Hunger and poverty is on the rise in West Africa

In West Africa, hunger and poverty were already on the rise due to various conflicts, reports Chris Nikoi, the responsible regional director of the World Food Program (WFP). However, this development is reinforced by the recent jump in the price of important staple foods. "The relentless rise in prices acts as a multiplier that drives millions deeper into hunger and despair." According to the WFP, staple foods in the region currently cost around 40 percent more than the long-term average, but in some places it is up to 200 percent. The development that Nikoi describes for West Africa can be felt worldwide - but not with the same drama. In the industrialized countries so far largely unnoticed, the prices of some of the world's most important staple foods have risen sharply. Wheat rose in price on the world's largest commodity futures exchange in Chicago within the past twelve months by almost 40 percent. Soybeans, which are not only a staple food in many regions, but also important as animal feed for meat production, currently cost 85 percent more than a year ago. The increase has lasted for almost a year, and particularly sharp jumps have been observed in many agricultural products in the last two to three weeks. The Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index, which tracks the prices of important agricultural products, has risen to its highest level in around nine years. In the years 2008 to 2012, staple foods also rose sharply in price spikes, which in some countries not only led to more hunger and poverty, but also to political unrest.