“If no decisive action is taken, the prices of key food commodities are likely to be 50 to 100 per cent higher by 2020 than they were at the turn of the millennium. This would dramatically increase the level of hunger and malnutrition, around the world,” says Harald von Witzke, president of the Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture, an international think tank, headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
Humboldt Forum for Food and Agriculture was founded in Davos, Switzerland and includes such business leaders as Paul de Moudt of Shell Petroleum, Hans Jöhr of Nestle, J. B. Penn of John Deere, Philip Pardey of the University of Minnesota, and Klaus von Grebmer of IFPRI.
According to von Witzke, sustained high food prices would not only lead to food riots, as they did in 2007 and 2008. They also have the potential to significantly increase international migration away from food insecure countries with agriculture becoming a key industry. “The world is running out of time. Both the poor countries and international development assistance have to take swift and decisive action. The neglect of agriculture must end.”
Von Witzke’s recommendations include investing in agricultural infrastructure and education, and making mineral fertilizer, cropping protection and modern seed varieties available to farmers in poor countries.
Other international bodies are also addressing this issue, including the World Bank Group, which set up the Global Food Crisis Response Program (GFRP) in May 2008 to provide immediate relief to countries hard hit by food high prices. The Bank response has been articulated in coordination with the United Nations’ High-Level Task Force on food security. Through its response, the Bank is supporting the implementation of the joint Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA).