Bottles of Whisky disenfranchising farmers

The quest to meet the food needs of the rich has exposed close to a billion people to hunger globally (Bloomberg.com; accessed June 27, 2011). According to Dr Kofi Annan, increased protectionism, unilateral export bans, land grabs and exclusive deals that meet the food needs of the rich and not the poor is to blame for food crisis.

The food security situation in Africa is complicated further by “land grabs.” In 2009 alone, Hedge funds and other speculators acquired an estimated 60 million hectares of land – an area size of France (BBC; accessed June 27, 2011). Some African leaders are reported to trade land for bottles of whisky!