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WFP
lauds gov’t measures to stabilize grain market
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 ADDIS
ABEBA(April 3,2008) - World
Food Program (WFP) Executive Director Josette Sheeran hailed as innovative
efforts by the government to stabilize the sky rocketing inflation
on the consumer market in Ethiopia, including measure taken to subsidize
on key food items and other essentials aimed at helping the urban
poor.
The visiting WFP Executive Director said government move in addressing
the current food shortage and price hikes was worth encouraging, and
serves as a model other countries in the same situation can learn
from.
During her tour to one of the 77 stations in Addis Ababa where grain
products were being sold on subsidized prices, the Director told reporters
that these programs being made by the government were admirable, saying
that will encourage agricultural production.
She was speaking shortly after she was briefed by state owned Ethiopian
Grain Trade Enterprise officials on current crises and the remedies
being taken by the government, including the successes registered
so far in that regard.
Updating law Ethiopian lawmakers on current economic issues last month,
Meles said his government expended over four billion birr to subsidise
some basic commodity items aimed at helping the vulnerable poor.
Around 825,000 heads of families are said to have benefited from subsidize
on wheat which the officials said cost the government some 351 million
birr (approximately 41 million USD).
"These counts, if we consider 5 individuals per head, around
4.1 million people of the city took their share from the subsidy,"
EGTE General Manager Birhane Hailu told the Executive Director.
The official said government also played its part in stabilizing the
market to set of negative role played by what Meles described as "greedy
traders and speculators."
Just before her visit to the grain station, the Executive Director
held talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi where the two sides were
said to have conferred on ways of addressing problems of food security
by boosting agricultural production.
Despite the problems posed by climate change and drought, the measures
so far taken by Ethiopia towards ensuring food security has enabled
the country to get due appreciation, they reportedly agreed.Ethiopia's
experience in the areas of grain storage, price stabilization and
safety net programs should be extensively implemented in other countries,
a state news agency cited the director as saying during her discussion
with Meles.
Prime Minister Meles on his part said the initiative taken by WFP
to work closely with governments on the issue was appreciable, the
report said.
Sheeran addressed the joint African Union (AU) and Economic Commission
for Africa (ECA) conference of Africa Ministers of Finance and Economic
Planning on the impact of spiraling food and fuel prices in Africa
the same day. She was scheduled to leave for Kenya for similar mission.
On her first official field mission as Executive Director one year
ago, Sheeran came here between 23 and 25 April.
She visited the Ehil Berenda Grain Market in Addis Ababa and spoke
to economists, traders and market experts at two round table discussions
on local food assistance procurement, and its potential for making
a positive impact on human development.
Rising food prices, which are affecting millions of people, are rooted
in what Sheeran has described as a 'perfect storm' of increasing demand
for food from emerging economies, competition between biofuels and
food production, high fuel prices and increasing climatic shocks such
as droughts and floods.
On 20 March, WFP made an extraordinary emergency appeal for US$500
million to twenty heads of government to offset the increased price
of food commodities.
The appeal is in addition to WFP's operational budget for 2008 for
US$2.9 billion. This year, WFP aims to feed 73 million people in 78
countries in 2008.
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