Aid Organizations Focus on Global Food Crisis

Aid organizations meeting in Kansas City, Mo., this week at the U.S. government’s annual conference on global food aid said that while increased money for food aid to hungry nations is desperately needed to tamp down the swelling global food crisis, long-term investments to improve agriculture productivity in the developing world are equally important, reports Reuters.

Crop producers, shipping companies, and aid groups warned that the rise in global food prices is hampering donations, and U.S. aid officials have said they might be forced to slash donations this year after their commodity costs jumped by more than 40 percent in the first half of fiscal 2008, adding approximately $200-million to the program’s cost.

Experts predict high prices to linger through 2009 before farmers worldwide can adjust supplies and major financiers of development efforts, such as World Bank, can put more money into agricultural projects.