United Nations General Assembly. 23 Oct 2009.GA/EF/3254
Sixty-fourth General Assembly
Second Committee
20th & 21st Meetings (AM & PM)
Huge Challenge Posed by Predicted Population Growth in Years Ahead
In a world where 1 billion people already suffered from chronic hunger, global food supplies must increase by 50 per cent to meet expected demand from a growing world population, the United States delegate told the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) today, as the Committee concluded its consideration of agriculture development and food security.
To counter the crisis and promote agriculture-led economic growth in the developing world, the United States had said it would commit at least $3.5 billion over the next three years -- a powerful task for reducing hunger and poverty.
The representative of Pakistan said the economic crisis was rapidly turning into a catastrophe for the world's poor because developing countries now had fewer resources to maintain social safety nets or to provide food, health and education to vulnerable populations. In Pakistan, where half the population already faced food insecurity, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), there had been a dramatic and unacceptable rise in the number of people in that condition over the past two years, driven by the economic, food and fuel crises as well as climate change effects.
Mexico's representative, speaking for the Rio Group of countries, expressed concern that the recent lowering of prices of food and commodities from earlier peaks conveyed the impression that the food crisis effectively had been solved, but that was not the case; given the current challenges, action to ensure the eradication of hunger had to be both urgent and comprehensive. Development efforts should include significantly scaled up public and private investment in agriculture, the monitoring of existing assistance commitments and the eradication of speculative practices, among other factors.
The Swedish representative, speaking for the European Union, said that food security was a crucial requirement for countries to prosper: the fact that one out of six human beings in the world suffered from hunger and malnourishment was unacceptable, a situation that had to be addressed immediately. The European Union for its part had increased the share of the agricultural sector in the official development assistance (ODA) considerably, and he called on all donors to do the same.
A number of delegates pointed out the paradox that there was enough food to feed the world's population yet people still went hungry, and some criticized the subsidies and tariffs imposed by the developed world, which skewed global trade and hindered equitable access to international markets for farmers in poorer countries.
Speaking in the general discussion were the representatives of Guyana (for the Caribbean Community), Malawi (for the Southern African Development Community), Columbia, China, Guatemala, Peru, Philippines, Algeria, Ukraine, Cuba, Japan, Republic of Korea, Israel, Republic of the Congo, Sri Lanka, Russian Federation, Ethiopia, Canada, Belarus, Thailand, Libya, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Argentina, Afghanistan, Chile, Venezuela and Senegal.
The Permanent Observer for the Holy See also made a statement, as did representatives of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Common Fund for Commodities.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m., on Monday, 26 October, to hold a panel discussion on green growth and sustainable development.
Background
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) met today to continue its debate on agriculture development and food security. For background, see Press Release GA/EF/3253 of 22 October 2009.)
Introduction of Draft Resolution
At the outset of the meeting and before the debate, JOSÉ ALBERTO BRIZ GUTIÉRREZ ( Guatemala), also speaking on behalf of 21 other countries, introduced a draft resolution on legal empowerment of the poor and eradication of poverty (document A/C.2/64/L.4). He said the draft took note of the broad diversity of national experiences and initiatives to advance legal empowerment of the poor as part of efforts to eradicate poverty. It also recognized the important role of South-South cooperation, and requested that the Secretary-General promote stronger coherence on the part of the United Nations system to integrate that concept into policies and strategies.
For complete transcript of the meeting go to UN website.
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