Finance with Don Fraser Fraser Farm Finance

On the back of rising food demand and falling or stagnant food supply, prices of food are rising to record levels.

If you look at Egypt, Libya, Iran, Syria, the uprisings there were in part, caused by soaring food prices and a lack of food security.

Governments are now realising that food security and food price rises are causing civil unrest and anarchy. It is important to realise that the people identify food security is a big issue.

The demand for wheat, rice, beef, pork and dairy are at an unprecedented level. Commodity traders have never been so busy as supply stalls and demand increases.

If you take the available food in the world and divide it by the current population you only have three days of food available. It is called integrated food logistics or no stored food.

Droughts across Mexico and the United States have had a devastating effect on food supply. Helen Clark, who has recently returned from the United Nations in New York, and addressed a Katikati Rotary dinner, spoke of the civil unrest and general shortage of food across the world. A lot of African countries are on the poverty line and unable to feed themselves. Helen was advocating teaching these countries how to grow, fertilise and irrigate their crops rather just giving more money. She also talked about countries identifying what they could not grow and ensuring adequate food supply.

There is no end in sight. The world population continues to grow as food supply remains static.

There is a push in New Zealand agriculture to double food production by year 2050. The massive increases in production gained last century appear hard to replicate. Some of our best food producing land is covered in concrete and houses as cities have expanded northward over rural land.

For example some of our country's best producing soils, called Kairangi silt loam north of Palmerston North, are covered in houses.

Then you have the collision of increasing dairy production with the restrictions provided by the environmental councils throughout this country. They are taking on more and more staff to monitor and may restrict dairy production.
On a personal level, do we as individuals start to store more food to avert hunger should a world food crisis evolve? Should we ensure there is plenty of rice, flour, sugar and tinned food stored in our larders, plus a vegetable garden and a freezer full of food?

Interestingly, thinking friends of ours have three months food stored at their home. They say that a food crisis is inevitable and they are not prepared to take risks of running out.

Try to imagine what chaos there would be if the whole world woke up one day realised we were going to run out of food. We would empty the supermarkets in about one day and then what happens? Would countries stop exporting so as to feed themselves? Should we be as self-sufficient as we can?

So, these matters need some serious consideration. All the evidence is that there is a looming food crisis, which will have devastating economic and social affects the world over.
We in New Zealand are very fortunate to be net food exporters and where it rains every 10 days with food in plentiful supply. However, this issue does need your serious consideration as to what you might do to preserve your flow of food for your family if a crisis occurred.

These are the opinions of Don Fraser of Fraser Farm Finance. Any decisions made should not be based on this article alone and appropriate professional assistance should be sought.