LAST year’s world grain harvests were the lowest per head of population for more than 30 years.
A report from the Worldwatch Institute in Washington, in co-operation with the UN Environment Programme, paints a bleak picture. It was the third time in four years that global wheat, rice and maize production failed to meet demand, forcing governments and food companies to release stocks from storage.
Drought explains much of last year’s shortfall. In the US, record or near-record droughts across much of the West and Midwest devastated wheat and maize crops. Australia was subjected to months of intense heat and drought as El Niño sent a withering heatwave across the country.
To make matters worse, the demand for meat is increasing, so more animals are being fed with scarcer grains.
This year looks just as dismal. Drought has returned to the western regions of North America and agricultural economists see no sign that US grain production will recover soon. Europe is also wilting under a lack of rain and punishing heat, with France suffering its worst drought for 25 years. One small crumb of comfort is that harvests have been very good in Britain.