UN food summit vows to relieve world hunger

A UN food summit promised late yesterday to relieve hunger threatening one billion people, but anti-poverty campaigners said rich countries needed to commit to long-term action to boost food output and free up trade.

The three-day Rome summit of 183 countries narrowly avoided an embarrassing failure when some Latin Americans protested at points in the declaration. But it finally committed to “eliminating hunger and to securing food for all, today and tomorrow.”

Delegates and campaigners agreed the summit had succeeded in putting soaring food prices at the top of the global agenda.

“If nothing else, nations came together to recognise the problem,” said US Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation called the summit to discuss the impact of poor harvests, high fuel costs and rising demand.

Commodity prices have doubled over the pastlast couple of years and the World Bank says 100 million people risk joining the 850 million already going hungry.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development sees prices of rice, corn and wheat retreating from peaks, but still up to 50% higher in the next decade, and the FAO says food output must rise 50% by 2050 to meet demand.

“While we welcome the attention that the summit has drawn to addressing the emergency needs of the food price crisis, governments haven’t made any serious long-term commitments,” said campaign group ActionAid.

Aid agencies and campaigners urged rich nations to make more tangible decisions at July’s Group of Eight summit in Japan.

“Rich countries cannot continue to give with one hand and take away with the other,” said Barbara Stocking of Oxfam.

“Unless unfair international trade, biofuels and agriculture policies are changed, the crisis for developing countries’ agriculture will continue.”

During the summit, free trade was a sticking point. Grain and beef exporter Argentina objected to criticism in the declaration of export curbs like those it has imposed to shield consumers from food inflation.

Schafer said countries should understand that such restrictions cause food inflation. Asian rice stockpiling is blamed for high rice prices that led to riots.

“We understand that countries want to protect their food supply and make sure that there’s enough food for their own citizens but when there’s a lock-out from the marketplace ... prices actually go up,” he said.

Cuba and regional allies voiced objections to a summit declaration Cuban delegate Orlando Requeijo Gual said “neglects the vital needs of those who suffer from hunger.”