World Food Security: The Way Ahead

The world today produces 17 per cent more calories per person than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 per cent increase in population. This is enough to provide everyone in the world with at least 2,720 kilocalories (kcal) per day (FAO 2010) Food and Agricultural Organization. And yet, some regions in Africa continue to face protracted food crisis. The cost of alleviating world hunger is negligible compared to the trillions of dollars spent on financial institutions and to stimulate economies in the industrialized world. Although for the first time in 15 years the total number of hungry people in the world has dropped about 10 per cent in 2010, 925 million is still a very grim figure. Agriculture and rural economy - both crucial sectors in times of crisis - are denied sufficient aid flows. Food assistance and financial aids towards agricultural and rural development will go hand in hand in addressing the problem of food insecurity. In the face of constraints like climate change and energy insufficiency, the international community will have to work collectively in the common interest of bringing on another Green Revolution and making sure that its benefit trickles down to the poorest of the poor.