Devaluing dollar

Bloomberg.com ran a story this week on a problem the devaluing dollar poses for African cotton farmers.

According to to the article, cotton prices have risen, but the dollar's slide against CFA francs (the euro-pegged local currency of 14 western and central African countries) has offset the increase.

For the story, reporters Kim-Mai Cutler and Rose Skelton spoke to Dan Sumner, the director of the UC Agricultural Issues Center. He said a shift in the exchange rate can eliminate a month's food for the poorest families.

Fifty dollars can be "enough to feed a child for a year," Sumner is quoted. "It's enough to pay the school fees for three to four children."