FOOD CRISIS

FAO Rome Summit: developing local agriculture is the key

Tuesday 03 June 2008

World leaders meeting at the Food and Agriculture summit in Rome may be a long way from solving the global food crisis, but at least they are acknowledging past failures.

World leaders meeting at the Food and Agriculture summit in Rome may be a long way from solving the global food crisis, but at least they are acknowledging past failures.

 

The most serious one, pointed out by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, is neglecting local agriculture. Rich countries could have channelled more aid into farming, either by working with agencies on the ground or working more closely with governments that receive development aid. But that strategy fell out of fashion after the “green revolution” of the 1960’s, when agricultural production went up and there was no obvious rationale for long-term contingency plans. It is now high time to re-invest, with the help of technology unavailable in the 1960’s. Luckily politicians in Rome have twigged.

 

What next then? Well, there is a panoply of international organisations and agencies trying to alleviate the food crisis. They need better coordination to make sure everyone is singing from the same hymnal: sustainable agriculture. Financing for agricultural projects must be simplified; there is too much red tape. And there is a proposal from Sarkozy which attracted interest at the summit: to set up an international body of experts, similar to the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, to study specific regional food issues.

 

There are points of disagreement in Rome, particularly on the role of biofuels and export restrictions on key commodities such as rice. But on long-term strategy, particularly on investment in agriculture, the statements coming from Rome give room for cautious optimism.