According to the World Bank Group president Robert B. Zoellick, the food crisis is far from over, hence the G-20 ought to put into consideration discussions on food crisis first.
“Averting crisis is not just about banks and debt. Millions of people around the world face a daily crisis of hunger and malnutrition. At Cannes, the G-20 should take steps to address their needs.”Said Zoellick.
The Food price watch reported food crisis in the Horn of Africa invades the wellbeing of over 13.3 million people.
Meanwhile recent floods in Thailand, and worst in 50 years, may consequently worsen the predicted production losses ranging between 16 to 24.
The high instability in low income countries is anticipated to persist in the medium term owing to rising population and changing diets, tangled relations between food and energy prices, along with the increasing production of biofuels.
According to the report, prices of grains augmented 30% from September 2010 to September 2011, with maize increasing by 43%, rice by 26%, wheat 16% and Soybean oil by 26%, conversely, a rise of 3% in the price of grains was generally compensated by a decline of 3% in the prices of fats and oils.
Food Price Watch alerts that a troubled global economy may suppress demand, diminish food prices, and hurt food exporting countries and poor producers in rural areas, while benefiting food importers and consumers.
Consequently developing countries might have limited resources to protect exposed populations.
Additionally concerns regarding the global economy may hinder medium to long-term investments in agricultural research and productive agricultural techniques.
Despite the price rise, increase in supply and stocks convey relief. Recent observations reveal global wheat stocks attaining a 10 year high in 2011-2012, global production of maize augment by 4% attributing to the increased production in Argentina, Brazil, China, Russia and Ukraine.
Global rice output is also prone to go up in 2011-2012 as a result of anticipated abundant harvest in India following conducive monsoon rains.
In order to address volatility-related information, the G-20 agriculture ministers recently initiated the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) which mainly addresses market transparency on the global food outlook.
The World Bank has prioritized food through its numerous initiatives and partnership such as: the Global Food Crisis Response Program (GFRP), the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research (CGIAR), and International Finance Corporation (IFC).
More to that the World Bank increased its spending on agriculture to around $8 billion a year from $4.1 billion in 2008.
The Group of 20 heads of government, who are meeting in Cannes Nov. 3– 4 to discuss the global economy, are expected to endorse a package of concrete actions to improve transparency and policy coordination to detect and correct problems early;
To help countries manage price volatility using sound risk management tools; to promote more productive and resilient agriculture; and to get food to the needy fast through emergency regional humanitarian food reserves and agreement not to ban exports of food for World Food Programme.
As the world population reaches a staggering 7 billion people, it is more important than ever for the global community to galvanize around actions to improve food security.
