FAO Initiative on Soaring Food Prices by UN Food & Agricultural Organization 5:39pm 24th Nov, 2010   The double whammy of high food prices and the global economic slump pushed an additional 115 million people into poverty and hunger. By 2009, the total number of hungry people in the world had topped one billion.    From July to September 2010, wheat prices had surged by 60 to 80 percent in response to drought-fuelled crop losses in Russia and a subsequent export ban by the Russian Federation. Rice and maize prices also rose during that period.    By December 2010, the FAO Food Price Index had topped its 2008 peak, with sugar, oils and fats increasing the most. In March 2011, the index dropped for the first time after eight months of continuous price spikes. Food prices remained virtually steady in April 2011.    The cost of basic food staples remains high in many developing countries, making life difficult for the world’s poorest people who already spend between 60 and 80 percent of their meagre income on food.    FAO response to food crisis    As early as July 2007, FAO warned of the then developing food price crisis, and in December 2007, it launched its Initiative on Soaring Food Prices – known as the ISFP – to help smallholder farmers grow more food and earn more money.    Since the ISFP’s inception, FAO has carried out interagency assessment missions in 58 countries. It has worked closely with the UN High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis to produce the Comprehensive Framework for Action, a global strategy and action plan designed to soften the immediate blow of high food prices and address longer-term measures for sustainable food security.    FAO has also provided policy advice to governments and scaled up its monitoring of food prices at country, regional and global level through its Global Information and Early Warning System on Food and Agriculture (GIEWS).    In mid-2008, when international food prices had reached their highest level in 30 years, FAO launched a series of one-year emergency projects, providing smallholder farmers with improved seed varieties, fertilizers, tools and technical assistance to help them rapidly boost their food output.    This early support served as a catalyst for mobilizing additional funding. In 2009, thanks to a significant contribution from the European Union (EU), FAO began carrying out projects in 28 countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean through the EU Food Facility.    Towards long-term food security    Efforts now need to be ramped up at all levels to strengthen the ability of poor farmers to withstand future shocks – natural disasters, market volatility, financial crises – and to boost agricultural productivity so that it contributes to long-term food and nutrition security.    To this end, FAO is working with governments to make sure farmers have sustained access to quality seeds, fertilizers and tools as well as technical assistance, training and credit. It is supporting work to improve rural infrastructure such as roads, irrigation systems, storage and market facilities, and to promote better management of water and land resources.    FAO is also strongly advocating for increased investment – from Official Development Assistance (ODA) to public spending and private investments – as a way to get agriculture back on track in the fight against poverty, hunger and malnutrition. Visit the related web page
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