Gulf food security needs delicate diplomacy The gulf region being in a location with low rainfall that can hardly sustain any agricultural activity has been rendered insufficient in food security. Their surging population which is projected to hit 60 million in the by the year 2030(Eckart Woertz ) has worsened the situation calling the authorities to act and give clear policies to curb the vice in short and the long term. To increase production to ensure self-sufficiency and averting food crisis, the gulf countries have to counter the looming food crisis by investing heavily on use irrigation. This responded positively given the production boom of the 1990 s according to Eckart, but it has been dealt a blow by the new facts of the reduced fossil water reserves in the kingdom making the authorities to phase out water intensive irrigation projects. This has added a new twist to the ecological factor of reduced water which is a scarce resource in the region water-intensive wheat production has to be done away with to pave way to other projects that uses less water but produces high production like the use of greenhouse to produce horticultural products. It is also evident that the current production in grains in the region is also dwindling day by day (Eckart Woertz) which has made the authorities to think beyond the box, it will not take any chances as it is food security is the primary responsibility of the state to ensure food security to its citizens. Food security can be equated to elimination of hunger and at the same time food should be available in desired quality and quantity through domestic production or importation. Water being a scarce resource puts the authorities in hard situation weather to continue producing wheat to meet is increased demand for grains and conserving the water through cutting production on wheat production or doing away with it completely. An example is Saudi Arabia where imports stand at 60% of the total food consumption (Eckart Woertz), which signals that importation might pose the challenges since it is not sustainable in the long run as it is subject to fluctuation in world prices that has many influences which in turn might affect supply chains. This is the reason why as much as it s a remedy to averting food shortage, they will not rely on as it can prove to be an expensive affair in case of disruption in the word prices which my alter supply and not limiting to bilateral disagreement between the countries in question(the exporters of the product) The gulf countries have also tried to invest in agro investment in countries like Brazil Ethiopia and Vietnam to engage in batter trade where they provide them with oil and get food products in exchange because these countries produce the in surplus. As much as this is a lucrative idea, lack of technological knowhow and expertise has been a major setback leading to involvement of other arms like the FAO and the World Bank. Overdependence of these countries on rainfall for food production can also spell doom for the industry if failure of rain sets in which will cut production substantially. The new venture that these countries have tried increase production is focusing on less developed countries in Asia and Africa where they venture in by buying large tracts of land which they intend to plant food crops and import to their home countries called land acquisition, which a times come with harsh conditions. Land acquisition can be said to be a win win situation(Mohamed B, Shabir and Joyce D) investment in Africa apart from building a lasting relationship and partnership, it will also gain massively in infrastructure and technology development and development of some regions especially with small scale farmers. This has made Africa become a hot cake and of strategic importance when it comes to food security. It has been seen as the long and short term solution for food security by the developed nation like china who have scarce land and polluted water. GCC has also strategized itself for a share in this untapped potential. Amid this scramble for land in Africa and it s a challenge in itself putting in mind that it also has a growing population to feed. China begun to look earnestly into this direction, generating new dynamism of power with the onset of a competition for farmland and investments in agro-businesses. As a result and in the light of this race for supplies and the possible longevity of the crisis, the GCC states should start to think of establishing a strategic partnership with Africa. It has ventured into Sudan to secure some land to business but the main challenge is the fact that people of Sudan also depend on aid food and if GCC are going to invest there they must provide some percentage of their produce to feed the population hence reducing the amount of food produced to be exported. Some countries might set conditions that of satisfying there population before any produce is exported. Most of the land also that is given to these countries was not idle land in the first place, and this will mean displacement of farmers from their land. As much as it will guarantee employment to the residence of the area, most will not relinquish their land and opt to be employed because they won t be able to produce on their own and the proceeds from the farms will go for exports. At some point occupants especially those subsistence farmers might in turn retaliate. In Kenya for example where Qatar s announcement that it is leasing 40,000 hectares, (Eckart Woertz) it has been has not been received well farmers who are the occupants of the land in question. If in any case Qatar invests heavily on the land then the projects stalls midway due to retaliation by the communities living there what will be no gain in the investment at all. It will not last and might not realize its goals at the end of it Some diplomats have also termed it as neo colonization and land grabbing (John R. Butterly, Shepherd J) which might not auger well with the host that might strain relationships in the near future leading to heavy losses due to massive investments that have been made. Such utterances are a recipe for the failure of the projects Population growth in Africa is growing exponentially thus food production must be increased to meet the growing demand hence a major challenge for the investors. They must ensure that proper measures are being put into place to counter the deficit. This can only be possible if the two partners work collaboratively to guarantee its success. For the Gulf nations to realize food security, it will take more effort in coming up with the correct policies. It s evident that they cannot meet their demand by being self-sufficient producer but go global to look for ways of getting food at an affordable cost and be able to sustain it. The best way to do so is to get land and invest in it in other countries since they have the capital and the developing nations have the land and the labor force. They enter into an agreement that calls for proper evaluation of cost benefit analysis and putting in mind diplomacy issues that are also important. This will go a long way in sustaining the relationship and having mutual benefits for both partners. GCC should look at these countries as long term partners and not a quick fix to their problem at hand. The host country should also ensure that it thoroughly involves all the stake holders to ensure a smooth transition of the project and its success. This involves a lot of delicate diplomacy and lots of consultations (Mohamed B., Shabir and Joyce D)
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