As Need For Food Rises, Food Costs Soar - "Perfect Storm" Of Drought, Demand, Conflict - Reuters

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New fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has left WFP unable to reach a third of 300,000 new displaced, while in Ethiopia's Ogaden region government restrictions and a crackdown on rebels are seen blocking aid and trade shipments. "Populations in these areas are reportedly consuming wild foods and, in the most food-insecure households, slaughtering livestock -- their main source of income -- for consumption," said famine early warning service FEWS NET. "If trade restrictions continue, these negative coping strategies will lead to destitution."

But while conflict continues to drive food shortages from Sri Lanka to Colombia, hunger is more often caused by deepening poverty.

Increasingly, aid workers say it is time to move beyond handing out food as crises bite. They say simply speaking, longer-term programmes could save money. Aid group CARE International says its programmes in West Africa's Niger, aimed at reducing poverty and building sustainable agriculture, cost only around $30 a person -- half the price of providing food at the height of the country's 2005 food crisis.

While some government donors are being won over to that idea, obtaining funding for sustainable development lacks the draw of an urgent emergency appeal.

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http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL16240500.html