moon on Tuesday called for a 50 percent increase in world food output and other “bold and urgent steps” to confront spiraling prices at the start of a UN food security summit. “I call on you to take bold and urgent steps to addres the root causes of this global food crisis,” he said at the three-day summit at the Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters in Rome. “We want a firm commitment to moving ahead,” he added, noting that “the overall global price tag for national governments and international donors could exceed $15 to $20 billion annually, over a number of years.” The UN chief acknowledged that “this will require enormous political will.” The crisis provides “an opportunity to revisit (past policies),” Ban said. “While we must respond immediately to high food prices, it is important that our long-term focus is on improving food security,” he said. “Food production needs to rise by 50 percent by the year 2030 to meet the rising demand,” he added. “We must act for longer term resilience and contribute to global food security,” Ban said, recommending that governments tackle “structural issues that impede agricultural development.”He also said rural infrastructure needs should be addressed, along with new financing mechanisms. Notably, the UN chief called for a rapid resolution of the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks to help bring about the elimination of “trade and taxation policies that distort markets”. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe defended his agricultural policies at the summit against accusations he was pushing a country once known as the breadbasket of Africa into starvation.
