On the eve of a high level international food summit, starting Monday, the World Bank Group has called for more resources and greater focus to help the millions of people around the globe who go hungry each day.
The Banks Managing Director, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said with the food crisis still affecting millions of people around the globe, the international community needs to boost its effort to help the poor and vulnerable feed themselves.
– Food prices are now volatile and that factor, combined with the impact of the financial crisis, only serves to heighten the challenges confronting the developing world, Okonjo-Iweala said.
Her comments come as the UNs High Level Task Force on Global Food Security Crisis prepares for a two day meeting in Madrid, hosted and organized by the Spanish Government, on January 26 and 27 (Monday and Tuesday).
Okonjo-Iweala said a key focus must be on helping smallholder farmers boost production, so empowering poor farmers to help themselves and other. More resources, better spending and policies were also needed to boost the agricultural sector.
For its part, the Bank has pledged to increase its annual lending to agriculture and food from 4 billion to 6 billion US dollar a year through to 2010.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
