not evenly distributed. Maybe we need and inter- we face. We just must be willing to work together to national body to look at food production on a globalhelp these solutions work. SW80/ SEEDWORLD.COMINTERNATIONAL EDITION 2020'