Helping to Eliminate Hunger is in the Interest of Rich Countries by FAO Director-General Jacques Diou 7:20am 2nd Dec, 2003   1 December – Given that poverty and malnourishment often breeds crime and extremism through resentment, it is in the interests of rich and poor countries to combat hunger, the head of the United Nations food agency said today.    Jacques Diouf, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), told its biennial governing conference in Rome that more money is needed to tackle the latest challenges involving hunger and access to food.    Mr. Diouf said it is essential that national decision-makers, civil society and other groups mobilize against the problems of hunger and malnourishment.    “The existence of hunger in a world of plenty is not just a moral outrage, it is also the result of short-sighted economic policy…It is therefore in the interest of everyone, rich and poor alike, to combat hunger, injustice and exclusion,” he said.    Mr. Diouf said hunger and poverty cannot be reduced without sustainable agriculture and rural development, pointing out that agriculture provides a livelihood for 2.5 billion people in developing countries.    He said FAO faced many other challenges in the years ahead, including the protection of biodiversity and natural resources, the stabilization and growth of agricultural production, the protection of consumers and the mitigation of the impact of HIV/AIDS.    The FAO chief also warned against financial cuts to the organization, which he said has not had a budgetary increase in seven years.    “[The FAO’s] present budget of $651.8 million for 187 Member States is $21.4 million less than the 1994-95 budget, when the Organization had only 169 Members,” he told the conference.
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