Photo of the week: food riots in Mozambique

Mozambique witnessed some of the worst violence ever since the last food riots held in 2008. At least six people have died, including one child on her way home from school. The violence seen is the latest in a series of protests sparked by rising food prises and global hunger.

A 30% increase in the price of bread and other goods sparked a three day protest and has left hundreds injured in Maputo and Matola. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called an emergency meeting to be held later this month to discuss the food crisis.

These price increases come as Russia, one of the world’s leading exporter of wheat, restricted exports of wheat after drought and bushfire. This has placed immense pressure on wheat substitutes such as rice, causing prices to skyrocket.

A child sits in the middle of a cropfield in Mozambique

The fight against global hunger is a facing an uphill battle. A combination of bad weather, hoarding, economic speculation and a basic lack of agricultural production has flung many parts of the world into panic over the last decade. The last food riots in 2008 saw prices increase by nearly 15% and hard hit countries such as Haiti, Somalia and Kenya experienced political instability.

According to some, the 2008 price increases added an additional 100 million people to the figure of those already without proper nutrition. The global financial crisis further exacerbated the situation.

ActionAid in Mozambique plans to establish a commission that would look into the soaring food prices. ActionAid Mozambique director Amade Sucá said that the agency is working with the government, civil society and the private sector to address the global price hike in food and other commodities.