UN turns focus on global hunger

Bua News | 12 Oct 2010

Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System

New York - Delegates from NGOs, civil society, private sector and philanthropic representatives have gathered in Rome for week-long United Nations-led talks to trash out solutions for global hunger.

The talks take place against the backdrop of recent increases in food prices.

More recently, increases in basic food prices, such as bread, have led to riots in countries like Mozambique.

Economists say wheat prices have doubled in the last two months, this being the fastest food price increase in the last two decades.

It is estimated that 925 million people do not have enough to eat - more than the populations of the US, Canada and European Union.

The talks in Rome will focus on issues such as land tenure, international investment in agriculture and food security during crises.

The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) has been working hard to transform itself into the most inclusive international and intergovernmental platform for all stakeholders who work together to ensure food security and nutrition for all.

The CFS Secretariat is now made up of members from the three Rome-based UN agencies - the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the UN World Food Programme.

In his message to the delegates, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the expanded membership, saying the world required formal global governance on food security.

"I look forward to watching the [CFS] evolve and address issues such as the support for smallholder farmers, land acquisition, the interests of women, nutrition, price volatility, climate change and, in particular, the establishment of food trading systems that work without destabilising markets," said Ban.

The CFS will receive advice from a panel of experts in a variety of fields associated with food security and nutrition.

Yukiko Omura, IFAD's Vice President, noted that investing in small farmers by improving their access to land, technology, financial services and markets, and responding to their requirements is the most effective way to lift them out of poverty and hunger.

Olivier de Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, touched on the precarious issue of land tenure.

"Where land is underutilised or considered vacant, the question of whether it should be redistributed to allow small independent farmers to use it should be asked first, before considering whether large-scale investment complies with a set of principles," he said.

The world will watch keenly the outcomes of these talks, as the deadline to halve global hunger by 2015 looms even closer. - BuaNews
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