World Bank Document

women receive a lower proportion tion and drainage than other crops; to a remarkably low level for suchof their food requirements than and, in the case of root crops, many a poor country. Because of this,adult men; girls are likewise gen- can be grown throughout the year and Sri Lanka's health and educaerallyless well-fed than boys. As and some are drought-resistant. tion services, life expectancy hasbetween adults and children, the In addition, both root crops and reached 69 years. When subsidizedpicture is less clear: in many coun- coarse grains tend to be produced food rations were sharply reducedtries children under five (and partic- by small farmers, who would bene- in 1974, largely because of a steepularly up to age three, when they are fit if encouraged to produce more. increase in the price of importedless able to take food themselves) Coarse grains can often be food, Sri Lanka's death rate rosedo much worse than adults; in grown together with low-cost noticeably (even after allowancessome countries, though, this is not vegetable sources of protein. for other plausible influences); itthe case. Although cassava is very low in declined again in 1976 and 1977,These sorts of discrimination protein, studies show that its price when food became more plentiful.sometimes reflect difficult choices is so low that most of the people Large-scale food subsidies are alsomade under severe economic duress, who meet most of their caloric common in the Middle East andincluding a justifiable concern for needs by eating a lot of it are able North Africa; they have played athe breadwinner. But they also to buy enough protein-rich food significant part in improving thereflect ignorance of nutritional to balance their diets. But there nutrition of the poor.priorities and deep-rooted cultural has not been enough emphasis on But general food subsidies havebiases. (Concern for this problem the production of cheap sources of a major drawback-they are veryappears to have been one of the protein, such as the cheaper varieties expensive. They have cost as muchreasons for the Chinese experiment of beans and lentils. as 10-20 percent of governmentwith communal feeding during the Despite long-standing neglect spending in some countries, includ-Great Leap Forward in 1958-59. in research, extension services, ing Egypt, South Korea (tempo-It encountered massive social accessto credit and so on, inrecent rarily in 1974-75) and Sri Lanka.resistance and was abandoned.) years there has been greater aware- Much of the cost is for imports,ness of the importance of foods which use up scarce foreign ex-Nutrition policies anid programs eaten by the poor. The intemational change or aid. And some of thisThe causes and consequences of agricultural research centers (in goes to people who do not reallymalnutrition suggest various particular those in India, Colombia, need to be subsidized.cures. Boosting food production and Nigeria) have increasingly Countries with strong adminis-(especially of food that poor people extended their research to these tration can organize income testseat and grow) and raising the in- crops and have given more atten- -not perfectly, but well enoughcomes of the poor are the two tion to nutritional issues. to cut costs. Sri Lanka, for example,central requirements in most Food marketing and storage could have done more for thecountries. They can be reinforced programs can also have a major nutrition of the poor in 1974 if itby other efforts-food subsidies nutritional impact by reducing had concentrated the availableof various kinds, fortifying food, regional, seasonal and annualvari- rations on them. In 1978 it introandeducating people to know ations in food supplies and prices duced an income test to restrictwhat a good diet is. -which contribute significantly to subsidies to the poorer half of themalnutrition. Market stability can population. But for many countriesAGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. In- also be helped by better transport this would not be administrativelycreased food consumption by the and roads, or politically feasible.poor is in most countries unlikelyAlternative ways of restrictingto be sustained unless production FOOD SUBSIDIES. Few low-income subsidies to poor people includeis raised as well. For nutritional countries have come near to nutri- subsidizing cheap foods that otherpurposes, much can be achieved tional adequacy without some groups tend to neglect. Sorghum,by producing more of what the form of food subsidies. Sri Lanka's a low-status food, was introducedpoor traditionally eat-such as ration-and-subsidy program in 1970 into ration shops in Bangladesh inmillet and other coarse grains and provided about 20 percent of the 1978-and in some rural areas wasroot crops. These are, in general, calories and 15 percent of the in- bought by nearly 70 percent ofthe cheapest source of calories. comes of the poorest quintile of low-income households, but onlyThey have other advantages, too. the population. Largely as a result, 2 percent of high-income house-Some of them require less irriga- severe malnutrition was reduced holds. Subsidized foods may be62