US:THE RECENT sharp rise in food prices could trigger a humanitarian crisis, driving millions of people into "a desperate, vicious, downward cycle of destitution", Concern Worldwide warned US policymakers yesterday.
Addressing the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, the group's chief executive, Tom Arnold, said world leaders must take urgent action to avert a devastating impact on the very poor.
"We know what the causes of the problem are. And we know that food prices are going to remain high for the immediate future. This is happening at the worst possible time economically. But we have to come up with a multifaceted approach to prevent what could become a catastrophe if decisive action is not taken," he said.
"The poorest of the poor are the ones who are being hardest hit. Reports from Concern staff in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean are highlighting that food price hikes are already increasing the number of sick and malnourished children. But it won't end there. Millions could fall into a deep cycle of destitution if the world does not act now. This requires political will at a global level."
Mr Arnold, who is a member of The Irish Times Trust, was speaking ahead of a United Nations conference on global food security in Rome next week, where world leaders will address the issues of hunger and malnutrition in the face of soaring food prices.
High oil prices, surging demand for food, extreme weather, growth in biofuel production and speculation on financial market have inflated food prices throughout the world in recent months, raising fears of widespread malnutrition and economic and political instability.
Mr Arnold said although urgent action was needed to ensure emergency supplies of food, or cash to buy food, other steps were crucial in the medium and long terms.
While monitoring the most vulnerable groups to prevent a slide from chronic to acute malnutrition, governments, international organisations and aid agencies should ensure small farmers in poor countries have access to the seeds, tools, fertilisers and credit they need to make sure they can grow food for the coming year.
Mr Arnold said the US and the European Union must re-examine their policies on biofuels in view of their impact on the price of food and, in the longer term, developing countries must address what he described as a 30-year neglect of their agricultural sectors.
He hoped that Ireland, as "a country that should understand hunger and famine", will be part of the leadership of a global strategy to address the food crisis.
Food report: high prices to worsen humanitarian risk
PARIS - Food prices will remain high over the next decade even if they fall from current records, meaning millions more risk further hardship or hunger, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the UN's Food and Agriculture Agency (FAO) said in a report published yesterday.
Beyond stating the immediate need for humanitarian aid, the international bodies suggested wider deployment of genetically modified crops and a rethink of biofuel programmes that guzzle grain which could otherwise feed people and livestock.
The report, issued ahead of a world food summit in Rome next week, said food commodity prices were likely to recede from the peaks hit recently, but they would remain higher in the decade ahead than the one gone by.
"It's time for action," said FAO chief Jacques Diouf, adding that he expected 40 leaders in Rome for a summit on what should be done now or in the future.
"There's an immediate need for humanitarian aid to avoid poor people going hungry," said Angel Gurria, head of the OECD.
Beef and pork prices would probably stay about 20 per cent higher than in the last 10 years, while wheat, corn and skimmed milk powder would probably command 40-60 per cent
more in the next 10 years, in nominal terms, the joint report said.
The price of rice, an Asian staple expected to become more important also in Africa, would likely average 30 per cent more expensive in nominal terms in the coming decade than over the 1998-2007 period. - (Reuters)