Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Drought Fears And Food Prices

Its 2012, Britain has had dip in rainfall for two years and its starvation time. Disaster! How can our harvest be lean and our grain silos empty in a year  we are inviting the world to our country for grand occasions. The Queens`s Diamond Jubillee and the Olympics are just months away and the country is being told life as we know it is about to cease. Why?  There has been a relatively dip in rainfall for the last two years.  A situation said to be affecting farming and food production and invariably would lead to poor harvest, non production of certain farm produce and a hike in food prices. 

The South East has seen the least rain over a couple of years, while the rest of the country has enjoyed a relatively normal rainfall. How many farms are in London? Or  in the whole of the South East for that matter. If the majority of the farms that produce our food are not based in the South East how is it then that the drought in the South East will have such a dramatic impact on food supply and prices.

It boggles the mind that with all the technological advancement and scientific inventions, our  ability to farm and produce food is still largely dependent on and susceptible to the vagaries of nature.  I dont think that befits a nation in the fore front of technology. Even if it doesnt rain at the expected level for three years I think we should stiil be able to carry on at the same level of production. Maybe this is a wake-up call to our policy makers. More attention has to be paid to how we can leverage technology not only for a more effective food production but aslo to save us being at the mercy of nature the way we are now.

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