Rome - Delegates representing some 181 nations at a food
summit in Rome on Thursday issued a declaration on fighting world
hunger, which has been exacerbated by the highest food prices in 30
years, but failed to agree on a set of concrete proposals.
The declaration reaffirmed a 1996 pledge by world leaders to halve
the number of hungry people by 2015. Current estimates put the number
of hungry at more than 862 million.
However, with participants divided over the causes of the soaring
food costs and what role biofuels play in food prices, the
declaration stopped short of setting firm, long-term measures to deal
with the crisis.
Wrangling over the document - in particular objections over its
wording by Argentina, Venezuela and Cuba - delayed its adoption until
late in the evening, many hours later than expected.
Disagreements also remained over trade barriers, such as import
tariffs and other taxes, and food export restrictions, with some
countries opposing the easing or lifting of such measures.
Instead, the declaration committed its signatories to two,
immediate and short-term lines of action: to respond urgently to
requests for assistance from hunger-threatened countries and to lend
immediate support for agricultural production and trade.
The summit host, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
had listed 22 countries that are particularly vulnerable due to a
combination of high levels of chronic hunger - defined as more than
30 per cent undernourishment - and being net importers of both food
and fuel.
Countries such as Eritrea, Niger, Comoros, Haiti and Liberia are
particularly affected.
To help such food-importing, low-income countries cope with the
high food prices, the declaration specified donors and international
financial institutions should 'provide in a timely manner, balance of
payment support.'
Seeds, fertilizers, animal feed and technical assistance should
also be made available to farmers in poor countries, it said.
The declaration, stated that such products should be 'locally
adapted,' but it made no reference to the controversial use of
genetically modified products.
The United States, the leading proponent and producer of
genetically modified (GM) foods is at odds with others such as the
European Union which oppose or restrict their use.
Supporters of GM seeds and other products say they make plants
resistant to diseases and pests, while opponents say the high costs
of the technology make farmers, especially those in poor countries,
dependent on a few large GM product manufacturing corporations.
Summit participants included some 43 heads of state and
government, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund's top
officials, major private institutions, including the Gates and
Rockefeller foundations, and scores of non-governmental organizations
(NGOs).
This 'unprecedented response' indicates a 'realization that hunger
is on the march and this is unacceptable,' Josette Sheeran, head of
the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said.
'A child dies of hunger every six seconds,' Sheeran said,
explaining that people in developing nations have been hit hardest by
the hike in food prices, which have recorded a 10-per-cent increase
each month since June 2007.
Sheeran said once petroleum prices rise above the 80-dollar-a-
barrel mark, it becomes cost-effective for people to revert to
biofuels, which produce ethanol from foodstuffs.
In Ghana, for example, the food crop cassava is being increasingly
used for biofuel to counter the surges in diesel and fertilizer
prices, Sheeran said.
Still, the issue of biofuels and the role they play in pushing up
prices and diminishing food supplies remained unresolved, with top
producers Brazil and the United States staunchly defending their
production of ethanol as an alternative fuel.
In its reference to biofuels the declaration appeared to adopt a
neutral stance, saying that that 'in-depth studies are necessary to
ensure that production and use of biofuels is sustainable' and the
'desirability of exchanging experiences on biofuels technologies
norms and regulations.'
Another contentious issue, the role of tariffs and other trade
barriers - which are seen to spur price increases while also limiting
availability of food on the world markets - remained, with
signatories to the declaration not called to make specific
commitments.
Poorer nations say that if they are expected to open up their
markets, then protectionist measures on agricultural products should
be lifted in developed parts of the world like the European Union and
United States.
The summit declaration speaks of the need to ensure that 'overall
trade policies are conducive to fostering food security for all,' and
to 'minimize the use of restrictive measures that could increase
volatility of market prices.'
Argentina, which imposes taxes on beef exports to keep domestic
prices low, strongly objected to the text's use of 'restrictive,' but
despite having the support of Venezuela and several other Latin
American nations, failed in having the word dropped from the
declaration.
The summit was more successful in winning donor emergency aid to
counter the food crisis, with several billions of dollars pledged.
Major donors included France with 1.5 billion dollars, the Saudi
Arabia-based Islamic Development Bank, with 1.5 billion, the African
Development Bank with 1 billion, and the World Bank with 1.2 billion.
Other pledges included 773 million dollars by Spain over four
years, 100 million by Kuwait and 100 million from Venezuela.
Opening the summit, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested
that some 20 billion dollars a year was needed to tackle hunger, and
that world food and production needs to be doubled by 2030.
'We simply cannot fail,' Ban said.
USA
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