06 June 2008
U.S. Supports Ambitious U.N. Plan to Combat Global Food Crisis
Plan also calls for measures to address future food security needs
Washington -- The United States has joined 180 other countries in agreeing to an ambitious plan to combat the global food crisis and to ensure future food security through investments in science and technology.
The United States welcomed the plan's recognition of the important "challenges and opportunities" related to biofuels, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said June 5 at the conclusion of a three-day United Nations world food summit in Rome.
He said the United States is committed to the "sustainable" production and use of biofuels. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines sustainability as applying appropriate technology in ways that meet economic, environmental and social needs without compromising resources. Schafer led the U.S. delegation at the meeting.
The U.N. plan calls for more international private-public discussion of biofuels, taking into account the need to achieve and maintain global food security, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said June 6. The FAO hosted the meeting.
Several representatives at the meeting expressed interest in finding ways to support biofuel production so their countries can become energy independent, Schaffer said in a conference call with reporters.
In addition to working with the international community to provide aid to those most vulnerable to hunger, the United States will target aid to helping countries boost food production so they can meet their own future needs, Schafer said.
That will involve teaching countries how to increase yields by using such farming methods as site-specific applications of agricultural chemicals and irrigation in ways that are cost-effective and that minimize environmental damage.
During discussions at the meeting, representatives of some countries said they are re-evaluating their "resistance" to the use of biotechnology to help boost production dramatically, Shafer said.
Also at the meeting, representatives discussed the need for more investment in infrastructure development, and some pledged to put more money into that area, according to Schafer.
The United States plans to spend approximately $150 million in 2008 to help countries improve their infrastructure, including roads needed to carry farm products to market and refrigeration needed to prevent harvest spoilage, he said.
The United States also agreed with the plan's call to continue efforts to liberalize agricultural trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers, Schafer said.
ZIMBABWE URGED TO LIFT SUSPENSION OF AID GROUPS
While also representing the United States at the meeting, Henrietta Fore, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), used the opportunity to call on Zimbabwe to lift its suspension of international nongovernmental groups from doing humanitarian work in the country. (See "International Community Monitoring Situation in Zimbabwe.")
Fore said "the suspension can only add to the significant hardship and suffering of Zimbabwe's most vulnerable people," according to a USAID statement.
The text of Schafer's statement about the conference plan and a transcript of his June 5 conference call are available on the USDA Web site.
Fore's statement is available on the USAID Web site.
