From Bali to Vietnam, rice paddies are being replaced by golf courses, hotels and industrial parks.

As Asian economies surge people are choosing less labor-intensive work than farming.

This is cutting into the rice production and is factor causing the rice shortage crisis.

Rebecca Henschke and Muliarta speaks with an endangered dieing species on the island of Bali-rice farmers.

In Bangladesh there a mounting fears of a famine after the government stopped providing subsidies rice this week.

Prices of all essential goods have almost doubled this year, putting staple food well out of reach of millions of people.

Adding to the suffering is the fact rice storehouses are not releasing their stock in attempt to maximize their profit.

Michael Leung reports on the impact this is having on the people of Dhaka.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has survived a constitution crisis and terrorist attacks, but it is the challenge of supplying flour to Pakistan that could be his undoing.

As the election approaches, the main grievance of voters is the severe shortfall and skyrocketing price for wheat flour used to make bread or roti, a staple of the Pakistani people’s diet.

The price of a 20-kilogram bag of flour has double in the past few months.

As Mudassar Shah reports from Rawalpindi this is causing suffering across the country.

The Chinese economy has expanded by 11.4% over the past year, reaching its fastest growth rate in 13 years.

Increased exports and a boom in the construction industry helped the rapid expansion during 2007.

But officials warned that overheating remains a danger.

Inflation is also a serious concern.

Visit any Chinese market and customers will tell you that prices are on the rise.

Over the last two years, China’s food prices have sky-rocketed with some goods now more than double their original price.

Elise Potaka has more.