ID :
191365
Mon, 06/27/2011 - 16:35
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/191365
The shortlink copeid
GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY REMAINS PRECARIOUS, SAYS M'SIAN PM NAJIB
KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) - The global food security remains
precarious as extreme weather, natural disaster and continued uncertainties in
world financial markets has continued to spike food prices to record highs,
Prime Minister Najib Razak said Monday.
Last month, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food price index
stood at a record high of 232 points, a massive hike in world food prices which
was driven by a production slump prompted by extreme weather, he said.
Russian drought saw the price of wheat increase by more than 50 per cent
last year, which saw Russia freezing exports.
This year, corn planting in the United States, the world's largest grower,
is progressing at less than half of last year's pace because of heavy rain.
"And, while dry spells are threathening Europe, floods in China have left
one million acres of farmland sodden. Adding to this is the catastrophe in
Japan, increasing oil prices and continued uncertainty in the world financial
markets and it is not surprising that the outlook is bleak," he said at the
launch of the Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFFRC) here, Friday.
Hence, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation is projecting
a decline to 1.7 per cent in global agricultural production this year, said
Najib, who is also Finance Minister.
Present were Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin and University
of Nottingham Campus Malaysia Chairman Ahmad Rithaudden Tengku Ismail.
The good news is that such a scenario has moved governments around the
world to focus on agriculture and steps are being taken towards putting
long-term solutions in place, he said.
Malaysia, on its part, has earmarked agriculture as one of its National Key
Economic Area and, as part of this process, food security would be strategically
addressed to ensure the availability, accessibility and affordability of staple
crops like rice, he said.
The government also recognises that growth in high value agriculture
products has been constrained by factors like limited access to suitable land
and financing, inadequate support services, lack of research and development and
weak links to the market.
Among others, the CFFRC would serve as a demonstration of Malaysia's
commitment to agriculture research, said Najib.
"(Also) establish Malaysia as a global hub for research and knowledge
tranfer in the field of under-utilised crops and in the long-run it will make a
significant contribution to the nation's food supply and the world," he added.
The CFFRC is expected to receive government funding of nearly RM113 million
over seven years to carry out research on an entire range of under-utilised
crops from across the globe.
The centre, the first of its kind in the world, is co-hosted by the
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in Semenyih, in partnership with the
government.
precarious as extreme weather, natural disaster and continued uncertainties in
world financial markets has continued to spike food prices to record highs,
Prime Minister Najib Razak said Monday.
Last month, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food price index
stood at a record high of 232 points, a massive hike in world food prices which
was driven by a production slump prompted by extreme weather, he said.
Russian drought saw the price of wheat increase by more than 50 per cent
last year, which saw Russia freezing exports.
This year, corn planting in the United States, the world's largest grower,
is progressing at less than half of last year's pace because of heavy rain.
"And, while dry spells are threathening Europe, floods in China have left
one million acres of farmland sodden. Adding to this is the catastrophe in
Japan, increasing oil prices and continued uncertainty in the world financial
markets and it is not surprising that the outlook is bleak," he said at the
launch of the Crops for the Future Research Centre (CFFRC) here, Friday.
Hence, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation is projecting
a decline to 1.7 per cent in global agricultural production this year, said
Najib, who is also Finance Minister.
Present were Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin and University
of Nottingham Campus Malaysia Chairman Ahmad Rithaudden Tengku Ismail.
The good news is that such a scenario has moved governments around the
world to focus on agriculture and steps are being taken towards putting
long-term solutions in place, he said.
Malaysia, on its part, has earmarked agriculture as one of its National Key
Economic Area and, as part of this process, food security would be strategically
addressed to ensure the availability, accessibility and affordability of staple
crops like rice, he said.
The government also recognises that growth in high value agriculture
products has been constrained by factors like limited access to suitable land
and financing, inadequate support services, lack of research and development and
weak links to the market.
Among others, the CFFRC would serve as a demonstration of Malaysia's
commitment to agriculture research, said Najib.
"(Also) establish Malaysia as a global hub for research and knowledge
tranfer in the field of under-utilised crops and in the long-run it will make a
significant contribution to the nation's food supply and the world," he added.
The CFFRC is expected to receive government funding of nearly RM113 million
over seven years to carry out research on an entire range of under-utilised
crops from across the globe.
The centre, the first of its kind in the world, is co-hosted by the
University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in Semenyih, in partnership with the
government.
