The world’s food price problems are not over despite
the current market lull. This was stated by the Food and Agriculture
Organisation's (FAO) director general José Graziano da Silva at a
ministerial meeting on international food prices in Rome on Tuesday. It
was attended by 30 agriculture ministers.
He acknowledged that this year’s meeting was taking place in a less troubled climate than the inaugural essay, which took place last October. On that occasion, ministers came together to respond to the third hike in international grain prices in five years.
“The outlook for international food commodity markets finally looks calmer this year,” Graziano da Silva said, adding that the grain production had rebounded, and higher stock-to-use ratios are expected to bring greater stability to prices. He informed that FAO's cereal price index was 20 per cent lower than it was a year ago.
However, although the prices have stabilised, he cautioned against dropping the guard. “International prices may have declined, but they are still above their historical levels. And the prices are expected to remain volatile over the coming years,” he warned.
Lasting solutions
Graziano da Silva also underscored that while lower food prices brought relief to poor consumers, higher prices were not necessarily bad, as they came after three decades of stagnant prices that negatively affected the agricultural sector in many poor countries.
He urged countries to take advantage of the comparative calm to prepare for future market turbulence and find lasting solutions to the issues surrounding the food price volatility. “If higher and volatile prices are here to stay, then we need to adapt to this new pattern,” he underlined.
“The two critical issues for countries to address are how to help poor small-scale farmers benefit from the higher food prices, and how to protect low-income families who suffer as a result of them,” Graziano da Silva said.
“The current situation offers an opportunity for farmers to reinvest in agriculture,” he continued, calling a set of policies that would ensure that small-scale farmers have the means to take advantage of it.
Social protection
“Low-income families must, meanwhile, be shielded by strengthening social protection programmes (including cash transfers to extremely poor households) and creating new ways to link social protection and support for agricultural production,” Graziano da Silva said.
“Countries throughout the world have great success when they use this menu of social protection and productive support to fight hunger and poverty,” he added.
Global governance
FAO's director general stated that improved global governance has played an important role in warding off additional food price hikes since July 2012.
“In particular, the agricultural market information system (AMIS) created by the G20 in 2011 has proved to be an effective new weapon in the arsenal to fight excessive price volatility, provide reliable information and increase transparency in the international food market,” he said.
He acknowledged that this year’s meeting was taking place in a less troubled climate than the inaugural essay, which took place last October. On that occasion, ministers came together to respond to the third hike in international grain prices in five years.
“The outlook for international food commodity markets finally looks calmer this year,” Graziano da Silva said, adding that the grain production had rebounded, and higher stock-to-use ratios are expected to bring greater stability to prices. He informed that FAO's cereal price index was 20 per cent lower than it was a year ago.
However, although the prices have stabilised, he cautioned against dropping the guard. “International prices may have declined, but they are still above their historical levels. And the prices are expected to remain volatile over the coming years,” he warned.
Lasting solutions
Graziano da Silva also underscored that while lower food prices brought relief to poor consumers, higher prices were not necessarily bad, as they came after three decades of stagnant prices that negatively affected the agricultural sector in many poor countries.
He urged countries to take advantage of the comparative calm to prepare for future market turbulence and find lasting solutions to the issues surrounding the food price volatility. “If higher and volatile prices are here to stay, then we need to adapt to this new pattern,” he underlined.
“The two critical issues for countries to address are how to help poor small-scale farmers benefit from the higher food prices, and how to protect low-income families who suffer as a result of them,” Graziano da Silva said.
“The current situation offers an opportunity for farmers to reinvest in agriculture,” he continued, calling a set of policies that would ensure that small-scale farmers have the means to take advantage of it.
Social protection
“Low-income families must, meanwhile, be shielded by strengthening social protection programmes (including cash transfers to extremely poor households) and creating new ways to link social protection and support for agricultural production,” Graziano da Silva said.
“Countries throughout the world have great success when they use this menu of social protection and productive support to fight hunger and poverty,” he added.
Global governance
FAO's director general stated that improved global governance has played an important role in warding off additional food price hikes since July 2012.
“In particular, the agricultural market information system (AMIS) created by the G20 in 2011 has proved to be an effective new weapon in the arsenal to fight excessive price volatility, provide reliable information and increase transparency in the international food market,” he said.
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