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Friday, January 21, 2011

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It hasn't dawned on them to save a portion of their crops until prices are higher? Every year they "sell low and buy high" seeing the exact same problem over and over and over and over again, year after year after year, and yet they do not hold some maize back? Or dry it? Or cooperate with their neighbors to buy a grain dryer? Something tells me these are extremely low-trust and short-term societies.

On the other hand, rather than trying to extend the mental horizons of the natives, you might consider the Chinese approach: recolonization of Africa (with Chinese businessmen in charge) to introduce some long-term thinking and planning. By "long-term" I mean longer than 3-6 months.

Chinese management has worked for Malaysia, Vietnam, Burma, Thailand and the Philippines, where Chinese managers and owners keep the burgeoning native populations fed.

It's unbelievable that people around the world are still living like this, especially when us westerners are still throwing good food away each week.

Can't we get the supermarket chains to donate all of the food they are throwing out to causes such as this.

I think it is good to take a step back and take note of just how lucky we are to live the way we do in western society. Blogs like this are great.

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