The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization calls for increased investment in agriculture to ensure food security

At present, 31 countries around the world are in urgent need of emergency food aid, and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization calls for--

The World Food Security Summit is scheduled to be held at the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, Italy, from November 16 to 18. Leaders of the participating countries will consult and seek consensus on how to revitalize agriculture and strengthen world food security. The report "crop prospects and Food situation" released by FAO on the eve of the meeting said that although the world grain harvest will be bumper in 2009, some poor countries that depend on food imports are still threatened by high food prices. At present, the food security situation of 31 countries in the world is not optimistic and is in urgent need of emergency assistance. FAO says that despite financial pressures on governments around the world, agricultural investment and safety systems are important tools to effectively reduce food insecurity, as they do now and in the future.

High food prices pose a threat to poor countries

Although international food prices have fallen sharply from their highs two years ago, wheat and corn prices rose in October, while rice export prices are still higher than they were before the food crisis, the FAO report said.

The report says the food security situation in the African region is grim. Among them, the situation in East Africa is particularly serious, where drought, regional instability and food trade distortions caused by tariff barriers have led to a very worrying food security situation in this region. About 20 million people in the region must rely on international food aid to survive. This year, for example, Kenya's corn production is expected to be 30% lower than last year. In West Africa, rainfall is below the historical average, and this year's grain harvest is expected to be worse than last year.

At present, food prices in many countries in West Africa are higher than they were during the food crisis two years ago. In the markets of Bamako, the capital of Mali, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and Niamey, the capital of Niger, the price of corn is 35%, 42% and 21% higher than that of the same period two years ago, respectively, and the price of imported rice is also about 22% higher than that of 46%. The reduction in grain production in Nigeria could lead to a further rise in food prices across West Africa, the FAO warned. In southern Africa, despite a bumper grain harvest this year, food prices in some countries remain high. The food situation in North Africa is slightly better, and wheat production is expected to reach an all-time high of 21.5 million tons, a sharp increase over last year.

In addition, rice production in Asia is also expected to decline this year, as abnormal weather and natural disasters have reduced agricultural production in the main rice-producing regions of India, Japan, South Korea, Laos and Sri Lanka since July.

Developing countries need $44 billion a year in aid

According to FAO estimates, the number of hungry and undernourished people in the world this year reached 1.02 billion, the highest since 1970, and the growth continues. High food prices are one of the important reasons for the rise in hunger in the world. In addition, the benefits of falling world grain prices have been offset by a slowdown in global economic growth.

In response to the current grim food security situation, FAO Director-General Diouf pointed out on the eve of the World Food Security Summit that 70% of the world's poor live in rural areas, and neglect of investment in agricultural projects is an important cause of hunger. In global overseas development assistance, the proportion of agricultural development assistance has dropped from 17 per cent in the 1980s to 3.8 per cent in 2006. Increasing investment in agriculture is the most specific and practical goal to solve the problem of food security, especially in small farmers in poor countries. Increasing investment in agriculture will also be the focus of this food security summit.

Diouf also said that developing countries need 44 billion US dollars in overseas development assistance each year to ensure food security. Developing countries themselves should increase the proportion of their budgets invested in agricultural infrastructure while encouraging the development of private investment projects. At present, some countries are committed to increasing the proportion of agricultural development assistance, and countries around the world are paying more and more attention to the development of agricultural projects.

At present, developed and developing countries have reached a consensus on the main aspects of addressing the issue of food security, namely, poor countries need to develop their own economies and master advanced policy tools to increase agricultural productivity; agricultural investment must be increased, because for most poor countries, a healthy agricultural sector is essential to the fight against hunger and poverty and is a prerequisite for comprehensive economic growth. The international community has the technical means and resources to eradicate hunger around the world and what is needed now is political will.