Investments in agriculture must grow

The FAO Media Centre has issued a press release on the need for investment in agriculture. It states taht the key to long-term food security lies in boosting investment in agriculture, particularly in low-income food-deficit countries, according to FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.

"The rapid increase in hunger and malnourishment since the food crisis of 2008 reveals the inadequacy of the present global food system and the urgent need for structural changes, Diouf said, addressing the Gulf Cooporation Council (GCC) Ministerial Forum on Agricultural Investment in Abu Dhabi, attended by representatives of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the host country, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The food price and economic crises have had a severe impact on millions of people in all parts of the world .... In recent months the international prices of most agricultural commodities have increased, many of them sharply. The global food import bill could pass the one trillion dollar mark in 2010, a level not seen since food prices peaked at record levels in 2008. These trends — Diouf said — can have severe implications for countries like the Gulf countries, which depend on commercial imports for a large share of their food consumption needs. In the Near East and North Africa region, the number of hungry and malnourished people currently is estimated at 37 million, nearly 10 percent of the region's population. Click on the link to read more.