The New York Times reported that last week’s UN’s World Summit on Food Security, once praised for moving developing and developed countries together towards improved aid relations, was an unabashed failure due to lack of progress on substantial issues. The UN FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), the body leading the Summit, has been criticized for being ‘short on solutions for the world’s 1 billion hungry.’
The meeting was called a failure shortly after its start when the 192 participating member countries unanimously voted a stern ‘No’ to the UN appeal for billions of dollars for an initiative to cut foreign food aid and replace it with the capability to grow more food locally.
Additionally, none of the G-8 leaders except Prime Minister Berlusconi of Italy were in attendance, calling into question support from these integral nations.
There is a clear disconnect between what governments are saying, at least the rich governments, and what in fact they are doing,” said Flavio Valente, an activist participating in a forum of NGOs held in parallel with the summit.
Food summit representatives balked at a proposal to provide 17% of their yearly foreign aid budget (or $44 billion annually) for agricultural development, despite a pledge in July by G-8 leaders in L’Aquila, Italy to spend $20 billion in aid over three years for the same purpose.
Read the final statement of the World Summit on Food Security.
According to the Voice of America, the 2009 Summit’s final resolution was weak because it was similar to the Millennium Development Goal’s (MDG) target for the same problem.
Posted by Patricia Lee.
