By IANS,
United Nations : The President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) L{o M{ror}s of Haiti said the global food crisis threatens not only the survival of people in many countries, but also their political and economic stability.
He told the first international meeting on the global food crisis, late on Tuesday, that soaring food prices and shortages of basic crops are “not only threatening the health and survival of ordinary people, but also jeopardizing the political and economic stability of many governments.” The world, he told the meeting attended by a number of ministers, has the necessary knowledge and expertise to fight the current food crisis, but it needs to muster the political will and the resources to ensure there is a lasting solution for the millions of people now suffering.
“The time to act is now,” M{ror}s said, stressing the need for both immediate action to meet humanitarian needs and for longer-term increased agricultural production.
“It is my view that agriculture has to be put back in the centre of the development agenda,” he said.
“We need to concentrate efforts on minimizing greenhouse emissions, deforestation and global warming, while finding ways to promote investments in agriculture and maximize the use of agro-science and technology, with the aim of reducing the costs of production and substantially increasing the productivity and output of every hectare of arable land,” he added. During its substantive session in July, the council will convene round-table and panel discussions on food security and its humanitarian segment is expected to focus in part on the challenges related to the provision of food aid.