Ahead of a November 5-9 follow-up to 1996’s World Food Summit, the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization says that not enough is being done worldwide to stem the tide of hunger.
That 1996 summit set a goal to cut in half the number of hungry people in the world by 2015 — a goal that would require the number of hungry people to fall by 20 million per year. So far this year, the world is on track for only an 8 million person decline in hunger.
“The purpose of this [November] event is to give new impetus to worldwide efforts on behalf of hungry people,” Jacques Diouf, director general of the FAO, told Reuters.
For a change, the FAO seems to understand that solving hunger is not something that the developed nations can impose on the underdeveloped nations, but, rather, must come in large measure from political pressure within developing nations.
Among other things suggested by the FAO are internal agricultural and rural development within nations that are not food self-sufficient; more open markets on the part of developed nations (the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries spend $326 billion annually subsidizing their agriculture); resolving conflicts, both international and domestic, that undermine agricultural and economic systems; and the development and deployment of genetically modified crops that hold out the possibility of lower costs and higher yields than traditional crops.
On the other hand, it remains to be seen if developed nations will pony up the $500 million the FAO is seeking for its Trust Fund for Food Security. The FAO sounds like it might have the right approach, saying the money will go to teach poor countries how to feed themselves, fight pests, and to build basic infrastructure. But given the prevailing skepticism about such international organizations and efforts, the FAO might find this a tough sell.
Source:
World lacks will to conquer hunger, UN says. David Brough, Reuters, September 14, 2001.