WORLD FOOD DAY REMINDER OF DAILY CRISIS BORNE BY MILLIONS, SAY UN OFFICIALS

New York, Oct 16 2008 10:10AM
As the eyes of the world continue to watch the ups and downs of global markets amid the current financial turmoil, United Nations officials are calling attention today to another global crisis – hunger – which affects millions daily and kills a child every six seconds.

“This year’s World Food Day comes at a time of crisis,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states in his <"http://www.un.org/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=3477">message for the occasion. “Global financial turmoil is exacerbating concerns about rising food and fuel costs, which have already driven 75 million people deeper into the abyss of hunger and poverty.”

Mr. Ban notes that this “colossal human tragedy” is unfolding as the world fights to keep the promise made in the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) – to reduce hunger and poverty by half by the year 2015.

Even before prices started rising, 800 million people were going to sleep hungry every night, the Secretary-General points out. And now, with energy costs rising and the price of food having more than doubled in the past year alone, an additional 100 million people could be pushed into hunger and poverty.

“These are life-and-death matters that we must confront with serious thought and resolute action,” he adds, calling on Governments, organizations and citizens to forge meaningful partnerships to overcome these challenges so the world can meet all the MDGs and, ultimately, usher in a world free of hunger and poverty.

The head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) agreed that at a time when the world’s attention is consumed by the financial crisis, it is appropriate to focus today on the global hunger crisis, which is a daily reality for families across the globe.

“Rapidly rising food shortages, dramatic increases in fuel costs, and profound changes in climate conditions conspired this year to bring new dimensions of suffering and hardship to the poor, depriving almost one billion people of the food they need to live a healthy life,” Executive Director Josette Sheeran <"http://www.wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2960">said in her message for the Day.

“On this day, we remember those who have lived with the ache of hunger, for too long . . . and who now need our help even more,” she added.

World Food Day is observed annually on 16 October, the day on which the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was founded in 1945. At a ceremony today at FAO headquarters in Rome, Director-General Jacques Diouf called for a political and financial push to boost sustainable agriculture in the world’s poor countries, double global food production and free the world of hunger and malnutrition.

“I wish to reaffirm that we know what needs to be done to eradicate the hunger of 923 million people in the world. We also know what needs to be done to double world food production and feed a population that is expected to rise to 9 billion people by 2050.”

He noted that $22 billion was pledged to promote global food security earlier this year, but that only 10 per cent of this has so far materialized – mainly for emergency food aid.

“What we need ... is political will and delivery on financial commitments, if we are to be able to make the essential investments that are needed to promote sustainable agricultural development and food security in the poorest countries of the world,” he stated.

Describing the situation of hunger in the world as “alarming,” the independent UN expert on the right to food has called for a new production system to tackle the global food crisis.

In a message to mark the Day, UN Special Rapporteur Olivier De Schutter states that “the violation on a daily basis of the right to food for hundreds of millions of people worldwide has its roots in an outdated and inadequate production system, rather than in the actual quantity of food available.

“But there is hope in this crisis,” he adds. “Indeed, if the right choices are made now, this shock may even prove salutary, for it provides governments and international agencies with an opportunity to learn from what happened.”

Among the activities planned in over 150 countries to mark this year’s World Food Day is the popular Run for Food, which will take place in Rome on 19 October involving 4,000 people with a similar event to be held on the same day in Milan.

Other major events are also planned in Albania, Egypt, Morocco, Republic of Korea and a number of Asian and Latin American countries during this month. Former United States President Bill Clinton will participate in a World Food Day ceremony at UN headquarters in New York on 23 October.

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LESS AID TO POOR NATIONS AMID FINANCIAL CRUNCH WILL WORSEN FOOD CRISIS, WARNS UN

New York, Oct 15 2008 10:10AM
The head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has urged governments not to reduce aid to developing countries or introduce protectionist trade measures amid the current global financial crisis, warning that doing so might bring about another food crisis next year. The head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has urged governments not to reduce aid to developing countries or introduce protectionist trade measures amid the current global financial crisis, warning that doing so might bring about another food crisis next year.

“The great uncertainty now enveloping international markets and the threat of global recession may tempt countries towards protectionism and towards reassessing their commitments to international development aid,” noted FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.

“It would be unfortunate if this were to be the case and the recently mobilized political will towards enhanced international support for developing country agriculture were to evaporate,” he added, in a statement marking the 34th session of FAO’s Committee on World Food Security (CF.

Mr. Diouf warned that such measures could increase the risk of another food crisis next year, despite the record 2008 cereal harvest which is now expected.

According to the latest issue of FAO’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, this year’s production is forecasted to increase 4.9 per cent to a record 2.2 million tonnes.

At the same time, some 36 countries worldwide are still in need of external aid as a result of crop failures, conflict or insecurity, or continuing local high prices, added the report.

The Director-General noted that the financial crisis could have serious implications for the poor in developing countries, following as it does on the heels of the global food crisis which plunged an additional 75 million people into hunger and poverty in 2007.

“Last year it was the pan,” said Mr. Diouf. “Next year could be the fire.”

Recalling the pledge made by world leaders at the Food Security Summit in June to take steps to tackle the food crisis and its impact on the world’s poor, he urged continued support for the agriculture sector in developing countries.

“The global financial crisis should not make us forget the food crisis. Agriculture needs urgent and sustained attention too to make hunger and rural poverty part of history,” he stated.


“The great uncertainty now enveloping international markets and the threat of global recession may tempt countries towards protectionism and towards reassessing their commitments to international development aid,” noted FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.

“It would be unfortunate if this were to be the case and the recently mobilized political will towards enhanced international support for developing country agriculture were to evaporate,” he added, in a statement marking the 34th session of FAO’s Committee on World Food Security (CF.

Mr. Diouf warned that such measures could increase the risk of another food crisis next year, despite the record 2008 cereal harvest which is now expected.

According to the latest issue of FAO’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, this year’s production is forecasted to increase 4.9 per cent to a record 2.2 million tonnes.

At the same time, some 36 countries worldwide are still in need of external aid as a result of crop failures, conflict or insecurity, or continuing local high prices, added the report.

The Director-General noted that the financial crisis could have serious implications for the poor in developing countries, following as it does on the heels of the global food crisis which plunged an additional 75 million people into hunger and poverty in 2007.

“Last year it was the pan,” said Mr. Diouf. “Next year could be the fire.”

Recalling the pledge made by world leaders at the Food Security Summit in June to take steps to tackle the food crisis and its impact on the world’s poor, he urged continued support for the agriculture sector in developing countries.

“The global financial crisis should not make us forget the food crisis. Agriculture needs urgent and sustained attention too to make hunger and rural poverty part of history,” he stated.

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ALARMING RISE IN MALNOURISHED DUE TO FOOD AND FUEL PRICE CRISES – WORLD BANK

New York, Oct 9 2008 5:10PM
The number of malnourished people around the world is set to increase by 44 million to almost 1 billion by the end of 2008 due to the combined impact of the food and fuel price crises, according to a World Bank report.

Poor families around the world are being pushed to the brink of survival, causing irreparable damage to the health of millions of children, said the report, entitled Rising Food and Fuel Prices: addressing the risks to future generations.

It added that as families cut back on spending, there are also grave risks for the educational performance of poor children.

“While people in the developed world are focused on the financial crisis, many forget that a human crisis is rapidly unfolding in developing countries,” <"http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21932865~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html">said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick.

“The financial crisis will only make it more difficult for developing countries to protect their most vulnerable people from the impact of rising good and fuel costs,” added Mr. Zoellick.

The report, slated for presentation this weekend at the annual meeting of the World Bank and its sister institution the International Monetary Fund (IMF), sets out a series of priority measures aimed at reducing the impact of the food and fuel price crises on the poor.

These include making existing cash transfer programmes more generous, providing nutrition for infants and pregnant women, expanding food distribution programmes, using targeted subsidies for poor consumers, and implementing additional measures to prevent children from dropping out of school.

“Malnourished children cannot develop into healthy adults and become productive members of society who can contribute to the growth needed to lift themselves and their country out of poverty,” the Bank stated in a press release issued yesterday.

In May the Bank launched a $1.2 billion rapid financing facility to help poor countries cope with the food crisis. Since them, around $850 million has been committed to finance seeds, plantings and feeding programmes. In April Mr. Zoellick called for a “New Deal for Global Food Policy” that included a variety of measures providing immediate help to poor people and farmers while increasing food production.

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HIGH FOOD PRICES PLUNGE ANOTHER 75 MILLION PEOPLE INTO HUNGER, SAYS UN AGENCY

New York, Sep 18 2008 10:10AM
Rising food prices have pushed 75 million more people into the ranks of the world’s famished, and threaten efforts to realize the goal of halving the number of those in hunger by 2015, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today.

According to new figures released by the agency ahead of next week’s General Assembly high-level event on the global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the number of people suffering from hunger is now roughly 925 million.

Contributing to this growth is soaring food, fuel and fertilizer prices, FAO said. Food prices rose 52 per cent between 2007 and 2008, and fertilizer prices have nearly doubled over the past year. The hardest hit have been the poorest, the landless and female-headed households.

“The devastating effects of high food prices on the number of hungry people compound already worrisome long-term trends,” <"http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2008/1000923/index.html">said Hafez Ghanem, FAO Assistant Director-General for Economic and Social Development. “Hunger increased as the world grew richer and produced more food than ever during the last decade.”

Not only does this development impact efforts to achieve the hunger-related MDG, but it also affects progress towards many of the Goals, said Mr. Ghanem. Hunger negatively impacts labour productivity, health and education, all factors for economic growth.

“Reducing the number of hungry people by 500 million in the remaining seven years to 2015 will require an enormous and resolute global effort and concrete actions,” he added.

FAO stressed the need for action on two fronts – making food accessible to the most vulnerable, and helping small producers raise their output and earn more.

In December 2007 the agency launched its Initiative on Soaring Food Prices to help vulnerable countries boost food supplies and improve access to food. Measures include the distribution of seeds, fertilizer, animal feed and other farming tools and supplies to smallholder farmers.

“Urgent, broad-based and large-scale investments are needed to address in a sustainable manner the growing food insecurity problems affecting the poor and hungry,” said Mr. Ghanem. “No single country or institution will be able to resolve this crisis on its own.”

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SKYROCKETING PRICES CONTINUE TO THREATEN THE RIGHT TO FOOD, UN EXPERT SAYS

New York, Sep 10 2008 3:10PM
The global food crisis caused by soaring prices is jeopardizing the right to food, and any potential solution to the problem must be viewed through the lens of human rights, an independent United Nations expert said today.

Presenting his latest report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Olivier De Schutter, the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, said that international assistance and cooperation are key to achieving that right under international human rights law.

Speculation in the futures market of primary agricultural commodities is one of the factors responsible for driving up the cost of food, he said.

The expert pointed out the role of agrofuel production in food price volatility. But discussions of whether production of the fuels should be halted or promoted in the best interests of farmers should be guided by the consideration of human rights, he added.

Mr. De Schutter stressed that the Council must ensure that acting in the interests of tackling climate change does not impede food protection and protecting human rights.

To date, with the exception of Brazil, production of biofuels has not proven to be a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels, given the use of fertile land, water and energy necessary. Mr. De Schutter called on the 47-member Council to quickly adopt global agreements and guidelines to scrutinize agrofuel production.

Although the surge in food prices caught people around the world off guard, the poor are hungry because they cannot afford to eat, not because of a lack of food, he said.

In a related development, three UN agencies are scheduled to brief a special meeting of the Development Committee of the European Parliament in Brussels today on the current food crisis.

Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), Jacques Diouf, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Kanayo F. Nwanze, Vice-President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), told participants how they are jointly responding to surging food prices.

The three agencies are collaborating in their efforts to tackle the problem. The WFP has already announced a more than $200 million package to help each hunger in 16 hotspots.
FAO is helping boost food production in 78 countries, providing seeds, fertilizer, animal feed and other farming tools, in addition to the nearly $1 billion it spends on field activities.

IFAD, meanwhile, has provided some $200 million in loans and grants to help farmers in the developing world, and continues to call for longer-term investment to allow the almost half a billion planters in these nations to increase their incomes and resilience against price fluctuations.

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PLANT MUTATION COULD BOOST CROP YIELDS AND HELP TACKLE FOOD CRISIS – UN OFFICIAL

New York, Aug 12 2008 5:10PM
Plant mutation, a scientific technique that dramatically improves crop productivity, could be part of the solution to the current food and energy crisis that threatens to plunge millions worldwide into hunger, according to a United Nations expert on the subject.

“At a time when the world is facing a food and energy crisis of unprecedented proportions, plant mutation breeding can be a catalyst in developing improved, higher-yield, saline-resistant, sturdier crop varieties,” Werner Burkart, Deputy Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (<"http://www.iaea.org/index.html">IAEA), told a conference that opened at the Agency’s headquarters in Vienna today.

The International Symposium on Induced Mutations in Plants brings together over 600 scientists, researchers and plant breeders from around the world to discuss the latest innovations and how they can improve crop varieties in the future.

Mr. Burkart, who is Head of the Agency’s Department of Nuclear Sciences and Applications, said 2008 will be remembered as the year in which the world understood the realities of climate change, the food crisis and the energy debate in its link to hunger.

“These big issues are intimately interlinked, and translate in the agronomy field into a competition between food, feed and fuel for soil, water, human and financial resources,” he noted.

He pointed out that plant mutation has been used for more than 80 years, with mutagens such as X-rays, gamma radiation and chemicals having been used to produce plant varieties that are disease-resistant or best suited to conditions such as high altitude or saline soil.

One success story is mutant barley varieties that thrive at altitudes of up to 5,000 metres in the highlands of Peru and which led to a 52 per cent increase in yields between 1978 and 2002.

The IAEA has worked with radiation technology to induce mutation in plants since the 1960s and today the technology is being used worldwide.

“Mutation induction has proven flexible, workable, and ready to use on any crop,” said Mr. Burkart, adding that it is a non-hazardous and low-cost technology that has the ability to address current challenges in agriculture.

“The breeding of new mutant varieties – with a higher yield potential, more productive biomass for energy use, better nutrient composition for human health, better adaptation to climate change and variability, or a heightened potential to sequester carbon – will be the driving force to meet the challenges of the 21st century,” he stated.

The four-day conference is a joint collaboration by the IAEA and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (<"http://www.fao.org/">FAO), and the eighth of its kind. The first was held in 1969.

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BAN PLEDGES UN COMMITMENT TO TACKLE DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND CLIMATE CRISES

New York, Aug 7 2008 8:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today pledged to “marshal the forces” of the United Nations behind efforts to solve three related emergencies that he said are causing profound disquiet around the world – the crises over food, climate and development.

In a message to the Ministerial Meeting of the Movement of Non-Aligned Nations (NAM), held in Tehran, Mr. Ban said he would count on the “commitment, leadership and partnership” of NAM in the battle to overcome the crises.

“These three crises are not isolated problems,” he said in the message, which was delivered on his behalf by Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva (UNOG). “They are inter-related, affect both rich and poor, and require all of us to do our part.”

Turning first to the development crisis, Mr. Ban noted that many countries – especially in sub-Saharan Africa – lag behind in their attempts to achieve the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.

“We need to uphold the trust that was forged in first agreeing to the MDGs. Developed and developing countries made commitments to each other, as did governments and their citizens. Failure to meet these pledges, or at least to improve significantly on the gains to date, would be a terrible blow, with widespread implications for our shared humanity.”

He stressed that the food crisis is exacerbating the problem by “already turning back the clock on development gains,” particularly for the world’s poorest, such as hundreds of millions of small-scale farmers.

“Over the long term, we need to reduce agricultural subsidies in developed countries; reverse the deplorable downward trend in agriculture’s share of official development assistance; reverse years of under-investment in agriculture and rural development; and successfully conclude the Doha round of global trade negotiations.”

The crisis caused by global warming is also severely undermining food security and progress towards the MDGs, the Secretary-General noted, calling for concrete outcomes at an international meeting slated for Poznan, Poland, later this year to build on commitments made in Bali, Indonesia, last December.

“We also need enlightened leadership, in particular from the industrialized countries, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.”

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UN AGENCY LAUDS THINK-TANK PROPOSAL TO REVAMP US POLICY ON GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS

New York, Jul 31 2008 1:00PM
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today praised a new report by a Washington-based think-tank which calls for the United States to take a fresh strategic approach to the global food crisis.

The report, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, outlines a plan of action which it says any US administration could embrace on a bipartisan basis. It recommends a doubling of emergency assistance and making rural development and agricultural productivity new foreign policy priorities.

“This challenge cannot be solved without US leadership. This study is a roadmap, a wake-up call,” WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran <"http://wfp.org/english/?ModuleID=137&Key=2894">said during the report's presentation this week in Washington.

Ms. Sheeran also highlighted the report’s call for a modernization of the global food aid system. Improving the “speed, agility, liquidity and flexibility” of that system was a challenge not only for the US but also for the world, she said.

“Food security is so fundamental to human existence that it is not only a humanitarian issue but also perhaps the key security issue of our time.”

With food prices expected to remain high, the UN has set up a task force, chaired by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to promote a comprehensive solution to the global food crisis. Its action plan provides for long-term solutions, such as boosting agricultural production, but also short-term measures to meet the immediate needs of the hungry poor who have been most affected by high food prices.

The WFP said that, according to most estimates, food prices will remain high at least until 2012.

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CONCERTED GLOBAL ACTION NEEDED FOR FOOD AND ENERGY CRISES – ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

New York, Jul 18 2008 1:00PM
Urgent changes in global agricultural policies are needed to meet the threats of soaring food and energy prices, the United Nations General Assembly President said today.

Reducing subsidies, lifting tariffs and other trade barriers would stimulate food production and offer a route to development for 180 million small farmers in Africa, Srgjan Kerim told Member States as the Assembly met to discuss the two global crises.

The President added that an urgent and mandatory step at the global level was to ensure a successful outcome to the Doha Round of international trade talks.

“The food crisis therefore offers a win-win opportunity for the international community to collectively agree to policies that promote trade efficiency while also boosting agricultural production and reducing the vulnerability of the poorest around the world,” Mr. Kerim stressed.

The rise in food and oil prices could severely weaken the economies of up to 75 developing countries, Mr. Kerim said, quoting research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He added that the World Bank estimated that rising costs could reduce the gross domestic product (GDP) of up to 50 countries by 3 to 10 per cent, pushing at least 100 million people into poverty.

Mr. Kerim called on the 192-member Assembly to adopt a resolution on the current economic threats, saying they require “an immediate, coherent and coordinated response with the UN system playing a central role.”

Also addressing the Assembly today, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that “the double jeopardy of high food and fuel prices threatens to undermine much of the progress made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

To meet the MDGs – a set of anti-poverty targets to be achieved worldwide by 2015 – Mr. Ban called for a Global Partnership for Food, bringing together governments, donors, UN agencies, international financial institutions, business, academic communities and civil society.

The Secretary-General also said that between $25 and $40 billion would be needed annually to boost agricultural production and to assist farmers around the world.

He welcomed today’s proposal by the European Commission for a special funding facility to provide more than $1.5 billion for a rapid response to the global food crisis.

“If we do not seek lasting solutions now, more children will die each day, more families will go to bed hungry. The threats left to the next generation will be even greater,” he said.

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LAUDING G-8 RESOLVE TO TACKLE FOOD CRISIS, UN URGES PRACTICAL STEPS TO HELP HUNGRY

New York, Jul 10 2008 10:00AM
Welcoming the commitment shown by the leaders of the Group of Eight (G-8) leading industrialized nations at their summit in Japan to combat the global food crisis, the <"http://www.wfp.org/english/">United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has called for practical steps to alleviate hunger for millions around the globe.

“What we have seen at the G-8 summit is the resolve to help protect the poorest from the devastating effect of high food prices and to find long term solutions to the food crisis,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

“We need to follow through with practical measures that can make a real difference in addressing urgent hunger needs throughout the world,” she added.

WFP has been calling for concerted global action to address the effects of high food prices on the poor, including un-earmarked donations that give the agency greater flexibility for procuring and pre-positioning food for the hungry, the lifting of export restrictions on all humanitarian food purchases, and urgent consideration of the possible need for humanitarian global grain reserves.

“We are living in unusual times, and this requires practical solutions now if we are going to confront the challenges we face,” Ms. Sheeran stated. “The G-8 expressed resolve, which I welcome. Now comes the hard part: solving problems and reaching as many hungry people as possible in as sustainable a way as possible.”

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who attended the summit in Hokkaido, Japan, has also welcomed the “strong commitment” of the G-8 to address the global food crisis in a Global Partnership for Food, facilitated and coordinated by the UN.

“The sense of urgency displayed by the G-8 in tackling the most immediate food, nutrition, and agricultural inputs needs of tens of millions of hungry people worldwide is encouraging,” the Secretary-General said yesterday at the conclusion of the summit.

“However, the G-8 call on all Member States to contribute to this shared human responsibility must be accompanied by a strong willingness to tackle the underlying structural causes of this crisis with a similar sense of urgency,” he added, emphasizing the need to significantly step up public and private investment into agriculture.

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UN AGENCIES URGE G-8 LEADERS TO BOOST INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE TO REDUCE GLOBAL HUNGER

New York, Jul 8 2008 10:00AM
The United Nations agencies working to alleviate global hunger have called for decisive action by the Group of Eight (G-8) most industrialized countries, currently meeting in Japan, to boost investment in agriculture to help feed the world.

The three Rome-based agencies – the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) – pointed out that one of the main causes of the current food crisis was the decline in agricultural investment over the past three decades.

“The G-8 Summit in Japan can help strike a decisive blow in the fight against hunger and poverty by reversing that trend and moving to direct a much larger share of development aid to the rural and agricultural sector,” said the joint statement, signed by FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf, IFAD President Lennart Båge and WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran.

They stated that boosting public and private investment in agricultural development would contribute to the anti-hunger strategy contained in the Declaration adopted by 180 countries and the European Community when they met in June to tackle the global food crisis at the Rome Food Security Summit.

The three leaders acknowledged that the task that lay head was huge, “for it involves nothing less than enabling the world’s poor countries to feed themselves once more – a capacity they lost in the decades of cheap food imports and following a three-fold increase in natural disasters.”

What was involved amounted to launching a new “twice-green revolution,” or G2R, with the aim of doubling global food production by the middle of the century to feed a world population expected to reach over nine billion.

If there was one “silver lining” to the current surge in food prices it was that, for the next ten years at least, high prices would make agriculture attractive to private investors, the agencies noted.

To tackle the food crisis and promote an “agricultural renaissance” the G-8 must take a clear lead in helping promote the new Green Revolution, they stated.

“In doing so, the international community would not only take a huge step towards securing food for all today and tomorrow – but also help relegate hunger and poverty to yesterday,” the statement concluded.

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GLOBAL COOPERATION KEY TO SOLVING FOOD CRISIS, SAYS ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT

New York, Jul 3 2008 6:00PM
Tackling the current food crisis requires a unified global response, United Nations General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said today in Rome.

Mr. Kerim characterized the crisis as a “erfect storm” – a convergence of factors such as droughts, increased biofuel production, surging demand for food, among others – in his address to the foreign policy committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Italian Parliament.

“We face a real global emergency, which needs a unified global response,” he said, stressing that the crisis threatens to roll back the development gains of recent years, such as lifting 400 million people out of poverty.

But this predicament is a “win-win situation” for the international community, the President stated, as it could trigger the creation of policies to further trade efficiency, increase agricultural production and curb the vulnerability of the world’s poorest.

“It is incumbent on all of us to find new ways of dealing with the global challenges and international emergencies we face, or we risk becoming trapped in outdated institutional frameworks that day by day become more of a status-quo,” he declared.

Regarding reform of the Security Council, Mr. Kerim told the committees that the 15-member body “does not reflect anymore the realities of the 21st century and thus needs to adapt its working methods and composition.”

Restructuring the Council “must be part of creating a more flexible, dynamic forum capable of acting with greater international legitimacy and authority,” he added.

Also today, the role of the UN in world affairs and the Assembly’s priority issues were discussed in a meeting between Mr. Kerim and former Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Lamberto Dini, the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

The President will conclude his official programme in Italy tomorrow with talks with Mayor Letizia Moratti in Milan before travelling to Abu Dhabi for the last leg of his five-country tour that has also taken him to Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria.

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HIGH FOOD PRICES LED TO 50 MILLION MORE HUNGRY PEOPLE IN 2007, UN SAYS

New York, Jul 3 2008 1:00PM
Soaring food prices have pushed 50 million more people to go hungry, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today, calling for stepped-up global cooperation to boost food security in poor nations.

“Donor countries, international institutions, governments of developing countries, civil society and the private sector have an important role to play in the global fight against hunger,” Jacques Diouf, FAO Director-General, said in an address to a conference at the European Parliament in Brussels.

He noted that the current crisis was triggered by a confluence of factors: the surging demand for agricultural products due to population and economic growth in emerging market nations; increased use of biofuels; and inadequate supplies of cereals – at their lowest levels in three decades – and other products due to climate change.

Further aggravating these problems are the restrictive protectionist measures taken by some exporting nations, speculation on futures markets and high prices of agricultural inputs such as fertilizer.

Climate change is also playing a substantial role, with the world losing between 5 and 10 million hectares of agricultural land annually due to severe degradation. The consequence of a global temperature rise of over three degrees could be a drop in major crop yields by 20 to 40 per cent in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America.

“The present situation is a result of the international community’s neglect of agriculture in developing countries for a long time,” Mr. Diouf said.

He pointed out that the proportion of agriculture in official development assistance has plummeted from 17 per cent in 1980 to only 3 per cent in 2006, while investment in agricultural research in developing countries is shy of 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product.

Bolstered public and private investment is needed to enhance agricultural production in developing countries, the Director-General said, adding that farmers in these nations must receive additional support through the supply of seeds and fertilizers.

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IMPROVING WEATHER SERVICES WILL ALSO STRENGTHEN FOOD SECURITY, UN AGENCY SAYS

New York, Jun 25 2008 5:00PM
Upgrading and improving weather services will play an important role in helping ensure food security in poorer countries at risk from the impact of climate change and natural disasters, the head of the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says.

Speaking at a round-table discussion on food security yesterday at the Global Humanitarian Forum in Geneva, <"http://www.wmo.int/pages/food_security/index_en.html">WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud said enhanced preparation and awareness of meteorological problems and challenges would allow policymakers to respond better once a disaster strikes.

Mr. Jarraud said WMO was working, through its regional climate centres and other agencies, to improve prevention and preparedness measures, including risk assessment, early-warning systems and emergency planning.

Natural disasters such as floods and droughts are among the biggest causes of what is known as “transitory hunger,” compared to poverty-induced “chronic hunger.” Although natural hazards cannot be avoided, capacity-building and prevention measures can greatly reduce their impact and ensure that people have enough food stocks to last them through a crisis.

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BAN WILL FOCUS ON GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS AS A KEY ISSUE AT UPCOMING G8 SUMMIT

New York, Jun 24 2008 5:00PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that he will focus his attention on raising the issue of food security at the G8 summit of major industrialized nations in Japan early next month, as well as the challenges of climate change and the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Chairing the third session of the High Level Global Task Force on the world’s food crisis, Mr. Ban said the international community needed to build on the momentum generated by the High Level Conference on Food Security held in Rome earlier this month.

The Secretary-General stressed the need for the Task Force – which brings together the heads of key UN agencies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank – to engage all necessary stakeholders, including states, civil society organizations and the private sector.

Upcoming meetings at the General Assembly would also be critical occasions to build on the foundations built in Rome to confront global challenges effectively and in a coherent way, he said.

The Task Force coordinator, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes, updated members on the action plan to tackle immediate and longer-term needs, including the structural factors underlying the current food price hikes.

Among the immediate measures proposed in the plan are increasing nutritional and other feeding programmes, as well as supplying fertilizers, seeds, animal feed and veterinary services to help smallholder farmers in the current planting season. The plan also calls for a reduction in export bans on food commodities, and focuses on the need for much greater investment in agricultural production in the longer term.

The Task Force agreed that an updated version of the plan would be completed by the end of the month in time for the G8 summit.

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