Escalating food prices: The threat to poor households and policies to safeguard a "Recovery for All"

This working paper briefly reviews possible causes of the food price spike that began in mid-2010. Then it examines recent local food price movements in 58 developing countries during 2010., and discusses the adverse impacts of food price increases on households. It also presents a rapid desk review of international and domestic policy responses in 98 developing countries under a three-pillar policy frameworkoesupporting consumption, boosting production and regulating/managing food markets. Finally, it calls for urgent and coordinated policy actions by national governments and the international community. The authors recommend a better policy mix to address both immediate and longer term needs. They further propose a child lens as a guiding principle for designing policy responses to food price increases and achieving food security. Moreover, as many developing country governments are undergoing fiscal consolidation and cutting social protection services and food subsidies in the process, the report calls for a turn from austerity-based fiscal policies to inclusive, food security responses in developing countries that are threatened by rising food prices.

Isabel Ortiz, Jingqing Chai, Matthew Cummins, UNICEF - February 2011 Ortiz, Jingqing Chai, Matthew Cummins, UNICEF - Février 2011