You have to wonder about the folks who tell developing nations not to use or subsidize fertilizer as a way of ending famines.
Malawi hovered for years at the brink of famine. After a disastrous corn harvest in 2005, almost five million of its 13 million people needed emergency food aid.But this year, a nation that has perennially extended a begging bowl to the world is instead feeding its hungry neighbors. It is selling more corn to the World Food Program of the United Nations than any other country in southern Africa and is exporting hundreds of thousands of tons of corn to Zimbabwe.
In Malawi itself, the prevalence of acute child hunger has fallen sharply. In October, the United Nations Children’s Fund sent three tons of powdered milk, stockpiled here to treat severely malnourished children, to Uganda instead. “We will not be able to use it!” Juan Ortiz-Iruri, Unicef’s deputy representative in Malawi, said jubilantly.
Farmers explain Malawi’s extraordinary turnaround — one with broad implications for hunger-fighting methods across Africa — with one word: fertilizer.
Over the past 20 years, the World Bank and some rich nations Malawi depends on for aid have periodically pressed this small, landlocked country to adhere to free market policies and cut back or eliminate fertilizer subsidies, even as the United States and Europe extensively subsidized their own farmers. But after the 2005 harvest, the worst in a decade, Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawi’s newly elected president, decided to follow what the West practiced, not what it preached.
Stung by the humiliation of pleading for charity, he led the way to reinstating and deepening fertilizer subsidies despite a skeptical reception from the United States and Britain. Malawi’s soil, like that across sub-Saharan Africa, is gravely depleted, and many, if not most, of its farmers are too poor to afford fertilizer at market prices.
“As long as I’m president, I don’t want to be going to other capitals begging for food,” Mr. Mutharika declared. Patrick Kabambe, the senior civil servant in the Agriculture Ministry, said the president told his advisers, “Our people are poor because they lack the resources to use the soil and the water we have.”
Good grief! We in America make the great Midwestern agricultural zone explode with food each year through the use of fertilizers. In Israel, the desert has bloomed for the same reason. Why the heck tell developing nations -- nations where people are starving -- not to use the methods that we know work for us?
Am I for a free market? You bet I am. But in a case like Malawi, where the choice is between a little socialism and a lot of starvation, I fall firmly on the side of ensuring that people have enough to eat. It is time for other nations to follow the example set by this formerly starving African nation -- and for those who encourage a different path to question their own wisdom and motivations.
Trackback Information for Ending Famine By Ignoring The "Experts"
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://blog2.mu.nu/cgi/trackback.cgi/231154Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 'Ending Famine By Ignoring The "Experts"'.
Comments on Ending Famine By Ignoring The "Experts"
paris hilton sex tape [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/PARISHILTONSEXTAPE#1]paris hilton sex tape[/url] Kim Kardashian Sex Tape Real [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/KIMKARDASHIANSEXTAPE#1]Kim Kardashian Sex Tape Real[/url] granny sex [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/GRANNYSEX#1]granny sex[/url] Sex Tube In Internet [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/SEXTUBE#1]Sex Tube In Internet[/url] shemale sex [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/SHEMALESEX#1]shemale sex[/url] Brilliant no credit check loans [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/NOCREDITCHECKLOANS#1]Brilliant no credit check loans[/url] bad credit student loans [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/BADCREDITSTUDENTLOANS#1]bad credit student loans[/url] Cheapest knock off coach purses [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/KNOCKOFFCOACHPURSES#1]Cheapest knock off coach purses[/url] Greatest unsecured personal loans [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/UNSECUREDPERSONALLOANS#1]Greatest unsecured personal loans[/url] Do you want dirt cheap airline tickets [url=http://www.jambase.com/Fans/DIRTCHEAPAIRLINETICKETS#1]Do you want dirt cheap airline tickets[/url] yqmbvad yqmbvad yqmbvad yqmbvad
|| Posted by Paris Hilton Sex Tape, November 20, 2008 10:26 AM ||kim kardashian sex tape [url=http://www.yourrunning.com/user/kim_kardashian_sex_tape]INFORMATION ABOUT KIM KARDASHIAN SEX TAPE[/url] kim kardashian sex tape [url= http://www.yourrunning.com/user/kim_kardashian_sex_tape ] Kim Kardashian Sex Tape Online [/url]
|| Posted by Kim Kardashian Sex, February 1, 2009 03:36 AM ||R Kelly Sex Tape Yeah [url=http://clipmarks.com/clipper/rkellysextape/]r kelly sex tape[/url] r kelly sex tape [url= http://clipmarks.com/clipper/rkellysextape/ ] R Kelly Sex Tape Yeah [/url]
|| Posted by r kelly sex, February 3, 2009 06:20 AM ||comment6, Knock Off Coach Purses Real
|| Posted by Richard, February 10, 2009 05:16 PM ||, 617, First pamela anderson sex tape
, lkb, groping train
, >:-))), paris hilton sex tape
, %P, no credit check loans
, uwzr,
ALL KINDS OF RAY J SEX TAPE [url=http://www.authorstream.com/User-Presentations/rayjsextape]ALL KINDS OF RAY J SEX TAPE[/url] Ray J Sex Tape Information [url= http://www.authorstream.com/User-Presentations/rayjsextape ] Ray J Sex Tape Information [/url]
|| Posted by rayjsextape, February 21, 2009 02:06 AM ||comment4, chyna sex tape
|| Posted by Robert, March 11, 2009 07:21 AM ||, xtzg, Bad Credit Student Loans In Internet
, 8PP, free erotic stories
, qjq, Great jessica simpson sex tape
, >:-), knock off coach purses
, 0599,
comment4, unsecured personal loans, [url=http://www.treemo.com/users/unsecuredpersonalloans/profile/]unsecured personal loans[/url], %[, super cheap airplane tickets, [url=http://www.treemo.com/users/supercheapairplanetickets/profile/]super cheap airplane tickets[/url], cca, Buy mortgage rates predictions, [url=http://www.treemo.com/users/mortgageratespredictions/profile/]Buy mortgage rates predictions[/url], 8-P, Price of dirt cheap airline tickets, [url=http://www.treemo.com/users/dirtcheapairlinetickets/profile/]Price of dirt cheap airline tickets[/url], 8218, Consumer Credit Counseling Now, [url=http://www.treemo.com/users/consumercreditcounseling/profile/]Consumer Credit Counseling Now[/url], :-[[,
|| Posted by rimshot, March 16, 2009 08:12 AM ||comment2, groping train
|| Posted by tranzostor, March 17, 2009 05:02 AM ||, >:[[[, Cheapest pamela anderson sex tape
, =-(((, Lindssay Lohan Sex Tape For You
, %D, kim kardashian sex tape
, 27323, Best ray j sex tape
, mjex,
comment5, no credit check car loans [url=http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?u=27668#1]no credit check car loans[/url], 04994, All about consumer credit counseling [url=http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?u=27663#1]All about consumer credit counseling[/url], oupus, guaranteed online personal loans [url=http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?u=27666#1]guaranteed online personal loans[/url], 60072, unsecured personal loans [url=http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?u=27662#1]unsecured personal loans[/url], 970689, Price of need 5000 loan overnight [url=http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?u=27664#1]Price of need 5000 loan overnight[/url], :)),
|| Posted by dssweow, March 19, 2009 05:00 PM ||Knock Off Designer Purses - Best Decisions [url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A233DQFUAQ3FWY]knock off designer purses[/url] Knock Off Designer Purses - Best Decisions [url= https://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A233DQFUAQ3FWY ] Knock Off Designer Purses - Best Decisions [/url]
|| Posted by KNOCK OFF DESIGNER PURSES, March 27, 2009 02:52 PM ||PRICE OF DIRT CHEAP AIRLINE TICKETS [url=http://www.newmediamedicine.com/forum/members/dirtcheapairlinetickets.html]Dirt Cheap Airline Tickets Now[/url] dirt cheap airline tickets [url= http://www.newmediamedicine.com/forum/members/dirtcheapairlinetickets.html ] Dirt Cheap Airline Tickets Now [/url]
|| Posted by DIRT CHEAP AIRLINE TICKETS, March 31, 2009 02:01 AM ||vanessa hudgens sex tape [url=http://www.coroflot.com/vanessahudgenssextape]NOW VANESSA HUDGENS SEX TAPE[/url] vanessa hudgens sex tape [url= http://www.coroflot.com/vanessahudgenssextape ] vanessa hudgens sex tape [/url]
|| Posted by VANESSA HUDGENS SEX TAPE, April 3, 2009 10:13 AM ||Alyson Hannigan Sex Tape Real [url=http://www.coroflot.com/alysonhannigansextape]Alyson Hannigan Sex Tape Real[/url] Alyson Hannigan Sex Tape Real [url= http://www.coroflot.com/alysonhannigansextape ] Alyson Hannigan Sex Tape Real [/url]
|| Posted by ALYSON HANNIGAN SEX TAPE, April 4, 2009 04:44 AM ||comment1, Groping Train For Everybody [url=http://gropingtrain.instablogs.com/entry/groping-train/#1]Groping Train For Everybody[/url], srlbfa, Discount very short skirts [url=http://veryshortskirts.instablogs.com/entry/very-short-skirts/#1]Discount very short skirts[/url], >:((, Discount replica coach purses [url=http://replicacoachpurses.instablogs.com/entry/replica-coach-purses/#1]Discount replica coach purses[/url], %[, Guaranteed Online Personal Loans Here [url=http://guaranteedonlinepersonalloans.instablogs.com/entry/guaranteed-online-personal-loans/#1]Guaranteed Online Personal Loans Here[/url], nvf, Buy dirt cheap airline tickets [url=http://dirtcheapairlinetickets.instablogs.com/entry/dirt-cheap-airline-tickets/#1]Buy dirt cheap airline tickets[/url], :-DD,
|| Posted by Romeguy, April 8, 2009 02:10 PM ||Hi! whfRlz
|| Posted by yYowJwp, June 3, 2009 11:28 PM ||Post a comment