World food crisis worsens despite adequate supply of cereals.

World food crisis worsens despite adequate supply of cereals.

<?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />WASHINGTON, Apr 27 (OneWorld.net) - Despite an improved global cereal supply and a drop in international food prices, the cost of food in developingcountries worldwide continues to soar, at record levels in some nations, warned the United Nations agriculture agency in a newreport.

"This is creating further hardship for millions of poor people already suffering from hunger and undernourishment," said the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in a report published Thursday. While Sub-Saharan Africa is hardest hit, Asia and Central and South America are also facing increased prices for rice, wheat, and maize. (See the UN statement below.)

·         The world is "very far from reaching" the UN target of halving the number of people experiencing chronic hunger by 2015, agriculture leaders from eight of the world's major industrialized nations admitted at a four-day conference in Treviso, Italy last week. As the G8 summit in July approaches, the development agency Oxfam International is calling on leaders to commit to a legally binding agreement to eradicate hunger, which affects nearly 1 billion people worldwide.

·         Over 850 million people worldwide are at risk due to the food crisis, and half of the 10 million people who die of hunger each year are children. Rising fuel costs, erratic weather patterns, and the conversion of land to grow crops for biofuels are all factors in the global food crisis. Rising incomes in poorer countries have also increased food demand in recent years, diminishing global reserves.

Source: oneworld.net