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Welcome
to the monthly newsletter for journalists about the impact of subsidies,
produced in partnership by IPS
- Inter Press Service and GSI
- Global Subsidies Initiative.
THIS
MONTH'S FOCUS:
AN EXIT STRATEGY CONUNDRUM FOR MALAWI
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As governments around the world struggle to help citizens cope with rising food cost, many are turning to subsidies. In the case of Malawi, subsidies to fertiliser have boosted agricultural output and strengthened food security. But governments need to also think about how the subsidies will eventually be withdrawn. |
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ABOUT
THIS NEWSLETTER
Subsidies
—transfers of public money to private interests—
are so common that for the most part they
go unnoticed; they can also be arcane and
complex, posing tremendous challenges for
journalists. Yet, many experts believe that
subsidies are one of the most critical factors
in determining the sustainability of a government’s
economic, social and environmental policies.
Read more here about the organisations that
have partnered to bring you this newsletter,
and why.
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Fertilizer subsidies in Malawi: An Exit Strategy Conundrum
By Nelson Nsiku
During the 1990s, Malawian farmers experienced a rough transition from government policies that controlled and supported the agricultural sector, such as fertiliser subsidies and price stabilisation, to a more liberalised agricultural policy environment.
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More
information about subsidies
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The Global Subsidies Initiative cooperates
with an international network of researchers
working on subsidy related issues. Journalists
working on stories that involve subsidies,
and who are in search of expertise,
information and support are invited
to contact Javed Ahmad, the GSI's Director
of Communications, at info@globalsubsidies.org.
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Nelson Nsiku - Bio
Nelson Nsiku is a lecturer of economics in the University of Malawi - The polytechnic in Blantyre
SUBSIDIES
STORIES FROM IPS - RECENT ARTICLES
PHILIPPINES: Jatropha Key to Self Sufficiency?
By Prime Sarmiento
MANILA - The jatropha plant may be the key to addressing the problems of energy and food self-sufficiency in the Mekong region. Cultivating this hardy plant will not only provide biofuel but will also ensure that agricultural lands devoted to food production will not be diverted to fuel crops.
BRAZIL: Agroenergy Can Boost Food Production - Experts
By Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO - The web of truth and lies surrounding the controversy over agrofuels has led to the distortion or oversight of certain facts. For instance, making biodiesel from soybeans does not reduce food production, but increases it, according to experts.
ENVIRONMENT-CHINA: Banking on Wind Power
By Prime Sarmiento
MANILA - China plans to triple its wind power capacity over the next two years in line with the central government’s goal of promoting clean energy and more sustainable economic development, says a senior policy development official.
LATIN AMERICA: Factors in Climbing Food Prices - A Baker’s Dozen
By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS - Where today’s high food prices are concerned, there are 13 villains of the piece: the structural and circumstantial causes associated with supply and demand, according to the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA), which says that to tackle them, regional cooperation is essential.
DEVELOPMENT: About Farmers, Without Farmers
By Sabina Zaccaro
ROME - Record high food prices and their impact on poor countries will dominate the three-day UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) summit of world leaders that opened Tuesday in Rome. But the solutions to the food crisis cannot be left to governments only, according to several small farmers groups running a parallel civil society food forum.
EUROPE: In a Civil War over Subsidies
By David Cronin
BRUSSELS - Few things cause tempers to flare up among governments on both sides of the English Channel more than the future of the European Union's massively expensive farm subsidies regime.
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