Re: Climate change: challenges and experiences

[pradeep mohapatra]

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On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 7:48 PM, pradeep mohapatra <udyama....@gmail.com> wrote:

Food crisis looms over 33 nations: Report
Thirty-three countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, are experiencing
'very serious' to 'grave' food supply problems

Published on 10/15/2008 5:59:13 PM


Berlin: Thirty-three countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, are
experiencing 'very serious' to 'grave' food supply problems, two food
assistance groups have said.

Presenting the annual Global Hunger Index (GHI) for 2008, the German
food relief group Welthungerhilfe and the International Food Policy
Research Institute (IFPRI) warned against neglecting the fate of
starving people amidst the current financial crisis, reports DPA.

"Nearly one billion starving people are a scandal for humanity,"
Welthungerhilfe Head Ingeborg Schaeuble said.

In order to meet the UN Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) of reducing
the number of hungry people by one-half by the year 2015, an annual
additional spending of up to 10 billion euros (US $13.6 billion) is
necessary.

The GHI index lists 88 countries' food supply situation, with 33
countries chiefly from Asia and Africa in the lower positions. The
country with the gravest food situation is Congo.

The report cautioned that in view of the current financial crisis, it
will be very difficult to mobilise long-term investments required for
the urgently needed expansion of agriculture in developing countries.
"This is very bad news for the world's hungry," it said.

The GHI index is a compilation based on three chief criteria including
the share of undernourished in the population, the number of children
below the age of five who are underweight, and the mortality rate for
children under five.


On Mon, Oct 13, 2008 at 8:47 PM, pradeep mohapatra

<udyama....@gmail.com> wrote:

> World should stop diversion of food to fuel: India
> The long-term solution to food crisis problem is to increase the
> supply of food grains and should avoid wastage and diversion of food
> to fuel
>
> Published on 10/13/2008 11:52:01 AM
> By Arun Kumar
>
> Washington: India has demanded an immediate stop to diversion of food
> crops, particularly corn in the United States, for producing biofuels
> to check a rise in food prices in the short term.
>
> "The long term solution to this problem is to increase the supply of
> food grains; immediately, however, we should avoid wastage and
> diversion of food to fuel," Indian Finance Minister P Chidambaram told
> a meeting of world financial leaders here on Sunday.
>
> Seeking a renewed thrust to public investment in agriculture with
> policies designed to boost private investment as well, he said, "We
> need technological breakthroughs to ensure that growth in crop-yields
> does not taper off but gives rise to a new green revolution."
>
> "We also need urgent action in the US and Europe for rationalising the
> biofuels policy," Chidambaram said in a statement read out at the
> Development Committee of the World Bank and the International Monetary
> Fund (IMF) at its annual meeting here.
>
> "Biofuels derived from non-food crops or biofuels produced from crops
> that do not compete with food production may be an appropriate and
> climate-friendly response to the rapid increase in global oil prices.
> But biofuels produced from food grains such as corn and oil seeds
> cannot be justified under any circumstances," Chidambaram said.
>
> Noting in the US, use of corn for ethanol has consumed more than 75
> per cent of the increase in global corn production over the past three
> years, he said that this trend must be reversed.
>
> Facing higher levels of inflation once again after a decade of
> moderate price rises, Chidambaram said developing countries have
> adopted alternative approaches ranging from social safety nets to
> shield the most vulnerable sections to more harsh measures like export
> taxes and bans.
>
> "We do realise that such policies may not be welfare-enhancing.
> However, given the limited options and instruments many of us have, we
> have been compelled to take recourse to such measures to manage our
> domestic stocks better," he said.
>
> Stressing the importance of effective state institutions in raising
> investment in agriculture and in supporting social safety nets,
> Chidambaram hoped that the bank will be at the forefront in this
> activity as a part of its response to the food price crisis.
>

Pradeep Mohapatra
Team leader,
UDYAMA,
HIG-283/K-5/KalingaVihar,
Patrapada post,
Bhubaneswar-751019
0674 2475656,
+91 9437110892
www.udyama.org
http://www.karmayog.org/ngo/udya/upload/231/udyama-Brochure.pdf
skype-pradeep.mohapatra

--
Pradeep Mohapatra
Team leader,
UDYAMA,
HIG-283/K-5/KalingaVihar,
Patrapada post,
Bhubaneswar-751019
0674 2475656,
+91 9437110892
www.udyama.org
http://www.karmayog.org/ngo/udya/upload/231/udyama-Brochure.pdf
skype-pradeep.mohapatra