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Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina stresses for identical food system
for all nations
November
16th 2009:- Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina today urged developed nations to
mobilize funds to face food insecurity, calling it a moral
obligation on their parts to feed the starving millions
as she joined the world summit on food security in the Italian
capital. "If developed countries could provide trillions
of dollars to save collapsed financial markets, should they
not feel any obligation to feed starving millions,"
she told the summit, opened today to focus on the reform
of current global food distribution system, which visibly
demonstrated its weaknesses during the global recession.
The Bangladesh premier referred to the recent G-8 decision
in L' Aquilla to mobilize US$ 20 billion over three years
for small farmers in the food deficit developing countries
which she called "encouraging" but "insufficient".
"Additional funds would be available if only developed
countries fulfill their ODA commitment of 0.7 percent of
their Gross National Income (GNI) to developing countries,
and 0.2 percent to the LDCs by 2010, as affirmed in the
Brussels Program of action," she told the summit arranged
under the auspices of United Nations' Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO).
Sheikh Hasina
said food security was directly related to climate change
while Bangladesh stood out as a stark example where agricultural
yield became hostage to frequent and erratic natural disasters
caused by the phenomenon affecting food production. "Significantly,
the demands for meeting the adverse effects of climate change
is diverting funds allocated for sensitive social sectors
as health, education, energy etc (but) shortage of fund
has also severely restricted our research efforts in agriculture,
particularly in food production," she said.The prime
minister said further breakthrough on high yielding rice
or agro-based products could be developed, though the growing
need for discovering varieties resistant to salinity, drought,
water submergence, became urgent.
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