By Martin Banks - 18th January 2010
A major summit on Monday was told that world food production will have to double to combat a repeat of the food riots seen in 38 countries worldwide in 2008.
Speaking at the opening of the event, Jean Yves Le Drian, a member of the Committee of the Regions, called for a more "focused" approach to tackling world hunger.
Le Drian, president of Brittany and a vice-president of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions, also said that regions in Europe and the rest of the world have an important role to play in combating hunger.
"As regions our aim is relatively modest. It is to make a visible and concrete contribution to this global problem," he said.
The summit of the world's regions on food security, which concludes on Wednesday, is being held in Dakar, the capital of Senegal which until two years ago depended for much of its food on other countries.
Today, Senegal has become almost self sufficient and is held up as a model for the rest of Africa.
The event comes at a time when new figures show the number of undernourished people has now exceeded one billion for the first time ever with a further two billion people suffering from malnutrition.
Le Drian's comments were echoed by CPMR president Claudio Martini, president of the Tuscan region in Italy, who said, "Under the influence of the economic crisis, climate change, population growth and dwindling natural and energy resources, regions from developing countries will be negatively impacted in the very short term.
"Even regions in developed countries will be impacted. Therefore, global food production will need to be doubled to combat food shortages."
He pointed out that 12 years has now passed since the world food summit pledged to halve the number of undernourished people by 2015.
Reducing global hunger is also at the heart of the millennium development goals.
But Martini said, "Progress in this area is disappointing and the world food situation is now critical.
"A year ago, food riots broke out in 38 countries across Africa, Asia and central and south America and, today, the effects of the economic crisis have combined with those of the food crisis to increase the number of people suffering from hunger."
He said the summit would provide a "valuable opportunity" to develop a dialogue on food security between local authorities, national governments and international organisations, such as the EU and UN.
The event, jointly organised by the CPMR and the Forum of Global Associations of Regions, is supported by the European commission and UN development programme.
It has brought together leading figures from the commission's development and agriculture directorates, NGOs and representatives from 17 regional networks on five continents.
Le Drian said the overall aim was to mobilise action on tackling world hunger by European and world regions.
Another keynote speaker, senior UN official David Nabarro, said the downturn had caused high food prices and reduced buying power, something he described as "a disastrous combination".
Nabarro, a special representative of UN secretary general Ban Ki Moon on food security issues, told the packed gathering there was, however, some good news in an otherwise depressing picture.
He said, "Civil society, the private sector and governments are working more concertedly at several levels.
"World leaders have become increasingly outspoken on the need for a sustained response to food and nutrition insecurity.
"Africa's leaders have committed themselves to increasing investments in agriculture, infrastructure and food processing and to strengthening social protection programmes."
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