UN takes action over global food crisis

The UN today launched a task force aimed at tackling the global food crisis caused by soaring prices.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will lead it, said the first priority was the £370m (€470m) shortfall in funding for the World Food Program.

“We anticipate that additional funding will be required,” he said.

But he said more was needed to provide for future needs. “We must ensure food for tomorrow,” he said.

Ban said there were a number of causes of the food crisis including climate change, long spells of drought, changing consumption patterns in major developing countries and the planting of crops for biofuel.

He said new measures had to go farther than just providing emergency food relief when crises hit unlike the previous global response.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has developed a £900m (€1.1bn) 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.

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

“This time the whole United Nations is now leading this campaign to address this issue,” he said.

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.

“This crisis isn’t over once the emergency needs are met,” he added.

"The world can afford this. I think we’ve now got the attention of the world community.”