Published: April 29, 2008 02:37 pm            

UN decides to set up task force to tackle global food crisis

BERN, Switzerland — The U.N. will set up a top-level task force to tackle the global food crisis that threatens to touch off a "cascade" of crises affecting trade, the global economy and even political security around the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday.

"The rapidly escalating price of food is severely impacting the poor in developing countries," Ban said after a meeting with U.N. agency chiefs and other top officials in the Swiss capital Bern.

Ban, who will lead the task force, said the group agreed on a series of measures for the medium and long term, with the first priority being to meet the US$755 million (euro483 million) shortfall in funding for the World Food Program.

"The first and immediate priority that we all agree is that we must feed the hungry," he said. "Without full funding of these emergency requirements we risk again the specter of widespread hunger, malnutrition and social unrest on an unprecedented scale."

Even if the shortfall is met, more money will probably be needed, he said.

Ban said later in a speech at the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva that the high food prices "could touch off a cascade of related crises — affecting trade, economic growth, social progress and even political security around the world."

The price increases have been dramatic, he said. "The price of rice in particular has gone from US$400 a ton some weeks ago to more than US$1,000 today."

Ban blamed the escalating prices on a range of causes — high oil prices, growing demand, bad trade policies, bad weather, panic buying and speculation and "the new craze of biofuels derived from food products."

"In addition to increasing food prices, we see at the same time farmers in developing countries planting less, producing less, due to the escalating cost of fertilizer and energy," he said. "We must make every effort to support those farmers so that in the coming year we do not see even more severe food shortages."

Ban said ensuring longer-term food supplies needs to go even further, with the focus on Africa.

African countries could double their food production over a very few years for "a relatively modest" US$8 billion to US$10 billion (euro5 billion to euro6.5 billion) annually, he said.

Like Southeast Asia in the last century, Africa could use the investment to implement new agricultural techniques that will create a "green revolution" of increased crop yields, Ban said.

The U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization has developed a US$1.7 billion (euro1.1 billion) plan to provide seeds for farmers in the world's poorest countries, he said.

"We must make every effort to support those farmers," Ban said.

He said he hoped world leaders would come to a June meeting in Rome to find ways to alleviate the food crisis. He said the international community had previously not listened to warnings from the FAO and others.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who also attended the meeting, said 100 million people are estimated to have been pushed into poverty over the past two years.

"This is not a natural disaster," Zoellick said, urging countries to shore up the WFP's fund. "This crisis isn't over once the emergency needs are met."

Jacques Diouf, director-general of FAO, said poor farmers needed help to be able to produce more.

"We have to ensure that smallholder farmers have proper access to land and water resources and essential inputs such as seeds and fertilizers," Diouf said.

        

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