This month, the world faces yet another misfortune. The food prices have been skyrocketing.

Abdoulaye Wade seems to be among the worst hit. Thanks for crying out loud against the rising food prices. I do not know whether Mr Wade was crying out for himself or his people, but what is certain is that indeed the price of food in the world has been on the upswing the world over. The food prices are said to have doubled in the last two years.

In Nigeria, bakers have threatened to hang their aprons for a week if the prices of baking ingredients remain high. In Zambia, the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection has been compiling a monthly indicator on the food prices.

The food basket indicates an ever-increasing trend. It is worse especially that over 75 per cent of the Zambian population live below the poverty datum line. The central statistical office has also compiled this month’s inflation ratio, which show a rising sign and this is back to the double-digit style. Generally in Zambia, the prices of essential commodities are beyond the reach of the common man. Fuel, food, shelter and other necessities for a decent life seem to be absent for most Zambians.

This has resulted in many socially unacceptable vices such as crime, prostitution and street begging. Sometimes I wonder what the world is coming to. This is where the protracted debate between the proponents and opponents of biotechnology creeps in. Should the world generally adopt biotechnology to solve the looming food crisis or should the technology be rejected and find other means of increasing food production and keeping the prices low?