Task: Please answer the below questions. 1) Define what food inflation is. 2) Elaborate the major factors that contribute to the global food inflation. 3) Choose a country, which you think will be badly affected by this crisis in the next 5 years and discuss what immediate measures that the country should undertake. 4) In your opinion, how global food crisis will have an impact on consumer purchasing power in the future. Discussion Topics: 1. In your opinion, why should managers understand Economics as part of the decision- making process? Give a reasonable explanation - in the context of your organization (or any organization for the matter) - in order to support your viewpoint. 2. In what way should firms be critical about minimizing costs and maximizing revenues? Discuss this using your own example, in the context of the production and costs concepts covered in this course. 3. Select an industry and discuss what are the forecast demand for 20257 A new pandemic has struck the world: Food inflation The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was pushed off global front pages last fortnight by food inflation. Food prices have leaped 75 per cent since mid-2020, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAQ) assessed. In India, rural consumer food price has doubled in the year through March 2022, according o the All-India Consumer Price Index (CPIL) by the National Statistical Office (released April 12). At 13 per cent, the country's annual wholesale inflation was at the highest ina decade. Food and fuel prices played a major role. Such is the impact of inflation that the World Food Program ( WFP), currently running one of its most expansive food relief operations in recent history, made a desperate appeal for further funding. Because, food inflation has significantly increased the costof its day-today relief 1t"s paying $71 million (Rs 544 crore) more per month now for the same operation level. In the context of the Russia-Ukraine war, energy security came into focus. The world has been debating how the fossil fuel disruption will derail the planet's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to stop global warming and resultant climate change. Fuel price is already rising and adding to overall costs of everything, including food production and transportation. But, the war has also disrupted food grain supply and circulation further adding to the demand-supply equation. Extreme weather events continue to affect large swathes of areas growing food and thus bringing down overall production. To sum up, the most fundamental survival need is at stake. This crisis exposes the globalized worlds another fault line. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, an interconnected globalised world suddenly woke up to a situation where every country retreated and scrambled for self-protection; expectedly the rich world Jealously colonised all resources needed to fight the pandemic leaving the rest helpless. The fbod sector is also interconnected and interdependent, though perilously. WFP calls its aftermath a \"seismic hunger crisis gripping the world. In Africa and west Asia, the hunger crisis has already set in. The World Bank has wamed that each percentage point increase in food prices would push an additional 10 million people into extreme poverty. The impact of food inflation is impacting the world's poor and developing countries the most, because most of these countries are also food importers. For instance, some 50 countries, mostly poor countries, depend on Ukraine and Russia for wheat, a staple grain. (Source: Down to Earth. Aoril 2022)