Are Agrivillers willing more taxes for Aid?

[Fransisco]

If they are ever going to be self sufficient they need a healthy dose of Capitalism.

That is how we can teach them to "fish".

[parsley]

Cuba, for example, didn't want capitalism. In fact they expropriated, from the people who invested, the investors' capitol, and never paid any compensation. How many African countries actually want to embrace capitalism?

If Chad and Libya are hungry, and the Sudan is traditionally "suffering", and Ethiopia is "starving', why don't their neighbors, ... Gabon, and Sierra Leone. and Namibia and Tanzania and Algeria, to name a few, supply them... with emergency food?

With such a huge continent,it is not believable that they endure the same disaster in each region at the same time.

Why is it Saudi Arabia does not supply disaster relief? They have oil money coming out their ying yang.

Why is it only the G8's are expected to cough up cash?


Why is it no one in Africa asks Saudi Arabia?

Parsley

[furrowtickler]

Pars, good comment! I say yes - but are the G8 countries willing to pay for subsidies for our fuel and fert costs to grow the crops to feed these people?
The media is bigger than ever and covering more places than ever, I am sorry these "starving" people are hungry because of their own gov'ts. There were hungry people when we were giving away wheat for $2-3/bus, well below the cost of production. I have a family to feed too and I work more hours in one month that most of them work in a year. Work = Pay where I grew up, and pay = food!

[parsley]

one of the reasons I ask this on Commodity Marketing is because the CWB has been involved with DA grain in the past, that has been shipped as food aid.

Do DA growers want to be supplying grain as food aid?

Do you approve of food aid at all, in the first place, and secondly, should Canda be buying cheap grain and sending it as food aid, and thirdly, if DA'ers are really serious about marketing grain, aren't we going to have to concentrate on being a steady supplier to the markets we establish, and lastly, shouldn't DA'ers be targetting folks with money to buy our cleanaircleanwatercleanfields grain?

(btw, ft, do you have a moustache?)

Is "food aid" a legitimate market that DA producers want to chase?

Parsley

[Fransisco]

From a technical standpoint it probably makes more sense for us to send money directly rather than our grain. They can probably get the food they need cheaper somewhere closer. If they decide to buy it from us, fine, but they are in a better position to decide that for themselves than we are.

I get quite annoyed at Canadian farmers who try to use food aid as a way of lining their own pockets.

[Burbert]

I think that we should blame the CWB for starving the Africans. Aren't they corrupt, discusting, useless oranization that will eventually cause all Kanadians to starve and be very very poor too? The CWB is the bogey man that is always looking for ways to feather there own nest and crush free tinkers. Yup they are causing world famine. Hey Ron, screw the CWB! That'll make a big difference in the grand scheme of things.

[charliep]

Thought I should highlight the numbers.

Canadian exports to Africa average about 2.7 mln tonnes (10 year average). Durum/north Africa makes up about 1.6 mln tonnes of this. Information from the CWB Statistical tables 2006/07 (pages 9 to 10).

[parsley]

Burbert,

Is "food aid" a top market you think worthwhile establishing for where your wheat is sold?

fransisco...lining pockets in what way?

ft..I take it you think food aid is a good market to aim for? Is that a sustainable viewpoint? In other words it's not a seller to buyer sale. Rather, the sale hinges upon the benevolence of the government of the day. btw, someone pointed out who they thought was ft at Farm Progress Show, hence the question.

Parsley

[Fransisco]

A lot of times when it comes to food aid dollars from government it comes with the caveat that the only way you get them is by buying Canadian grain.

If we are going to give aid then lets give aid and use the money where it gets us the most bang for our buck. Canadian grain a lot of times doesn't give us the best bang for our aid buck.

I believe Ottawa has now de linked this particular caveat from our aid and if I remember correctly the NFU were opposed to this.

[cottonpicken]

I have no problem giving free food to a starving poor person.

It's giving cheap food to a rich asshole that drives me.