Resource information
Robert B. Zoellick, World Bank Group President, addresses the
biggest threat to the poor around the world: high and
volatile food prices. The Bank released an updated Food Price Watch
that underscores the need for the G20 to put food
first. The key driver behind the upward spiral in the food
price index has been sharp rises in the prices of wheat,
maize, sugar, and oils. He discusses the global food
price hikes which have pushed about 44 million people into
extreme poverty. He focusses on global action to
help small holder farmers, with seeds and fertilizer, better
weather forecasting, better means to get produce to markets,
also food and effective safety nets for the most vulnerable
people. He concludes that we need global action to ensure we
do a better job of feeding the hungry before we face the
future challenges of feeding the expected nine billion
people in the world in 2050. Zoellick fields questions on causes of the price hikes, measures needed in emerging market countries, a special Trust Fund Facility, Egypt and Tunisia, the longevity of the crisis, and civil problems in Libya.
