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 The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for "immediate and continuous action" to ensure global food security. The report on the Common Agricultural Policy and Global Food Security, drafted by Irish MEP , notes that world food prices have increased by over 80% on average over the past two years, and the World Bank has estimated that this crisis could cause a further 100 million people worldwide to suffer chronic hunger.
However, the resolution strongly affirms the importance of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) "as the means to secure food production in the EU" and globally, despite long-standing criticism of its effects on developing world farmers. MEPs have commended the 1 billion euro rapid reaction food facility designed to provide emergency support to small-scale developing world farmers, but stress that this must be accompanied by further long-term investment in agriculture. The resolution notes that Parliament "believes that the European Development Fund (EDF) should be more focused on agriculture, particularly small farms and processing of products on the spot, as the vast majority of the world's poor live in rural areas that are highly dependent on agricultural production". It also calls for efforts to be made "to establish rules for agricultural trade, which guarantee food supplies in all countries" and for developing countries to "be accorded trade advantages that support the strengthening of national production". The EP therefore urges the Commission "to take these considerations into account during the WTO negotiations, as well as when negotiating Economic Partnership Agreements with developing countries". The resolution also calls for more investment in research and development of sustainable farming methods and a global assessment of the impact of biofuels production on world food prices. Sources: |
