The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2020 (SOCO 2020) aims to discuss policies and mechanisms that promote sustainable outcomes – economic, social and environmental – in agricultural and food markets, both global and domestic. The analysis is organized along the trends and challenges that lie at the heart of global …
The high-level conference at Rome was called to find a way out of the global food crisis. A series of consultations with experts preceded this important event that went to show that the UN had all good intentions. The good intentions unfortunately did not translate into good policy decisions that …
REUTERS World Bank President Robert B Zoellick holds up a bag of rice and a loaf of bread at a news conference in Washington The un acknowledges that in the past few decades governments and international financial institutions have not paid any attention to agriculture. Now the un, states and …
The final press conference of the meet was postponed by an hour and a half because there were disagreements on the final document to be read by DG Diouf. According to fao sources, the dispute was to do with biofuels and the liberalization of agricultural trade. The delay did not …
AKINWUMI A ADESINA Vice-president, policy and partnerships,Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) Though AGRA says it is supporting small farmers, Annan held a separate meeting with private players, including the International SeedFederation and the International Fertilizer Association , and not with civil society groups Green revolution in Africa: The …
the run-up to the high-level conference on food security in Rome promised a substantial shift in agricul-tural outlook, given host Food and Agricultural Organization
By Anil Pandey India is being blamed for current food shortage in south asia. How far this is true? A couple of weeks ago Ameri can President George Bush made similar statement blaming the prosperity of the rising Indian middle class for the current food crisis. This is far from …
The recently concluded world food summit observed that urban populations are likely to be more exposed to rising food prices than their rural counterparts: they are more likely to consume staple foods derived from tradable commodities and are less likely to produce a significant share of their own food or …
By C. Anand Reddy The year 2008-09 is set to be a watershed year with regard to production of wheat. While India has recorded the highest ever production and procurement levels, a report by the London-based International Grains Council said that global wheat production is expected to touch a record …
Some good ideas, but too little cash, were among the fruits of a global gathering Bosses of the United Nations have some discretion over what to focus on. For Kofi Annan, the previous secretary-general, the big issue was peacekeeping and conflict in poor countries. For the new one, Ban Ki-moon, …
The world will face high food prices "in the years to come", the UN food summit said yesterday, but failed to agree how the crisis could be eased. The summit, hosted by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation, was called to tackle food price rises that have triggered riots in …
Rich countries came under attack yesterday at the United Nations food summit for their biofuel subsidies and production targets, declining spending on development aid for agriculture and large subsidies to European and US farmers. Jacques Diouf, director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, told heads of state and governments gathered …
Lennart Bage, President, IFAD The full impact of the present food crisis is still unknown. What is certain is that its origins are much older than perceived. One of the three UN agencies whose role is to avert food crises like this is the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). …
All agricultural commodities covered in this report are of critical importance to global food and feed markets. They constitute much of the world's food consumption, generate income to farmers and represent the largest portion of food import expenditures across the world. The analysis in the report puts in perspective market …
Indonesia and Malaysia have long denied that their tropical forests are being burned to make way for lucrative palm oil plantations. It seems they've been lying through their teeth. Between 1990 and 2005 palm plantations rocketed by 1.87 million hectares in Malaysia and by more than 3 million hectares in …
In anticipation of a global summit on the food crisis, the United Nations called on world leaders on Wednesday to agree to urgent measures to ease demand for grains and alleviate high food prices. The report, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, suggests that countries might …
