The Hindu : New Delhi News : 500 million hungry people in Asia: FAO

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Tuesday, Aug 07, 2007
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500 million hungry people in Asia: FAO

Gargi Parsai

NEW DELHI: “There are 820 million people in the developing world, representing 17 per cent of the total population, who suffer from under-nourishment,” said the Director-General of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, Jacques Diouf, here on Monday.

Speaking on ‘Agriculture Cannot Wait’ at the 60th Anniversary Lecture of India’s Independence of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Dr. Diouf said there had a been a major divergence in hunger reduction performances across regions and countries.

In Asia, progress had been remarkable. In India, the share of hungry people had been reduced from 39 per cent to 20 per cent, while China reduced the prevalence of hunger from 46 per cent to 12 per cent of its population.

Still, more than 500 million of world’s hungry lived in Asia, corresponding to almost two-thirds of the total of the developing countries. One in four persons in India was hungry, while one in five persons in China was suffering from hunger.

He said in most food-insecure countries, agriculture was crucial for income and employment generation. Numerous studies had shown that the impact of economic growth on reducing hunger and poverty depended as much on the nature of growth as on its scale and speed.

The strategies for reduction of hunger must have programmes and investments focussed on hunger “hot spots.” The twin-track approach must include interventions to strengthen the productivity and incomes of the hungry and poor, while the other was to respond to immediate needs of the poor and the food-insecure.

Investments in agriculture and rural development must be increased, while equal importance should be given to private sector investment including by small farmers themselves. “In an era of globalisation, poor and food-insecure countries must be allowed to benefit from international trade. The international community must step up dramatically its efforts and stand up to its commitments to make hunger history.” “Simply, the hungry cannot wait and agriculture cannot wait,” he said.

Later, Dr. Diouf met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He is also scheduled to call upon President Pratibha Patil.

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