Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/63246 
Year of Publication: 
2006
Series/Report no.: 
WIDER Research Paper No. 2006/141
Publisher: 
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER), Helsinki
Abstract: 
Many developing nations, especially the least developed countries, are subjected to recurrent spells of food insecurity. In order to understand food insecurity in these countries it is necessary to consider not only immediate or trigger-causes of food crises, but also its underlying or systemic causes. This paper argues that the agricultural support measures of advanced countries may act as a systemic cause for food insecurity in developing countries. While the import of subsidized foods by developing countries and/or the provision of food aid by developed countries are frequently necessary options to address food crises in the short run, they can adversely affect the economic development in the long run. Access to cheap foods can undermine agricultural production and contribute to the recurrence of food shortages. This paper examines these developments and makes proposals to address them.
Subjects: 
food insecurity
agricultural support
rural development
LDCs
JEL: 
Q17
Q18
O13
O18
O19
F13
F42
ISBN: 
9291909254
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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