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Date Today :
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| PR-BSM-030-2008 |
| 22 April 2008 |
RP CALLS FOR INT'L ACTION TO TACKLE FOOD SECURITY, GLOBAL WARMING ISSUES
The Philippines on Sunday
(April 21) called for international action to address food security
concerns and other pressing global issues that affect trade and
development, including migration and climate change.
Speaking for the Asian Group at the 12th United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Accra, Ghana, Philippine
Ambassador Erlinda F. Basilio underscored the urgency of
international cooperation in coming to grips with the tightening
food supply worldwide.
Basilio, who heads the Philippine delegation to the UNCTAD, echoed
the call of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the international
community to adopt a concerted strategy to tackle the global issues
of food security, climate change and migration.
Also at the UNCTAD conference, UN Secretary General Ban-Ki-moon
vowed to immediately "galvanize international action" to solve the
worldwide crisis spawned by "skyrocketing" food prices.
In his speech at the opening of the UNCTAD, Ban Ki-moon warned that
the world "faces a development emergency" with world grain stock at
its lowest level in 30 years.
To solve the "unsustainable situation," he said he will "invest the
full force of my office to galvanize international action, starting
right now."
"I will immediately establish a high-powered Task Force, comprised
of eminent experts and leading policy authorities to address this
issue - we hear the call of the least developed countries to deal
with market failures and stabilize world food prices," he added.
The UN official said that the president of the UN Economic and
Social Council (UN-ECOSOC) would convene a special session of the
council by mid-May to tackle the crisis.
A high-level meeting of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
(UN-FAO) will follow in June in Rome, where "strategies and funding
requirements will be discussed."
The Task Force shall deal with the longer-term security issues of
agricultural productivity, land utilization, financing mechanisms
and all other elements of the current crisis, Ban Ki-moon said.
The UN official said it was imperative that the
leaders of the international community sit down together and give
world food supply saturation their fullest attention as soon as
possible, as he sounded the alarm over the "skyrocketing" of food
prices worldwide.
"We must take steps, now, to assure the world's food security," he
said.
The first step, he said, must be to "meet immediate humanitarian
needs. This year, WFP (World Food Programme) plans to feed 73
million people in 80 countries around the world. But to do so, it
requires an additional $755 million merely to cover the rising costs
of existing programmes."
Discussing the "sky-rocketing price of food" and the "frightening
dimension of the problem," Ban Ki-moon cited WFP data which found
that "the price of essential agricultural staples -- wheat, corn and
other cereals -- has gone up by more than half over the last six
months."
"Rice sets new records almost daily. One Asian nation recently
sought to buy from a neighbor. Instead of the expected price of $400
per metric ton, the quote was $500. By the time the would-be
purchasers came back with authorization from their government, the
price had increased to $750 - if supplies were available at all," he
said.
Ban Ki-moon lamented that "some nations have barred the export of
rice or wheat; others have moved to create financial incentives for
importing additional supplies," which "threatens to distort
international trade and exacerbate shortages."
He warned that "if not handled properly, this crisis could trigger a
cascade of other multiple crises - becoming a multidimensional
problem affecting economic growth, social progress, and even
political security around the world."
The "first job of any government, of course, is to feed its own
people," he added.
Ban Ki-moon also warned against the "impulse toward protectionism,"
stressing that "international grain markets MUST remain open and
functioning normally. Beggar Thy Neighbour food wars cannot, in the
long run, help anyone."
Citing the "food protests" in Egypt, Haiti, Cote d'Ivoire and
Burkina Faso," he pointed out that the "reasons for the crisis are
many and cannot be solely ascribed, as some do, to a simple trade
off between biofuels and agriculture."
"High oil prices have increased production and transport costs.
Worldwide food production has been affected this year by droughts
and other natural disasters," he said. -
END -
