The UN Secretary–General Ban ki-Moon will have to use all his powers of persuasion to get countries to agree to act on thorny issues such as trade restrictions, responsible for pushing up global food prices to their highest levels in over 30 years, according to a food policy analyst.
At last week’s food summit in Rome, the High-Level Task Force on the Global Food Crisis, chaired by Ban, to test countries’ response, circulated a draft plan to tackle problems posed by soaring food prices and low grain stocks especially on the world’s poor.
The plan involves a host of short-term and long-term measures that includes clearing away trade restrictions to make food accessible to all at reasonable prices; scaling up aid, introducing safety-nets, boosting food production and providing financial support to countries unable to afford food.
According to the Washington-based International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), grain-based biofuels – whose production is supported by the United States and some European countries – accounts for at least 30 percent of recent food price inflation. Eliminating export bans that distort the trade in food would also help stabilise grain price fluctuations and could slash price levels by almost one-third.
The final declaration from the summit avoided strong language on biofuel subsidies and export bans.
– But the Secretary-General [Ban ki-Moon] does have some power to persuade,” said Marc Cohen, an analyst with IFPRI to IRIN.
– Also, I do think we are in circumstances where not acting could have very negative consequences that would be embarrassing for governments. So the UN system does have some leverage on states.
